Stonehenge for Free

by

There are places in the world that have a certain magic about them – Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, is one of them. Almost everyone has an image of Stonehenge in their mind, but actually, we don’t know anything about this ruin. It seems to have been something like a calendar, but our practical Selma immediately objects: ‘A bit big for a calendar, isn’t it?’
Stonehenge is aligned with the solstices, but that’s all we know about the structure, and it is this lack of knowledge that makes it so magical. Was it an observatory? A place for rituals? A burial ground?

Es gibt Orte auf der Welt, denen eine gewisse Magie innewohnt – Stonehenge, das prähistorische Monument auf der Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, ist einer davon. Fast jeder hat eine Vorstellung von Stonehenge, aber eigentlich weiß man nichts über diese Bauruine. Es scheint so etwas wie ein Kalender gewesen zu sein, aber da wendet unsere praktische Selma sofort ein: “Ein bisschen groß für einen Kalender, oder?”
Stonehenge ist auf die Sonnenwenden ausgerichtet, aber das ist auch schon alles, was wir über dieses Bauwerk wissen, und dieses Nichtwissen macht seinen Zauber aus. War es ein Observatorium? Ein Ort für Rituale? Eine Begräbnisstätte?

This is how close you get to Stonehenge when driving on the A303. The road goes right past the stones and drivers slowing down to take a look causes tailbacks as it’s the main road from London to Devon and Cornwall.

In any case, Stonehenge is a tourist attraction. It has a long tradition. The Druids were probably the first tourists to visit the stone circle. Today they are the privileged ones, because state-recognised Druids (Siri laughs wryly at the idea that there is such a thing) are allowed to visit Stonehenge for free even outside the solstices. We poor non-Druids have to pay a little more than €36 for a day ticket. ‘That’s three cocktails in the evening at our hotel!’ Klausbernd exclaims indignantly.

Auf jeden Fall ist Stonehenge eine Touristenattraktion. Das hat eine lange Tradition. Wahrscheinlich waren die Druiden die ersten Touristen, die den Steinkreis besuchten. Heute sind sie die Privilegierten, denn staatlich anerkannte Druiden (Siri lacht schief, dass es so etwas gibt) dürfen Stonehenge auch außerhalb der Sonnenwenden kostenlos besuchen. Wir armen Nicht-Druiden müssen etwas mehr als 36 € für eine Tageskarte bezahlen. “Das sind drei Cocktails am Abend in unserem Hotel!” ruft Klausbernd empört aus.

Visitors to the left of the wooden fence have parked at the official car park, bought a ticket and taken the bus “To the Stones”. We parked on the byroad, walked a few steps and saved lots of time and money. Being on the right side of the fence, we can back up from the crowds to get a different and free view.

However, our clever Siri found a way out with the resourceful Selma, because we neither felt like spending so much money nor did we want to be disturbed by the selfie-addicted crowds of tourists taking pictures or posing. We also didn’t like the visitor centre’s museum, shop and café on our last visit. As interesting as the exhibition is, the centre feels like an amusement park with a Stonehenge kitsch shop – even though Selma bought a pair of Stonehenge socks from her pocket money back then.

Unsere pfiffige Siri fand jedoch mit der findigen Selma einen Ausweg, denn wir hatten weder Lust, so viel Geld auszugeben, noch wollten wir uns von den Selfie-süchtigen Touristenmassen beim Fotografieren oder einfach nur beim Schauen stören lassen. Auch das Besucherzentrum mit Museum, Shop und Café hatte uns bei unserem letzten Besuch gestört. Dieses Zentrum, so interessant die Ausstellung auch ist, wirkt wie ein Vergnügungspark mit Stonehenge-Kitsch-Shop – auch wenn Selma sich damals von ihrem Taschengeld ein paar Stonehenge-Socken kaufte.

Our view from outside. Not bad, is it? Dina was not happy about the sunshine, but at least it was better than the buckets of rain we had on other days caused by storm Bert.

