Stonehenge visit in between two cruises 2019

 Stonehenge—day #15 of cruise—-The transatlantic cruise ends today in Southampton England. I am one of 1200 guests that will remain on for the next cruise around the British Isles. 

I considered relaxing on the ship then strolling around Southampton shops and looking for Wi-Fi. Instead, I decided to visit the famous Stonehenge— a key place on my bucket list.

Was it a calendar, temple, or a place of healing? Today’s visit was to Stonehenge, a prehistoric site and one of the most famous landmarks in the UK. This UNESCO world heritage site has been proven to be a burial ground dating from 3000 BC.  According to popular legend, giants built the monument atop an Irish mountain and Merlin the wizard magically moved it to England. We know it is indeed a masterpiece of engineering! The stones are perfectly aligned with the movements of the sun so it served as a clock at times, during certain rituals. There are many theories about the original purpose for these mysterious stones. 

Stonehenge receives more than 1 million visitors per year. It’s in a large open plain in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by sheep farms.

The truth about its true purpose is yet to be determined…..

I left the ship at 9:38 and walked directly to the Southampton train station. I arrived 25 minutes later, just in time to buy my 11-£ round-trip ticket to Salisbury. The train departed at 10:10 AM and arrived around 10:40 AM. I waited 20 minutes for the hourly bus shuttle that took me directly to Stonehenge, 30-minutes away. In all, it took me two hours with walking, train, and a bus shuttle to arrive at Stonehenge. 

My next visit will be to the town of Salisbury and Salisbury cathedral. Salisbury is known as “the city in the countryside” and represents a time capsule of medieval architecture. The cathedral is the largest in Britain and reflects architectural styles from the 13th to the 20th centuries. Importantly, the cathedral displays a rare original copy of the Magna Carta. This is one of only four originals!

I am very proud of myself because this is the first time I walked out without a real plan, or maps, or a hard copy of train or bus shuttle schedules.  Although I had researched this a while ago, I had not remembered the details.  What’s more, I decided to go at the last minute.

See my new friend Dave from Quebec. He has a complete tattoo of Stonehenge on his arm. I met him on the shuttle bus on the way to Stonehenge. This was his first international trip, first flight, first train ride, and first ferry ride ever!! I added a separate post about Dave.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and I can cross another major site off my bucket list!!!

Stonehenge on day #17 of cruise.

On the shuttle bus from Salisbury, England  to Stonehenge, I met Dave Therrien,  from Quebec. I noticed he had a tattoo that resembled Stonehenge on his arm. I asked him to show it to me. He indeed has a long tattoo of Stonehenge across his arm. I could not believe it! I asked him why—he said because he’s a pagan and I said “yes but I find it fascinating that you chose Stonehenge for your tattoo.” He replied that he’s been wanting to go to Stonehenge since he was 8 years old and he’s now 39 years old. I asked him “what took you so long?” LOL! We became fast friends. He told me all about his journey there. He did not make any specific plans for his trip and he didn’t even have a hotel room last night. He met a man in passing and in desperation, asked if he could sleep on his floor. The man said “oh what the hell—sure.” Isn’t that amazing! 

This was his first international flight, his first train ride, his first ferry ride and his first solo travel!

He asked me if he could stroll the site with me I said absolutely I would be honored. I kept telling him to show everyone we encountered his tattoo. I was so impressed; I could not believe it!

I am so happy that I met him because I was able to take a lot of cool photos for him and I showed him great ideas about fun poses with monuments.  I made sure he held out his arm with the Stonehenge tattoo as he posed in front of the Stonehenge statues.

I left him there early and hugged him goodbye. I needed to begin the long journey back to meet my ship in Southampton. I wished him well. I had to take the shuttle back to the entrance. The 30-minute shuttle bus back to the train station. Wait 30 minutes for the next train. Take a 30-minute train to Southampton. Then I had to make my way back to the ship. (A 25 minute walk or five minute taxi ride).