The first henge we went to was called Avebury. Avebury has quite a few more stones than Stonehenge and they are spread out over a much greater area on the countryside. It was just a matter of walking through a gate to get to the stones.
The next henge we visited was the world famous Stonehenge. It was pretty cool to actually see it. As I had been warned, however, the audioguide was rather annoying in its repetitive speculation as to the origins of the henge. Also, as Let's Go: Europe warned, the audiotour calls into question what is more haunting - the rocks themselves or the "bizarre march of tourists who stop suddenly to silently devote their attention to black handsets."
Afterwards, we drove to Salisbury. It was pouring when we arrived, which put to rest my desire to visit their Saturday market. We were further deterred by the 6 pound parking fee at the cathedral, so a look at its vaulting spire was enough. On our way back, we passed through Pewsey, where we saw a chalk horse carved into the hillside. It's one of the white horses of Wiltshire. We also passed through Marlborough, whose private (or "public" in British English) high school is the alma mater of Kate Middleton and of the wealthier personages on Seven Up! The architecture of Marlborough's main thoroughfare is just as I imagined 18th century England.
Upon return to Swindon, we went shopping at its Outlet Mall. They had a next store there, along with a Whittard's of Chelsea tea shop, so I was in heaven! Dan was able to find his favorite Gap trousers at the Gap outlet there, so I would say it was a successful trip. That night, we had fish 'n chips again from the same place as the previous Saturday night.
The trip home was fortunately uneventful. I've included two photos, however. The first is the road sign that says "Channel Tunnel." The French have always refused to acknowledge the name "English Channel" and refer to it as "La Manche" (the "sleeve"), as you can see from the previous photo last week. Also, I included a photo of vehicles boarding the train cars, to give a better idea of the transport. Basically, you enter through the train door and drive straight away to the front of the train.
