Day 5 - December 9, 2006: Winchester, Stonehenge, Bath
It's Saturday and we couldn't find a room in London for the weekend (because of the Chelsea-Arsenal match),
so we decided to go on a tour of Winchester and Stonehenge and an overnight stay in Bath before heading
to Birmingham for the Beautiful South concert tomorrow.
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The arrangement by Evan Evans Tour for our pickup was messy. We were expecting a coach but got a taxi instead.
The taxi driver only knew we were supposed to get to Victoria Coach Station by eight, so we skipped the hotel breakfast, but the
Evan Evans booth there didn't even open until nine. We got on the bus at about 9:30am.
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The statue of Alfred the Great facing the hill in Winchester - the capital of England during Saxon rule.
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Part of Winchester Cathedral, which was started in 1079. Between 1906-1912, a diver named William Walker worked six hours a day
in total darkness to put 115,000 concrete blocks and 900,000 bricks into place to replace the waterlogged foundations of the
cathedral, saving it from collapse.
Jane Austen was also buried here somewhere.
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Forgot what this was, but it might be the site of an old well.
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Our coach was only stopping in Winchester for forty five minutes. My wife wanted to take it easy, so she just
did some shopping nearby the pickup point. I really wanted to see as much as I could, so I ran up the main street
with a camera and took some pictures.
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The Great Hall at the top of the hill is the only surviving section of Winchester Castle.
It was rebuilt in the 13th century.
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The stained glass windows carry the coat of arms of medieval kings and nobles.
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The main attraction inside the Great Hall is this fake King Arthur's Round Table.
It only dates back to the 13th century - sort of a medieval prank.
It was repainted for Henry VIII and has been hanging here since 1463.
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After Winchester, our next stop was Stonehenge.
Early ideas about Stonehenge has linked it to the Romans, King Arthur, Merlin the magician, the Danes and Celtic druids,
but carbon dating has shown that it predates all of them.
Construction started some 5000 years ago and continued in three main stages over the course of the next 1500 years.
Today, it seems nobody can agree who, why or by whom it was built.
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Some scenery on the way to Bath.
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Sorry about the blur picture, but I really wanted to show you this.
When Alfred the Great defeated the Danes at the Battle of Ashdown, his men cleared the turf from this limestone hill in the shape of
a white horse to announce their victory to the people. It spans nearly an acre and can be seen from many miles away.
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After a long journey, the valley city of Bath came suddenly into view.
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Like London, Bath was built by the Romans.
They found some hot springs here which made them very happy because it allowed them to build Roman baths.
Since then, the original city has been sacked and destroyed by the Saxons and then by the Normans.
In the 1800's, the Roman baths were uncovered by archaeology and restored to their former glory -
or at least, an interesting stop for tourists.
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We came out of the Roman baths in time to catch a few more photos of the city before it got dark.
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>>> Day 6: Birmingham