So our two fairies flew from the hotel to Stonehenge at dusk when Kb was lying in the bathtub reading and Dina was looking at her photos of the day. They discovered we could simply drive back on the A303 from London after seeing Stonehenge and then carefully turn left onto a dirt road on top of the first hill. This leads us just as close to the stones as the official tourist route. Siri and Selma saw so many old hippy buses parked on this dirt road that for a moment they thought they had lost their way and were in Avebury.

Also unsere beiden liebklugen Feen flogen in der Dämmerung, als Kb in der Badewanne lesend lag und Dina ihre Fotos des Tages betrachtete, vom Hotel aus nach Stonehenge und fanden heraus, dass wir auf der A303 von London kommend nach dem Blick auf Stonehenge einfach zurückfahren und auf dem ersten Hügel vorsichtig nach links auf einen Feldweg abbiegen sollten. Dieser führt genauso nah an die Steine heran wie der offizielle Touristenweg. Auf diesem Feldweg sahen sie so viele Alt-Hippie-Busse parken, dass sie für einen Moment glaubten sich verflogen zu haben und in Avebury zu seien.

A close up above the heads of selfie-tourists is what we would have opted for inside the fence.
You can easily reach the BOAT (byway open to all traffic) by using the postcode SP4 7DD.

Stonehenge evokes a profound sense of awe; it serves as a glimpse into the distant past — a time beyond the reach of our imagination. If you wish to touch ancient stones, which has not been allowed at Stonehenge for many years, we recommend visiting Avebury, located not far away. At Avebury, you can freely walk among the largest stone circle in Europe. Like Stonehenge, Avebury is also a World Heritage Site.

Trotz allem vermittelt Stonehenge ein Gefühl der Ehrfurcht – es ist wie ein Fenster in eine ferne Vergangenheit, in eine Zeit, an der unsere Vorstellungskraft scheitert. Wer jedoch die alten Steine berühren möchte, den empfehlen wir, das nicht so ferne Avebury zu besuchen. Dort kann man frei durch den größten Steinkreis Europas umhergehen. Avebury gehört zusammen mit Stonehenge zum Weltkulturerbe.

If you want to do something for your culture, we recommend a visit to these two stone circles.

Wer also etwas für seine Kultur tun möchte, dem empfehlen wir einen Besuch dieser beiden Steinkreise

The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂


© text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers & Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea 2024

115 thoughts

  2. Good morning from Vancouver!! A wonderful post about Stonehenge. We visited Stonehenge three times over the past 2 decades. The first time we were able to walk near and among the stones, the next visit, a few years later, there was a small barrier a few feet away from the stones. In 2023, we were kept far away from the stones. There were very few visitors on our first trip, while last year we joined thousands of visitors. I agree – that the allure of Stonehenge is enhanced by its connection to mythology and legends. Hanne, your photography is stellar! WOW!! Sending much love to our dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Dear Rebecca

      We noticed that many visitors at Stonehenge weren’t actually interested in the stones but in themselves taking selfies all the time in postures one knows from media. That was a lecture in narcissim.

      Nevertheless, as you write, Stonehenge is connected with many myths and stories that are all remembered seeing these stones.

      Lots of love to dear friends
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 4 people

    • I know exactly what you mean, Klausbernd. There were many selfie sticks evident, even I took a couple of selfies (no stick however). I think we want to be connected to something from the past. I enjoyed talking with the bus drivers that took the visitors back and forth from the visitor centre to the path to the stones. They had some great observations.

      Like

    • Good Morning, dear Rebecca

      We had quite a frost last night and now, in the morning, it’s quite cold but sunny.
      I suppose visitors at Stonehenge like that hardly anything is known about this stone circle. That gives them the freedom to project everything on this place. They become witches, druids and whatever they want to be there. And what did we become? Siri and Selma pictured themselves as Merlin’s fairies.

      The Fab Four of Cley sending the Budd-Clan hugs and kisses
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Great tip, my dear friends. Outstanding photos as always, Hanne.
    Loved reading about your adventure on the byroad.. I was not aware that you’re that close to the stones on the road from London to the West countries. Amazing? No wonder why the drivers slow down and look! They probably look for a verge big enough for a quick stop to take some photos. What is the stalk about a tunnel? Do you know why and where the tunnel is supposed to be?
    I’m glad to see you are back home safely after the storm.
    Kram
    Annalena xx

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Annalena

      The storm was quite severe in the South where we have been. The day we wanted to leave our road was blocked by a fallen down tree.

