Sidestep to Stonehenge and Bath

For a little trip out of the city and a bit of festive fun we joined a coach tour with 50 others to visit the mighty Stonehenge and Bath. Our guide Liz was lovely, and although conscious of talking a lot, she talked a lot. She told some interesting tales of the theories on Stonhenge (whether it be from aliens or a sun temple for the druids or a calendar to mark the passings of the shortest and longest days) and of various famous people and buildings of Bath.

Stonehenge was reasonably interesting and a must do but it was mighty chilly and you couldn't get very close. It was impressive to think that people had to drag these stones from afar and lever them into position but the site lacked modern facilities and a good cafe to sit and look at the stones from!

Bath was very pretty and with a Christmas Market in full swing it was buzzing with people. We visited the Roman Baths and sampled some hot spiced apple beverages and Si had his first Cornish Pasty of England. The pics of us are with audio guides - we are not just trying to look like we have mates who rung us!














Was Stonehenge built by little green man from another planet? Or did it function as some sort of cosmic calendar for druids? One thing is certain: Stonehenge is a really underwhelming tourist attraction.

Don't get me wrong, I feel privileged to have visited such a famous, historic site, and it makes for some pretty cool photos. But at the end of the day Stonehenge is just a pile of rocks in a paddock, in the middle of nowhere.

Bath was nice, and we picked a really brilliant day weather-wise for our little tour. It was frosty, but at least it was sunny. Bath was a hive of activity due to the Christmas markets, but we did manage to get a pretty good feel for the place.

Without getting bogged-down in its history, Bath is a city in Somerset, west of London and not far from Wales (we could actually see Wales in the distance as we drove out of Bath). It's built around some hot springs that are supposed to have healing qualities. The Romans built baths in Bath, and historically it has been a popular place for royalty and the very wealthy to visit.

For more pics of Stonhenege and Bath click here