Stonehenge and Salisbury

We drove to Salisbury after visiting Stonehenge. Thanks to the England travel book that Em and Mike got me for my last birthday that we were able to find our way easily in Salisbury and Cambridge. Behind us is Mompesson House, built by a wealthy merchant, Richard Mompesson, in 1701 (buried in Salisbury Cathedral, you will see a pic of his tomb later). This house was used in the film Sense and Sensibility.

Surrounding the Salisbury Cathedral is this patch of lawn called the Close. Around the Close are old houses with Georgian facades.



Front of the Salisbury Cathedral



Ba took this great picture for us. He is actually pretty good at taking pictures despite claiming that he is tech-phobic. This side of the Cathedral is under refurbishment.

Shaking hands with the Madonna.

Collected some daisies for my daisy chain but was in a hurry to see the Magna Carta (King John I's Magna Carta dated 1215AD, a forerunner to the UK Bill of Rights, and the US Constitution, one of the most significant early influence on the development of constitutional law, my least favourite subject at uni). The Magna Carta (written on a piece of calf skin) was amazingly well-preserved. Another original copy is in the British Library in London. Garry insisted that I threw away my daisies in case I got into trouble with the Cathedral guards.

Took this picture for a good friend of mine (Nateecha). Daisies always reminds me of her! She loves taking pictures of daisies (lots of wild daisies in London), they remind her of her cute dog in Bangkok named Daisy.

Main aisle inside the Cathedral

Glass prism (showing the Cathedral spire) donated by Laurence Whistler in memory of his brother, Rex Whistler, an artist who lived in the Cathedral for many years before he died.

Tomb of Richard Mompesson and his wife. He was the one who built the Mompesson House (pic above).

Functioning clock dating from 1386 inside the Cathedral, one of the oldest in Europe. The rotating wheel is connected to a bell in the spire of the Cathedral.

Reflection of the ceiling on the water.

River Avon - we saw a mother duck feeding her baby duckling (beak to beak feeding)

The North Gate

Band playing Irish music.

Salisbury reminded us a lot of home (Fremantle)!

Sat (2 Jun 07) - At Stonehenge with Ba and Mum. I thought I would be able to hug one of the rocks but they were all fenced off. We could only walk around them.

Took us about two hours to drive from London to see these couple of rocks. I guess it was worth the drive to witness this ancient monument (about 5000 years old), which is probably the most outstanding prehistoric monument in the British Isles.

There have been many theories of what Stonehenge was used for. Some believed it was used to tell the time and some thought it was a burial ground. No definitive answer was found.

I like this pic of Garry, it looks like he was superimposed onto the background. Garry thinks my photography skills are improving slightly. Thanks to Klinkers' photography tips!

What else can you see at Stonehenge? Lots of sheep!



A lone rock!

What Stonehenge would have looked like many thousands of years ago!

Burial mounds in the landscape where they buried their leaders.