      Thanks for liking Dina’s photos 🙏 🙏 It took her lots of patience to get photos not cluttered by tourists. In the beginning, we considered photographing the tourists there but then the stones were more attractive.

      We heard about this tunnel project but don’t know any details about it. We doubt that the money is there for such a project.

      Wishing you a happy weekend
      KRAM
      🤗 🤗 🤗 🤗
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Liebe Uschi, lieber Herbert

      Stonehenge war anders früher als man noch frei zwischen den Steinen herumlaufen konnte. Jetzt wird man durch Absperrungen in Abstand gehalten, was dem Eindruck nicht zuträglich ist.

      Ganz liebe Grüße vom kalten Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  5. Good afternoon! I never heard of Avebury until just now. Thanks so much for the Enlightenment. I’ll be sure to find it if I ever visit England again. I’ve been to Stonehenge once when I was very young, so I don’t really remember it!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Hi Sally

      Avebury is better for direct contact with the stones and there are many more special places nearby like Silbury Hill and the Avebury Fairy Beeches.

      Thanks and happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Dear John

      it needs a Merlin to knock them over.
      In Avebury, some standing stones were knocked over by religious fanatics in the 18th c. because the stone circle was seen as a place for practising witchcraft.

      Thanks and we wish you an easy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks a lot for your comment, dear Fraggle.

      We know Stonehenge from these times as well. National Trust and English Heritage transformed Stonehenge into a scene park and most visitors behave like in a scene park.

      Happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  11. My visits to Stonehenge were at the time when you could park for free, walk to the stones, touch them, and lean on them. There was no shop, no exhibition. I can see the need for preservation, but not at the expense of a theme-park atmosphere. The photos were beautiful, as they always are.

    Love from Beetley, Pete. X

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Pete

      Do you have a light frost as well producing a Christmas mood already?

      We absolutely agree with you. The aim of institutions like the National Trust and English Heritage is to make money and keep themselves alive. One can see clearly at places like Stonehenge.

      Thanks for liking Dina’s photos.
      We wish you a relaxing weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  12. The last time I visited Stonehenge was from the road and it was still awesome. The fees have got to be too expensive. I would rather buy some books with the money. Winchester has many great bookstores. The photograph is amazing! The wispy clouds give it a magical look.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Darlene

      We liked staying at Winchester. We spend nearly a whole day in one of the antiquarian bookshops there. The other day we were shopping there in the nice individual shops. And, of course, we visited the grave of Jane Austen and Gormley’s sculpture in the cathedral. Siri and Selma were shocked at how uninspiring the cathedral looked from the outside.

      Thank you very much for liking Dina’s photography.
      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Jude

      yes, we know and used our NT card at former visits.
      Kb studied Stonehenge over the years when he wrote his book about England and filmed stone circles for the Swiss and German TV- well, he filmed at Avebury as he prefers this stone circle. He thinks that the Stonehenge-magic got more and more destroyed over the years. That’s the effect of commercialisation.

      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • I agree that Avebury is a much better experience, though that site is becoming very busy now too. Far preferable are the stone circles and burial chambers that are relatively unknown. There seems to be a much better sense of spirituality and history in those places.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Jude
      We absolutely agree with you.
      But we were lucky, when visiting Avebury last week there were hardly any other visitors around.
      Happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Good morning, dear Steve

      Even all the commercialisation could not rob Stonehenge of its power. It’s still a place worth visiting.
      We have been there many times and see the changes. As I wrote before, we prefer Avebury.

      We keep our fingers crossed that you will visit Stonehenge or Avebury one day
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • What would we do without our fairies?

      The Avebury stone circle is not only without fencing but there are a lot of other magic places nearby like the Fairy Beaches (wishing trees full of ribbons) and Silbury Hill. Around Avebury, there are standing stones everywhere.

      All the best
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Well, we live in an age of narcissism. You can especially see that in the behaviour of Asiatic people.

