Stonehenge, Avebury, and the Cotswolds

Yesterday we took a Mad Max tour (recommended by Rick Steves) to Stonehenge, Avebury, and the Cotswolds. It was an all-day tour on a little mini-bus. First stop was Stonehenge (before all the big tour busses got there). It was interesting to see just how big the stones are compared to other stone circles.

Next we headed toward Avebury but stopped to see two of the white horses carved on the hillside. These horses are only several hundred years old, so somewhat modern. But still no one knows why they were carved in the hillside. Apparently there is chalk underlying the Salisbury plain which you can easily expose if you remove the topsoil layer. Same chalk as the cliffs of Dover. Apparently it makes very fertile soil. That plus quartz flint (to make arrowheads) is why early people settled here.

Next stop was Avebury. It’s so much larger than Stonehenge. It has a village in the middle of it. We only saw about 1/4 of the stones in our time there. There are still huge embankments all the way around that they dug by hand.

Next we traveled to the Cotswolds where lots of films are made. In the village of Lacock they filmed some Harry Potter scenes, some Downton Abbey, some of the original Dr Doolittle, and some 1917. The family who owned most of the town gave it over to the National Trust in 1944, so the houses (built from the 13th—17th centuries) can’t be modified, which makes it a perfect setting for period films.

Last village was Castle Combe. They filmed some of Warhorse there. It’s very picturesque. Apparently they tore down the Castle long ago but left the manor house which is now a swanky hotel. They have a 100+ year old giant sequoia planted in the lawn for some reason (Victorians and their specimen trees) and it’s thriving.

When we got back into town we went to eat at The Circus. David had rabbit and pancetta pie and he said the pastry crust was amazing. We both loved the tiny book for desserts (or puddings).

Today we took the train to York. Actually we took the train part way there and got off in Birmingham to switch trains to York. So, we can say we went to Birmingham on our vacation if only for 30 minutes or so! When we got to York we settled into our Airbnb, then decided to go watch Downton Abbey at the theater next door (literally across the street from where we are staying). Tiny theater (we had to reserve our couch) but fun to watch a British movie with British people! And they had a full menu of food you could order and they’d bring it to you during the previews. We had hamburgers and fries (their in-house restaurant is called Spielburgers).