Stonehenge, Stourhead, and Bath

Tuesday was another great day.  And just a note on our weather.  The entire trip it was perfect.  Never too hot, never too cold, and with a rain jacket and umbrella we were prepared for the rain.  

We started out on teeny tiny itsy bitsy seemingly one lane roads that people zoom by at high speeds. It boggles the mind, but proves we should never have split with the mother land if laissez faire government was our priority.  Anyway, we survived the drive and stopped first at Stonehenge. 

We arrived at Stonehenge right at opening which was great because there were no crowds yet. By the time we left there were lines and crowds and no parking.  It was kind of magical and almost felt like we had it to ourselves.  

We loved the free downloadable audio tour.  I'm such a fan of these. 

Lucy's fab shot.

Call us snobs and call us rude, but we got so many good laughs out of certain tourists using way too much gear to take ridiculous photos like this one Lucy captured on our way to the car. 

 After eating our overpriced strawberries and cherries which we bought at Stonehenge we headed to Stourhead.  The house was nice, but we were there primarily for the gardens which were spectacular.  The gardens were built to impress with their temples, cottages, grottos, views, and natural feel.  They do impress.  And just as Monday was a Harry Potter fan day this day was an Austen fan day.  Stourhead was used in the Keira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice.

Clara got to play her recital piece.

 This little duck family struggled to follow their Mama up the bank. 

I was so excited to see what was once the norm in England.  This was the only chain pull toilet I encountered on this trip.  I had to take a pic. 

 

Next we made it to Bath.  And we got into a serious scrape in the parking garage when suddenly after driving up several floors the ceiling of the parking garage got shorter and our rental van got wedged in.  It was awful.  So awful.  Ack!  Anyway, once we got the parking sorted we walked towards Pulteney Bridge. (Bath is one place Austen lived and features heavily in many of her novels, and therefore in many film adaptations of her novels.  Happy thought indeed for an Austen fan).

It was a rainy day in Bath and this installation was quite appropriate.

We got lunch at Marks and Spencers then planned to hit up the Abbey.   We stopped at the Water Is Best fountain for a traditional pic. The Abbey was closed because it was in use for Bath University graduation.  Fortunately it was to reopen at 5.    

 We went to the Roman Baths.  I've been to Bath several times, but this was a first for me.  Despite the hoards of tourist, I really enjoyed it.  And again, was a big fan of the audio tour. 

 The Pump room where Austen characters and real life character would gather to "take the waters"

Clara the bouncy wondergirl (I added video at Bleinhem in the previous post if you care to go back and view it)

 We hit up the Royal Circus and then the Royal Cresecent.  We missed Number 1 Royal Crescent, sadly, but that just leaves us another reason to go back. 

 

We made it to the Assembly Rooms which also feature heavily in Austen novels/movies.  I was ready to bust out my Austen novels.

We walked past a former residence of Jane Austen which is now the Jane Austen center and I had a chat with Mr. Bennett about how he likes to sing Viva Lyme Regis instead of Viva Las Vegas (this after inquiring about where we are from).

We made it back to the Abbey.

 Outside the Abbey we happened upon a Brexit protest.  Very interesting.  The kids braved the spikes for a good view.

We opted for a pub dinner in a village near our Airbnb.  It took AGES for the meal to come out, and we ended up eating around 9:30.  Our energizer bunny hit her limit.