Stonehenge

I was expecting a little more adventure out of Stonehenge.

In my mind, I imagined an empty field surrounded by trees. I would come to a clearing in the forest and find all these beautiful rocks waiting for me.

Not so. About 50 of us (or so) went on a large tour bus, and could see Stonehenge from the busy road. We parked in a large parking lot with souvenir shops. To get to Stonehenge, we had to go through a short tunnel constructed to pass under the busy road and up through.

Stonehenge is in Wiltshire, England, which is southeast of London. The drive there was beautiful, and it was really the first time I had seen the English countryside. It really is similar to in movies like Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley version). Stormy, moody, green and beautiful. The land somehow feels older than in the United States.

Unfortunately I slept for most of the two-and-a-half hour drive there and back, so I missed most of the beauty.

Stonehenge was built by people who may have been druids in about 3100 BC. The ancient people probably arranged the rocks in their infamous circular shape because of seasonal worship beliefs. Druids are now video game characters and Pitt secret society members. During the time of Stonehenge, the druids were ancient Celtic peoples who were prosecuted by Romans, partially because of human sacrifice in religious ceremonies. However, it's not certain that the peoples that built Stonehenge in three stages over a thousand years were druids.

What the historians do know is that Stonehenge was built by people who were reverent of their ancestors. The site is located on a large ancient burial ground, and some historians theorize that because of the This was an incredible feat. Some of the rocks weigh several tons and may have been shipped down river to get to the Stonehenge site. Some of the rocks have joints that have been carved out to hold the giant stones in place. The sun aligns through the rocks onto what is called the "altar stone" on the summer solstice, indicating that the people who built Stonehenge were highly in-tune with astronomical observation and the changing of the seasons.

When I first saw Stonehenge, it looked like a giant pile of rocks. As we listened to a self-guided audio tour, we made a large circle around the diameter of Stonehenge, so that we could view it from all directions. As usual in England, it was about to rain, so I was able to capture the expected images of Stonehenge underneath ominous clouds.

I took my time. As I crossed to the other side, the circular formation became more clear. It was a beautiful site, and I admit that it felt a little magical, although that was dampened by the hundreds of tourists that were with me. Of course, I got drenched in the downpour.