What we did:
On the third day of our trip we spend the day at Windsor Castle -- we even
saw the Queen! Windsor Castle was originally built to protect Norman
dominance around the outskirts of London. Today it is owned by the
Occupied Royal Palaces Estate on behalf of the nation, but day to day
management is by the Royal Household. Its the largest inhabited castle in
the world! In 1992 there was a fire that occurred in the castle that
almost completely destroyed the Upper Ward. The damaged rooms have been
rebuild, however. I really enjoyed touring the castle, but my favorite
part was looking at the gardens outside. I also enjoyed walking around
Windsor.
The fourth day of our trip was not in London. We took a day trip to see Stonehenge, Old Sarum, and West Kennet Long Barrow. On the way to see these we stopped in Salisbury to tour Salisbury Cathedral. While we were Salisbury Cathedral, the fire alarm went off so we had to evacuate the church. While the firemen were finding the source of the problem, we explored the town of Salisbury. After we were allowed back in the church and finished our tour, we went to Old Sarum.
Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury in England. It has evidence of human habitation as early as the Neolithic times (3000BC). Originally, it was an Iron age hill fort. The site was used by the Romans and later, the Saxons. A castle was built surrounded by a moat, but it eventually demolished. Currently it is an English Heritage property. Going to Old Sarum reminded me a lot of my trip to Ireland. Clicking here will take you to the page about my trip to Ireland.
After we visited Old Sarum, we went to Stonehenge. I was really looking forward to this because I had learned a lot about it in high school. Stonehenge is composed to earthworks surrounding a circular setting of very large standing stones. It is a Neolithic monument that contains several hundred burial mounts. The design of Stonehenge includes a celestial observatory function. Many believe it was used to view the solstice or equinox.
After visiting Stonehenge, we headed to West Kennet Long Barrow. Going here really brought back memories of my trip to Ireland. The West Kennet Long Barrow is Neolithic tomb, or barrow. It has two pairs of opposing chambers that were used for burial. West Kennet Long Barrow is dated back before Stonehenge is. It is believed that this passage tomb was in use for as long as 1000 years.
Here are a few pictures I took on day four of our trip. The first picture is of the remains at Old Sarum. The second picture is of Stonehenge. The last picture is of the entrance to the passage tomb, West Kennet Long Barrow.
If you want to know what we did on days five and six of our trip,
click here