      Thanks for liking Dina’s photography 🙏 🙏
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  21. I wonder what the annual membership fee is for the Official British Society of Druids? Or a family membership? A cast-off white bedsheet would suffice for costume and, perhaps, the entire family could chant around the stones while clicking away on the cameras. Nothing spoils such places, as Stonehenge, as the now obligatory interpretive centre and cafe. Finally, £36 admission fee – I’d expect to take home a chip off one of the stones for that amount!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hi Paddy

      Becoming a Druid is not that easy. You have to know and learn a lot of old Celtic (or pseudo-Celtic) texts by heart and we think you have to know about history and healing plants and, we suppose, something else we don’t know as we are not Druids.

      We agree with you, nothing spoils such places as Stonehenge even not the magic of modern capitalism 😉

      Thanks and Cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  23. Wie ihr gesagt habt, lieber Klausbernd und das ganze Team, Stonhenge führt uns in eine ferne Vergangenheit und die Geschichte der Gratisbesucher von Stonehenge, der Druiden, habe ich immer als sehr interessant erachtet. Die Fotos sind einfach eindrücklich! Ich wünsche euch noch viele weitere tolle Ferien und preisgünstige Coctails. Lieben Gruss Martina

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Ganz herzlichen Dank, liebe Martina 🙏 🙏
      Und besonderen Dank, dass dir Dinas Fotos gefallen.

      Leider sind unsere Ferien nun vorbei, aber zu Hause ist es auch gemütlich und höchst angenehm. Die nächsten Ferien sind dann im Januar.

      Mit ganz lieben Grüßen von der heute frostigen Küste
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Klimaaktivisten bespühten Stonehenge mit orangener Farbe Mitte Juni dieses Jahres. Ob das dem Klima hilft, wagen Siri und Selma zu bezweifeln. Es wurde nicht groß darüber berichtet und alle, die wir kennen, die davon wussten, hat das gegen diese Aktivisten eingenommen, obwohl sie sich für Klimaschutz einsetzen. Nach unserer Einschätzung war das eine Aktion, die völlig daneben gegangen ist, einfach dumm geplant und durchgeführt. Das hat dem Image der Klimaschützer geschadet, die nach unserer Erfahrung nicht so geistlos aktivistisch sind. Wir halten es eher mit Greta Thunberg.

      Von dieser Aktion ist keine Spur mehr zu sehen.

      Happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  26. Great tip! I visited Stonehenge as a kid in the 70s and back then we could climb all over the monoliths. I didn’t appreciate it at the time though so would love to see it again, but as you say without the selfie takers. Maggie

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Ashley

      That has to do with history. The Druids were the first tourists who worshipped there. What was before we don’t know. As the first ones and as an organised group they have the privilege of free entrance.

      Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t honour or worship our planet. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have a climate and ecological crisis.

      Thanks for your comment.
      Wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  31. Beautiful photos! I have a black and white photo of me and my sister sitting on those stones…. your dirt road used to be a normal by-road where we pulled into a lay-by on our way to Devon – with perhaps another couple of cars… That was 50 years ago! No car park, no toilets, no gift shop and no entrance fee. Aah, the good old days! 😉It is still magical behind its fence though.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Cathy

      I can remember these times as well. That was in a way a different Stonehenge. Stonehenge for the people so to speak. But nevertheless, the commercialisation couldn’t break Stonehenge’s magic. Nowadays there are two different worlds depending on which side of the fence you are.

      Thanks for commenting 🙏 🙏
      We wish you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  32. Very nice. I have a similar set of photos from the A303 from a couple of weeks ago, but yours are much better. Does the monument get set forward and backward for Summer time?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Liebe Belana Hermine,
      Stonehenge ist schon mächtig beeindruckend. Man könnte es geradezu archetypisch nennen.
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  34. Thank you for the beautiful photos and descriptions. It’s much nicer to visit special sites such as Stonehenge without big crowds. But based on the fact that Dina was able to capture the stone assembly at least once without any people suggests that you weren’t there on a really busy day.

    I imagine it will be extremely crowded there during the upcoming winter solstice!

