Avebury

Today we left as soon as we knew that Kate was home from hospital and asleep and after the Meteors had finished disposing of WA. We paused briefly to look from a distance at the Cherhill White Horse - which I later discovered was cut in the late 18th century by a local worthy known as "the Mad Doctor".

Shortly after we arrived at Avebury. It boasts the remains of two stone circles inside the remains of a bigger circle inside a huge mound and ditch. Also in the middle is the village of Avebury and Avebury manor. The historical inhabitants of this village are largely responsible for doing their best to variously knock down and break up the stones. The archaeologist owner of the manor in the 30s appears to have saved and repaired some of it. Also nearby is Silbury Hill (not a hill but a huge man-made mound) and the longest barrow in Britain.  In short, this is an extraordinary Neolithic landscape. (Are you bored yet? You don't have to read this you know.)

Toilet break took priority - so we headed for the museum - which was housed in an historic thatched barn. They were in the middle of rethatching it, which was fascinating. I'd describe the process in detail - but I sense your attention waning - so here is a picture instead. 

We had, as usual, arranged great weather, and the countryside was beautiful. Avoiding the sheep droppings we wandered about.

Having established that the stones were indeed very big, and that Neolithic Britons did a lot of digging and rock lifting, and that, yes, there were circles - we headed off to the village for lunch and the National Trust shop for a shop. (If various civilisations had spent more time building baths, roads and sewers - and less time arranging giant stones in patterns and digging ditches - we might have been able to avoid the need to admire the Romans all the time.)

We next went to watch the short film about why we should go into Avebury Manor. It turns out that the BBC did a show called 'The Manor Reborn'. Avebury Manor was National Trustworthy, but pretty empty. Would the NT mind if the BBC refurnished the rooms (one each episode) with replica furniture and decoration from different periods in the history of the house - Tudor to 1939? The gardens got done too. The NT was chuffed and has been showing it off ever since - with the usual help of regiments of volunteer spry old ladies and old duffers.

The Tudor bed was very comfortable. We listened to Chamberlain declare war while sitting in the sitting room. I played snooker in the snooker room. Then we had tea and cake in the award-winning tearooms while listening to 1920s music.

It was by now rather cold and damp, so we checked out the beautiful village church with its Saxon font etc.

We were not up to traveling on to Stonehenge or climbing hills to look inside barrows. All done up really.

Tomorrow we leave beautiful Wiltshire and it is off to nearby Dorset. Perhaps we can face Stonehenge on the way. England is playing Montenegro in Football tonight. If they lose I think I'll be safe from further cricket jibes.