Stonehenge, Salisbury and the Historic Dockyards of Portsmouth

This was the start of my day on Sunday, January 27th. I woke up at 4:30, met Martin, Andrej and David (the Czech cleaners/maintenance guys from work) and we headed south to Stonehenge. We got there a little before 7am, and the sun was just starting to rise. There was a security guy walking around inside, so despite our great plans to hop the fence, we decided against it. Once the sun was up enough for us to see, we realized that even if we had paid £5 for a legitimate viewing, we would be paying that for the chance to stand 10 feet closer than the outside fence allows you. So we watched and froze and took our pictures from the road while the sun gave us a fantastic backdrop. Once we were cold enough and had seen enough of the rocks, we headed toward Salisbury to see what was there.

A quaint town, Salisbury, and very British. We walked around and inside the cathedral in the centre for some time, and once we had seen enough, started down for Portsmouth. I enjoyed the courtyard/graveyard at the cathedral most I think. It was something you would expect from an old movie; the type of small courtyard where the Bishop would walk in the mornings. Ooh, Godfather III, reminded me of that courtyard that he walks in when Michael goes to confess to him. Just a very tranquil, peaceful place with two giant trees growing in the center.

Once in Portsmouth, we headed to the Historic Dockyards where they hold some of the old Royal Navy warships such as the HMS Victory, who was so famous for her victory against the French off Trafalgar Bay and for the death of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson during that battle. Apparently he was a very great man, stood only 5'2", and is very revered in Britain. Good thing they didn't catch me with this picture.


The HMS Warrior was cool because you could walk around it at your leisure and touch and see most of whatever you liked. Or maybe we just weren't following the rules. Either way, it was a neat experience, especially because I've never been too interested in the seafaring world, mostly just sitting on the shore. After a lunch at the Ship and Castle, we walked through a couple of the museums, then headed home. It was a good day all in all, and it's nice be able to write something about something again, even if it is a rather small post. I'll leave you with a peaceful photo, my favorite from the day, which kind of encapsulates what I feel a lot when I'm here. It's either looking forward, or a sad way of thinking of days gone by. Or maybe, just maybe, it's about enjoying the sunset you're watching and making the most of that. Cheers.