Stonehenge, England, September 21, 2016
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in
Wiltshire, 13 kilometers north of Salisbury, England; driving from Bath will
take an hour to arrive. Joining scraper tours will pick-up at Terrance Walk in city
centre of Bath and take care of the bus transportation and entrance ticket. On
the road, the lovely countryside along the way to Stonehenge is also an
interesting tour as well, for the scenery of University of Bath, tiny village,
cattle farms, white horse and British military base.
The archaeologists define the terminology
on ‘henge’ as earthworks consisting of circular banked enclosure with an
internal ditch, though Stonehenge is not truly a henge site as its bank is
inside its ditch. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were
raised between 2400 and 2200 BC, although they may have at the site as early as
3000 BC. Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites were on the UNESCO list of
World Heritage in 1986, owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage and
the surrounding land owned by the National Trust.
When Stonehenge was first opened to the
public it was possible to walk among and even climb on them, but the stones
were roped off in 1977 as a result of serious erosion. Visitors are no longer
permitted to touch the stones, but are able to walk around the monument form a
short distance away. Interestingly is, no human beings allowed to get closer
by, while a huge crowd of crows are perching, hovering and shouting inside out
of the stone gates. On the Bluestone, the symbol of luck of England stands
still, as if a Rock ‘n’ Roll festival will kick off soon. A new visitor centre
opened in December 2013, more than 2 kilometers west away from the monument. The
free shuttle buses commute between the Stonehenge monument site and the visitor
centre, where equipped with restrooms, café, souvenir shop and the exhibition
room of the ancient relics of Avebury surroundings. The most unforgettable of
the visitor centre is the 360° screen showing
the changes of the view of Stonehenge and the environment, from the midnight to
the solstice.
The outdoor of the visitor centre is
extremely windy, still in a September sunny afternoon, I need a piece of mohair
wool coat to prevent the unpredictable coming of the weather. Since the blowing
wind is strong and sun shines bright, I wear a pair of Cholé 100% UV protection
sunglasses, carry Miu Miu madras leather bag, only with my daily essentials,
and a Marimekko cotton tote for the extra long-sleeves, a bottle of water and
Fuji Instax mini 25 camera. For the outwear, an Equipment white hearted silk
camisole, a Zara knitwear long cardigan, a pair of Gina Tricot black high waist
jeans and YSL white star espadrilles are easy and comfortable for the half-day
tour. The colour tones of the apparel today are black and white, plus of the
evergreen. The audio guide is inclusive with the entrance ticket, but under
such a lucky opportunity, with so a few of tourists and such a partly cloudy
day, within 2 hour of the tour, I am super busy with listening to the fun facts
from the audio of Stonehenge, taking photos with different angles of
Stonehenge, and trying my best to strike several poses in front of the
Stonehenge.
Special Thanks: A Flying Dutch
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