Stonehenge
Stone Henge Before Sunrise
MaryAnn and I bought RSC tickets many months in advance and when we knew the exact dates we were going to be in England, I wrote to the National Heritage organization and made an appointment to visit Stonehenge, or, the Stone Circle as National Heritage calls it. These appointments are for early in the morning, last one hour, and -- according to the NH website -- are restricted to *26 people* each hour. These time slots are very limited, and they fill up quickly as you can imagine.
Standing for a Long Time
The extra cost was totally worth it. During normal hours, the public is kept away from the actual stones by a small fence and security guards. During the early morning viewing, you could go right up to the Stones and touch them. Though you really aren't supposed to.
I'm not really touching the stones
Feel the Power!
Nervous that we wouldn't make our 6:45 a.m. appointment, we had left the B&B in Stratford-on-Avon at 3:30 a.m. to make the drive down to the Salisbury Plain.
The Salisbury Plain
We arrived in plenty of time, even with a quick stop for coffee on the way, and waited in the car until the guide told us we could go in. And there we were, among the Stones -- us and at *least* 26 German Neo-Pagans who had come on the bus. They were an annoying bunch but I tried to work around them to get photographs...
Stone Henge at Dawn
A touch of colour
...though it wasn't always easy as can be seen from the above photographs. I could go on about it, but my purpose is to show off my artistic photos, and anyway, MaryAnn Johanson, my travelling partner, does a much better description of the Neo-Pagan experience.
Among the Stones
Twenty-six Neo-Pagans, their backpacks and neon-bright jackets (Ha! Maybe I should refer to them as the "Neon" Pagans) presented a bit of a challenge for photographs and really, like a limited budget, forced me to be a bit more creative in my photographs.
View through the Stones
or to use some of them in the photos:
Dreaming among the Stones
I took well over 300 photos in our hour at Stonehenge. And what was my reaction? Well, it's... Stonehenge. Sort of like my reaction to the Mona Lisa -- it's so famous, so big and so familiar, yet strange all at the same time, that it's difficult to have any immediate reaction. It's only later, when we were having our tea in Salisbury that the reaction comes over you.
Puzzlement. What was it made for? Amazement. I've actually travelled to England and stood among the Stones at Stonehenge. Regret. I wish I'd been able to stay longer and pay more attention.
The Stones and Me
Relief: At least I have photographs. I will post more in the future, when I know which ones will be for sale.
The one and only
Comments
Fantastic pictures, Bonnie-Ann! I'm feelin' the power.
Posted by: Anne-Kari | November 28, 2008 8:03 PM
thanks anne-kari. it's one of those things that really sticks in your head. next visit -- Avebury and Woodhenge!
Posted by: bonnie-ann black | December 3, 2008 2:20 PM
Those are GORGEOUS!!! I am so jealous. And I love your four stages of Stonehenge withdrawal. :)
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