Salisbury and Stonehenge

Holidays are some of the hardest times to be far away. As this winter vacation was going to be quite different than our usual traditions, we decided the best strategy would be to take a family trip rather than sitting at home. Ever since we found a place to rent in Somerset, I've had the line from the movie A Room With a View stuck in my head where one of the characters rhapsodizes, "Somerset! I've dreamed of Somerset!" 

On our way down to Somerset, we decided to stop by Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. Mike recently read the book Sarum, so he was especially curious to see it after reading 900 or so pages on the topic. We arrived during one of the blue sky moments of our trip, making the buildings and grounds stand out as especially beautiful.

My second favorite part of the cathedral is the cloisters, pictured here. My favorite part is the Chapter House, with its beautiful shape, stained glass windows, pillared ceiling and original copy of the Magna Carta on display. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed there.

I'm not sure the pictures can quite capture the grandness of it. It's amazing to think of 13th century craftsmen building such a place. What an impression it must have made on the people who had probably never seen a building above two stories.

Anya is writing her grandmother's name in the cathedral's prayer book.

Our next stop was Stonehenge, a short drive away.

It's kind of funny to me - in the background of this picture you can see a crowd of people on the left side. That is the closest spot to Stonehenge from the parking lot. If you move just yards further away, it feels like you have the place to yourself.

As many people know, Stonehenge was designed so that the winter soltice sunset and the summer soltice sunrise would be framed by the two largest stones. You can see from the sunset location that we were there only a couple of weeks off from winter solstice.

They used to have a parking lot right next to Stonehenge. They've since moved it to a non-visible spot about a 30 minute walk away. Mike and I were at Stonehenge years ago with my parents. Due to the unseasonably cold weather, strong wind, and lack of winter jackets, we all remember it as the spot where we were colder than we'd ever been in our whole lives. This time we had proper jackets and no wind, but with the December temperatures and 30 minute walk, it was still pretty darn cold. But so pretty and inspiring.