|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Salisbury |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Devizes – Kennet & Avon Canal |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Stonehenge – Stonehenge, a World Heritage Site,
is a popular tourist destination, but well worth it. It's a marvel of Neolithic
construction techniques. How did they get the blue stones from Wales, over
200km away, and how did they heave those immense heavy capstones on top
of the upright stones? Other mysteries abound – was the site used for
astronomy, rituals of the sun and moon, and rites of human sacrifice on
the Slaughter Stone? |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
At Stonehenge, you walk on the grassy circular ditch around
the stones, but you can't get near them. This makes the stones seem even
more mysterious, remote, inscrutable, defying graffiti and the touch of
modern civilization. Even so, when we were there, a toddler ran out into
the grassy area next to the stones; his parents had a hard time convincing
him to get back on the path (another greasy handprint on those old stones
…). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Avebury – Stonehenge is more famous, but Avebury
is a much larger stone circle. The Neolithic stones in Avebury are sprinkled
throughout the village, and kids can touch and climb on them. We had a great
time running around the stones, spread over a large area, and having tea
in the little village. There's also small museum with artifacts and archeology. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Also, stop off to take a look at Silbury Hill, the
largest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe. Imagine piling up all that
dirt with simple tools! |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Wayland's Smithy (Ashbury, Oxfordshire) – Walk a short distance down The Ridgeway National Trail to find this Neolithic
burial chamber, constructed over 5000 years ago. The long barrow is
edged with huge, mystical-looking sarsen stones, and it's fun to hide in
the small chambers. Bring a picnic. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
White Horse (Uffington, Berkshire) – On a large
grassy hillside, a white horse is outlined in chalk, perhaps the
oldest hill figure in Britain, 3000 years old. (The chalk outlines are cleaned
regularly to keep the white horse from getting overgrown.) Close by is the
site of an ancient hill fort, Uffington Castle. Nothing remains of
the wooden fort except the earthworks, but it's a great spot, and you can
imagine Alfred the Great fighting the Danes centuries ago. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 A
short distance away, according to local legend, on Dragon Hill, St.
George fought the dragon and won. Where the dragon's blood was spilled,
no grass can grow – look for the bald spot on the hilltop. |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
Good introduction
to Stonehenge – early legends (giants or Romans built the stone
circles), how the heavy stones were moved and set in place, why
the prehistoric people built Stonehenge. Great for older kids. (Chapter
book, illustrations)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
The ancient
stones of Avebury guard a magic circlet, and it's up to four children
to look into the past, gather magic from the sacred oak, call King
Sel from Silbury Hill, find the circlet and make the stones dance.
Lovely fantasy, mixed with local color. (Chapter book)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
While
riding ponies on White Horse Hill, a child discovers a broken
coin, a golden talisman. The talisman is the key to restore the
Old Magic, vanquish the Dragon, and once again, the White Horse
and the Red Mare will ride the wind together. Local legends are
beautifully interwoven into this fantasy story. (Chapter book)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Wonderful
retelling of the story from Spenser's Faerie Queen, "in
the days when monsters and giants and fairy folk lived in England."
The Queen of the Fairies sends the Red Cross Knight on a quest to
kill the fearsome dragon. Rich, old-world illustrations. (Picture
book)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(More children's
books on other England pages) |