    Best wishes,

    Tanja

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Tanja

      we know, we were very really lucky. Usually, Stonehenge is full of tourists. Of course, we had to wait a bit until we got these pictures.

      At the winter solstice, it will be extremely crowded. Kb has once been there at a solstice, he could see only people but hardly the stones.

      Thanks for your kind comment.
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 

      Liked by 1 person

  35. Good morning from a very hot and summery eastern Australia. What a delightful ‘teaching’ post of ‘then and now’! Have been in London so many times but Stonehenge only remains known in picture and word! This Sunday lesson is greatly appreciated . . . Danke herzlich!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks a lot for your kind words. Unfortunately, it’s much too warm and sunny here as well. We very much hope for snow.
      Wherever we have been, we have visited Stonehenge several times. Therefore we saw the changes in how it is presented to the public. It has changed for the worse, unfortunately. Nevertheless, it still hasn’t lost its magic. As we wrote, we prefer Avebury which is not that commercialised.
      All the best to down under
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  37. A fun post with some history. I remember when my best friend moved to England and I went to visit her. She drove all the way to London from Canterbury and on the ride back I saw Stonehenge from the car. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Mary

      We didn’t have rain but frost at Stonehenge. The problem with photography was too hard a light. 

      Thanks for liking Dina’s pictures
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  39. Well Fab Four I am obviously late to this party and didn’t take the time to read the other comments but here are mine. First and as always Hanne’s images are wonderful, light notwithstanding. Second, of course you cleverly found a better location from which to admire and capture the site. And third, I’m hesitant to admit my ignorance but fear I am not alone…I had never heard of Avebury. I did of course check the web for information on it and am not a bit more up to speed so thank you for helping me on that front. There has been much in the news of late about Stonehenge of late, I think some further exploration has determined more about its origins so it was nice to see your post after I’d been reading about it. In any case I suppose I shall never see it first-hand so the images and insider-look from a different vantage point was wonderful. Happy holidays to all of you!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Tina

      That’s the advantage of Avebury that it isn’t that much known and that it is so big. Therefore it wouldn’t be easy to fence it off. If you approach Avebury you see standing stones everywhere. Silbury Hill is nearby and big Fairy Trees are standing on one end of the stone circle, where people still bind their clothes symbolising wishes. Avebury still has a certain magic tradition and there is life whereas Stonehenge is commerce and dead. Nevertheless, Stonehenge as an architectural ruin is more magnificent. It dominates the Salisbury plains and it is seen from quite far away. But the masses of tourists take a lot of its magic away.

      Actually, a lot of these places are so well photographed that one doesn’t need to travel which is much more ecological. Stonehenge is so much photographed that it is a challenge to photograph it in a new way. How to present Stonehenge in a new way that makes sense? Everybody knows what it looks like. Siri and Selma think the best way would be to photograph how the tourists react to seeing it.

      Thanks for your comment that made us think again about how to picture places like Stonehenge.
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  41. To walk around stone structures like these, it’s almost impossible not to get lost in the prehistory. Bruniquel Cave in France has a similar circular ring of rock–stalactites and stalagmites–but in absolute dark. What did our ancestors know?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Hi Jacqui

      You find these megalithic stone circles in a lot of places in Europe. We know Bruniquel Cave too but think that Stonehenge is the most impressive – or it is made to most impressive and iconic that most people know.

      These people had vast knowledge but a different knowledge. As they lived in other surroundings they needed a different knowledge to survive. Their knowledge wouldn’t get us far nowadays as our knowledge wouldn’t help them to survive.

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  42. The magic the book fairies bring to you and your travels/adventures is impressive… we all need to be so lucky to have such wonders around 🤠! You capture two emotions about Stonehenge with this post: the mystery and prehistoric beauty of the place ~ and the touristy feeling, which is more in line with the current modern view of places people need to see at least once in their lives. I can feel Klausbernd’s frustration with his indignant cry, ‘That’s three cocktails in the evening at our hotel!’ 😂😂😂. Priorities and a little humor keep any day flowing smoothly!

