17. Visit Stonehenge

24 May 2016

This picture really says it all, what a birthday treat! Thanks Chris!

 

Stonehenge has many different meanings to people today. It is a wonder of the world, a spiritual place and a source of inspiration. With a history of over 4,000 years to me it signifies how sophisticated people were during the Neolithic. The Stone Circle is a masterpiece of engineering, and building it would have taken huge effort from hundreds of well-organised people using only simple tools and technologies. 

 

English Heritage have done a great job in making it into a tourist experience for those who aren't die hard stone lovers. The have invested a lot on money in making an attractive visitor centre with museum, gift shop  and café (serving excellent ciders) and creating the route to the stones as accessible as possible. The buses made me laugh out loud because one of mine and the best fours catchphrases is 'to the bar'.

 

 

Stonehenge is just a small part of a wider extraordinary archaeological landscape so rich and varied that it was designated a World Heritage Site in 1986. The World Heritage Site Management Plan summarises the significance, or outstanding universal value, of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site as follows:

The Stonehenge, Avebury, and Associated Sites World Heritage Site is internationally important for its complexes of outstanding prehistoric monuments. Stonehenge is the most architecturally sophisticated prehistoric stone circle in the world, while Avebury is the largest in the world. Together with inter-related monuments and their associated landscapes, they help us to understand Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial and mortuary practices. They demonstrate around 2000 years of continuous use and monument building between c. 3700 and 1600 BC. As such they represent a unique embodiment of our collective heritage.  

I would recommend to anyone to go and visit this site but only as part of a visit to explore the wider prehistoric landscape in Wilshire. Even though the stone circle at Avebury isn’t as intact it is the largest in the world and sits in close proximity to Silbury Hill (the largest man made mound in the UK) and West Kennet Long Barrow one the largest and most accessible Neolithic chambered tombs in Britain.

 

Windmill Hill, Neolithic causewayed enclosure

 

West Kennet, long barrow

 

Silbury Hill
 

 

 

Avebury Stone circle

 
 x

8. Visit Loch Ness and hunt for Nessie

It has been over a year since my last post. I haven’t got any excuses I’ve just been lazy oh and I’ve taken on a mortgage and bought a house. Back in August 2014 after I conquered Ben Nevis and slept in a castle we took a detour on the way home to Loch Ness to hunt for Nessie.

We went in The Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition which opened over 30 years ago. Today a hi-tech multi-media presentation leads you through 7 themed areas and 500 million years of history, natural mystery and legend revealing the unique environment of Loch Ness and the famous Nessie legend ...Using a mix of lasers, digital projection and special effects the Exhibition charts the history of the monster by exploring Scotland's geological past, its folklore and the various research projects carried out on the loch. It also reveals the discoveries of some of that research including the environmental fingerprints left in the loch's sediment layers by both nature and mankind.

It was a beautiful day so after the visitor centre we went for a walk round part of the lake and I even packed my binoculars to stand a better chance of spotting the legendary creature. Here are some fun snaps from the adventure:

In the end we didn’t spot him however I did bring a wee souvenir home to remind me of the trip. If you haven’t been to this beautiful part of the world then I would definitely recommend it but we did have the weather on our side!

x

19. Have a pint of Guinness in Dublin

This is an overdue entry but better late than never!

 

The view of Dublin from the top of the Guinness Storehouse. You can see the Aviva Stadium on the right hand side.

 

On Friday 15 November myself and Laura Fenwick (who is becoming somewhat of a regular travel companion) flew from Newcastle to Dublin. The opportunity for the trip came about when we learnt that our friend and fellow archaeology graduate Mandi Henderson was being swept away by her husband Neil to Dublin to celebrate her 30th birthday. This came up in conversation and you express an interest that it's somewhere you'd always like to go so Mandi suggested we come along too (much to Neil's initial horror) so we did.

 

From left to right; Laura, me and Mandi

 

Everyone I've spoken to have said how friendly the Irish are but I actually think that it ius THE MOST FRIENDLY place I've been too. When you land at an airport you're prepared  for the miserable but at passport control who barely grunts at you...not it in Dublin. [Insert gorgeous southern Irish accent] "Well good morning Kathryn, welcome to Ireland. How are you today, did you enjoy your flight?"

 

We also had a very friendly cab driver who took us to our hotel (he gave us his mobile number in case we needed him over the weekend...) And then met up with Mandi and Neil for a few, which turned out to be a lot of drinks and one of their best burgers of my life. I had never considered putting smoked cheese on a burger before but I'd do it again. I resisted having as pint of the black stuff because I wanted I to 'save myself' for the Guinness Storehouse.

 

 

 

I think Saturday 16 November will definitely feature in the top 5 days of 2013 and here's why;

• Amazing all you can eat breakfast to start the day
• Visiting Trinity College and the Book of Kells
• Indulging in bog bodies and Ireland's prehistory at the Museum of Archaeology
• Eating nachos and drinking bulmers in the Hairy Lemon
• Visiting the Guinness Storehouse and experiencing a pint (and a half, because that's all I could manage) of the black stuff
• Watching Ireland v Australia in a pub packed full of Irish men

The library at Trinity College

So in one day I had culture, archeology, rugby, nachos and beer coupled with brilliant company and another thing ticked off my list. I think Dublin was a fantastic city, yes a little pricey but I will definitely go back. I wasn't to fussed with the Guinness Storehouse, far too many tourists for my liking, but the views from the top bar were incredible and the Guinness was smooooth.

 

 

 

x