England 1

A full on 48 hours of travel took us from Singapore to London via Zurich, then by car to the south to see the world heritage listed Salisbury Cathedral and Stone Henge sites. With nothing but a map of the whole country to go by, we navigated south to Salisbury, marvelling at the picture postcard English scenery and cursing the lack of signage. We encountered traffic reduced to a standstill on narrow country roads (that were major enough to be listed on our map) and took too long to find the cathedral so missed the prepaid tower tour booked over the Internet. However, we still guided ourselves through the cathedral and viewed one of four original Magna Carta documents, in amazing condition, so all was not lost.

Where the Magna Carta is housed - no photography allowed.

Salisbury Cathedral cloisters.

Oldest working medieval clock in the world.

Me, next to one of the many sarcophaguses in the cathedral.

The magnificent Salisbury Cathedral. Tallest spire in the UK.

Having been told that it was a mere 20 min trip to Stone Henge we set out early, allowing one hour so that we wouldn't miss our 3:00pm Internet booking! Murthy was present, however, and we struck traffic jams, narrow major roads and the English lack of road signs which all combined to prevent our journey being easy. At 3:02 we finally pulled into the S.H. Car park, weary and frazzled.

By now the chill was settling in and the warmth of Singapore was forgotten as the 13 degree air seeped through our thin clothing. But all was forgotten when we saw the monoliths. It was a breath taking sight and it was hard to comprehend the age of the place...a mere 5000 years old. A brilliant audio guide, clutched to our ears as headphones were not provided, made the experience so much better.

Peter, feeling the cold!

Believe it or not, there were hundred of people there.

A spectacular site.

The day ended near Bath where we found our accommodation - an old establishment overlooking rolling green hills, not unlike the Yarra Valley. Too tired to seek out food anywhere else, we ate at the hotel, enjoying roast pork with mountains of veges! To top it all off, a charming young French waiter, the doppelgänger of son-in-law Daniel, made the night very special with his lovely manner and chatty nature.

Now for sleep!