    I’ve yet to visit Stonehenge, but it is a place I hope to see, and thanks to Selma and Siri, I have more of a plan for capturing the spirit of the place. Dina’s images are fantastic and capture the spirit of the place… I especially like the landscape photo of the light and shadows with no people around and then the close-up of the bird taking in a true “birds-eye view” of this mystery. There is something inherently fascinating about this place, and you also introduced Avenbury, which I’d never heard of before. A perfect outing to get the mind thinking of the mysteries of life. I wish the Fab-Four the best during this holiday season 🍺!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Randall

      Photographing Stonehenge is not that easy because we have internalised images of this place. It’s a challenge to present it in a new way without destroying its magic.

      Kb’s way of presenting Stonehenge is documenting how people react there. It’s interesting, how tourists from different countries behave in front of these stones. F.e. most Asian people are only interested in themselves. They present themselves in poses known from media shows and take selfies. European people are different, they want to get as near to the stones as possible. We hardly ever saw black people at Stonehenge. We suppose it doesn’t mean anything to them. And then there are the American and European neo-Hippies who are dressed like they think witches would look like or they look like from the film set of Lord of the Rings.
      Actually, Stonehenge is nowadays a big screen for projections – like everything we don’t know much about it.

      We are very European 😉 therefore we prefer Avebury where we can touch the stones and experience ‘the soul of the place’. We plan our next post about Avebury (if we find time between Christmas dinners and other Xmas obligations). Especially our dear Bookfayries are Romantics and love being in direct touch with the mystery.

      We wish you a wonderful holiday time, cosy, happy and full of joy
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Yes, I kind of envision Stonehenge being something very touristy (from friends who have visited). And I do have to admit, I was disappointed not to see you, Dina, Siri, and Selma in some sort of Lord of the Rings outfit 😂! But maybe that is coming in another post!

      I do like your comment about Avebury. Anywhere I can touch and feel the history is something special… it is almost a dreamlike feeling where I fall back into history. It is one of the reasons I love walking the historical streets of Europe (especially Prague).

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Randall

      We love Prague very much at this time of the year as well. We spend several Christmas’ and New Year’s in Prague. Nürnberg is a beautiful place during the Christmas season and Zürich’s old town as well.

      Unfortunately, our Lord of the Rings outfit was in the washing machine – next time. It’s a pity there are no fairies in The Lord of the Rings but Elves, closely related to the fairies. In Tolkien’s early writings, you can find fairies. “But no Bookfayries like us”, Siri and Selma protest.

      Wishing you a cosy and happy pre-Christmas time
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

  43. Those images of Stonehenge are fabulous it has been more years than I care to count when I visited Stonehenge…no barriers and we could touch the stones and lean on them and definitely no visitors shops and the like…on my next UK visit I will try and visit Avebury which  I had never heard of before…Again wonderful images thank you for sharing 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  44. Pingback: Avebury | FabFourBlog

  45. I so enjoyed both of these posts about the great stones. Avebury wasn’t familiar to me, but Stonehenge holds a place in my heart. I visited it once at the winter solstice, and it was one of those ‘touchstone’ experiences of my life. I’m going to repost the story for this year’s solstice. Many of my readers were around for its first posting, but I can’t resist. It’s a magical place that offers up some magical experiences. I’ll be linking to both of your posts; the photos are a splendid substitution for an actual visit, and wonderfully evocative even for those who’ve been able to visit.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Linda

      thanks a lot for your kind words.
      These standing stones have their magic. There is no doubt about it. Actually, for us, all these stone circles are magic, but Stonehenge and Avebury are the most powerful and magnificent ones.

      That must be a great experience to visit Stonehenge at the winter solstice.

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  46. Pingback: Solstice ~ An Unfading Memory | The Task at Hand

  47. Also, das mit dem Kalender: Es ist natürlich kein Taschenkalender. Nicht mal ein Wandkalender! –
    Mir geht es mit vielen Orten so. Gerade Kultorte wurden und werden ja oft mit viel Bedacht gewälhlt und weitergenutzt, die Religionen wechseln (eine Mehrfachnutzung zu gleicher Zeit ist die Ausnahme…) und die Besonderheit der Orte und ihrer Geschichte rührt und macht ehrfürchtig gegenüber dem Denken und den Leistungen der Vorfahren.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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