Hello, Stonehenge

A far shot of the stones
Stonehenge

It feels like I haven’t blogged in a while – a week or something – but it hasn’t been that long. I think it’s because we have been so busy exploring London. There is a lot to see, and I wish we had a lot longer here because I don’t think I will ever experience enough of London unless I lived here.

I will admit, though, that London didn’t give me that complete feeling of home and amazement that I felt over the past decade as my obsession with London grew. It is my first time in the city, and the accent, the transport, the city as a whole, the culture of it all – it didn’t sweep me off my feet when I set foot in it, but maybe, like falling in love, it will take time. That said, I do really like it, and I don’t really hate anything about it, but food is expensive and a little disappointing compared to back at home.

It’s not a deal-breaker.

I do, however, want to write about Stonehenge. My obsession with England probably began when I became very interested in Stonehenge as a child. I did a major school project on the fascinating monument when I was about ten years old. We had to choose a famous ‘wonder of the world’ to research and I chose Stonehenge.

As many of you know, I really wanted to be a geologist when I was young. It was my dream job. As I wrote a couple of years ago, geology was one of my secret loves that I rarely told people about. I was amazed by the earth, the ins and outs of nature, and everything about rocks and gemstones. I would buy books about all sorts of rocks, learning about their history and meaning.

An artistic shot of Stonehenge, off centre
An artistic shot of Stonehenge, off centre

Stonehenge fascinated me. It looked like an arrangement of rocks to most people, but I loved how it looked. In the back of my mind I knew I wanted to one day see Stonehenge. When it appeared in a Doctor Who episode, it immediately became one of my favourite episodes!

I got really excited about it when we decided to add it to our trip. Since it is a fair way out of London, we went on a tour bus that also went to Windsor Castle and Bath. We had an entertaining tour guide who made the whole trip fun. By the time we got to Stonehenge it was late afternoon and raining a little bit.

A close-up shot of the stones
Close-up of the stones

I was glad I saw Stonehenge. The stones were a lot closer together than I had seen in photos, but they were very big up close. We couldn’t get too close because it was roped off, but we were close enough to get photos. I was still very fascinated by it, and learned even more about its story on the tour.

It is not a place I would probably visit again, but I’m glad I ticked it off my mental bucket list. (:

Comments on this post

I’ve never been to Stonehenge. Or Bath. Or Windsor. I need to explore my own country more!

I didn’t realise that you couldn’t get closer to Stonehenge. I guess I’ve seen people on TV and in movies walking in between the stones, but of course they must have special access.

I like London, in small doses. I’ve always said that I could never live there because it doesn’t feel homely and I find it a bit to hectic. But then when I do go I always find something new to fall in love with, but I’m always glad to return home afterwards.

I hope you have fun at the Harry Potter studios today!

I think the same is for most people and their home countries! I hadn’t seen a lot of Australia until about a year ago.

I think the Doctor Who episode had a set, but they also filmed on Stonehenge itself.

I have always wanted to go to London. I’ve never been across the pond before. My friend and I are hoping to go after we graduate. But I’m glad you’re having a good time!

That’s totally awesome that you’re traveling so much! ^^ You and Nick! I’ve seen the awesome pictures from Instagram and love them so much! You guys are both having so much fun, and it is seen in both of your faces. May you both continue to have fun and be safe along the way.

Stonehenge isn’t a place I’d jump to visit if I were visiting England, but I would still want to see it. I just really hope that it’s well-guarded so vandals aren’t able to deface the stones, as they’ve done here in the USA in various national parks.

It is roped off from quite a distance so it would be obvious if someone tried to pass that barrier. It is a shame that someone would want to vandalise the environment in any national park.

It would be a really interesting place to visit. I would like to see it one day as well. :D

The different between the fantasy of visiting a place and the reality would be hard to know unless you actually do it.

Whilst I’ve been to England twice (1994, I was 5, and 2003/4, I turned 15 there), we didn’t exactly do lots of exploring. My dad’s from the midlands (Leicester) so we were there most of the time. Second trip we went up to Preston and Blackpool (do not recommend in winter lol) and did a few touristy things around Leicestershire. And we went to London for one day. But Stonehenge is something we never did. I know it’s out west, near Salisbury I think, but I’ve always been fascinated by the history. That they don’t quite know exactly how the stones got there D: That there are several theories. It’s amazing.

I didn’t get to spend enough time in London to really experience the city. But what I did see (the touristy sites), I loved. I agree that I could never live there, though D: Far too big!

Stonehenge! How amazing!! I didn’t know the area would be roped off, England sounds amazing. I hope to visit there one day!

This is amazing! It may look like just a bunch of stones stacked on top of each other, but I’ve always dreamed of going here! As of today, I only know three friends who have been there (that includes you!). What a great experience!

My neck of the woods! I visited Stonehenge on a college archaeology trip and we were given special permission to go up to the stones and be able to touch them so we could learn more about them. I remember them being cold on the inner circle and warmer on the outer circle and if you whispered at one end of the stones, the person at the other end should have been able to hear you. It didn’t work for me! But my friend said it worked for him. I haven’t been there since even though it’s so near.