While I had been looking forward to this place since I booked the trip to London, upon arrival, I feared the crowds would make this experience uncomfortably sterile and rushed. The wait to get on the bus to go out to the site was daunting, and we had to adjust the timing of our travel plans to Bath that evening to accommodate the extra long wait. I was less than thrilled but tried to keep a good face for my students.
The wait was worth it.
While much of our travel in London had included sites like St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and Windsor Palace which are architectural wonders within their own rights, Stonehenge could be seen as much simpler, and maybe even lackluster given the natural state of things, but I find that's why I liked it so much more. It is so clearly designed in such an elegant way, and while it has SO much history to it (and so much that we don't even know) the lack of perfected sculpture seems welcoming, familiar, and humble. I often talk about feeling my most spiritual in nature, and while I can greatly appreciate the marvel of building immense cathedrals reaching towards the heavens, for me, this captured so much more of the wonder that human beings can create. Their will to overcome obstacles, and their strength and determination to succeed is evident in each massive stone. The breeze sweeping over wide grassy fields carries away the noises of other people leaving you to contemplate how short your own personal existence is (despite being surrounded by literally hundreds of other tourists). I very easily could have spent the rest of the afternoon learning about the history of these big rocks, wandering the fields in the sunshine, and even watching other people discover their own sense of amazement, but alas, there was more too see, and never enough time to do it.
Guess I'll just have to go back :)
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| The Heel Stone |
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| The clouds were perfect that day |
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| Selfie time! |
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