Sightseeing Stonehenge and the Cotswolds
- Kaitlen Elaine
- Oct 8, 2022
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 12, 2022
I would spend days upon days in Bath, England if I could. In my opinion, there is a certain homeyness that it radiates. Bath is a vibrant city that offers so many activities for tons of people with various interests. History-buff? Perfect, Bath has tons of museums! Impulsive shopper? Sounds good, Bath has many local shops that you can buy from! Outdoor enthusiast? Well, you're in the right place, because Bath is located on the edge of 'the Cotswolds,' meaning that you are quite close to being able to explore some of the prettiest countrysides that England has to offer.
On a whim—spontaneously—l’ve decided to leave Bath, England and travel southbound to visit Stonehenge and then back up north to visit The Cotswolds before heading to over to Wales—the next destination on my current expedition around the United Kingdom and Ireland. If you've followed me along on my journey thus far, you probably have some sort of understanding of what I personally enjoy spending my time doing: writing blogs, visiting historical sites and museums, trying new restaurants and cafés, exploring nature, an—of course—people watching with a cheeky snack in one hand and an engrossing piece of literature in the other.
Travel, as well as travel writing, encompasses a lot of my personal time. If I could become a walking typewriter constantly taking note of my daily encounters, I'm confident that I would depart peacefully. I enjoy documenting my personal experiences, even if it's just documentation for myself and a handful of others (like you, who happens to be reading this right now). One of my favorite things about travel writing is that it can transport my readers into new places in time—luckily for you, today I will be guiding you through Stonehenge and the Cotswolds. If you've never been: here's your crash course. If you have been: well, you might learn something new. And, well, if you don't care: I must query, how could you not care about Stonehenge with even a morsel of curiosity?
The jaunt to Stonehenge, which sits on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England is pretty a straightforward and scenic route. It only takes around an hour and a half to make it there from Bath—giving me plenty of time to level up on DuoLingo or listen to an interesting podcast. Currently, I am listening to the "The Weirdest Thing I've Learned This Week" podcast, which, to sum up very briefly, goes over insanely weird facts and events (today I learned about 18th century prosthetics and how scientists discovered a corpse with a prothetic knife-hand)! I find it amazing how fast I can get sucked into casual conversation podcasts. At any rate, the great thing about traveling around the United Kingdom is its size. The country can quite literally fit it into the United States around 70 times, making it an easy place to tour!
Upon arriving at Stonehenge, I was overwhelmed with intense greenery and the nice, fresh scent of the Wiltshire countryside. Shuttles were being taken from the entrance point to the area where the prehistoric monuments stand. Although I had mentioned that I have visited Stonehenge before, I must say—there is something so invigorating about visiting a place that you've already visited once before. I always question whether my life experiences between my visits will impact how I experience certain places for the second time. Will I experience this place the same way that I did a few years ago? Will I admire different aspects that I didn't notice before, or will my admirations remain the same? I always find that my perspectives change throughout time, mainly due to personal growth and awareness I presume.
Stonehenge was built between 3000 and 1520 BCE and is basically a massive circular group of standing stones—apparently weighing around four tons each and stand approximately thirteen feet high. One the tops of the standing stones, most of them are accompanied with connecting horizontal stones, creating an archway-like structure. I personally find the structure incredibly fascinating, mainly because the reasoning as to why these massive stones are here is pretty mysterious.
Stonehenge is an archaeological landscape—meaning that under Stonehenge there are foundations of pre-historic villages, evidence of conducted rituals, human remains, proof of long distance travel, and thousands of years of history! It's vital to our understanding of our ancient ancestors and gives us a glimpse into their lives and beliefs. I suppose the reason that Stonehenge is so impressive is that it's unlike any other monument or "ruins."
After catching a shuttle and slowly making my way to the monuments, I thanked my shuttle-driver and hopped off my ride. Luckily, I was able to arrive just in time to join a group for a guided tour. As I followed the group of tourists from all around the world, the tour guide explained how the stones were brought and placed here from quite long distances. The 'bluestones' came from the Preseli Hills in Wales, which is over 150 miles away from the monuments, and the 'sarsens' from roughly 15 miles north of Stonehenge. How did people from five-thousand years ago transport these stones? It's hard to tell.
As we walked around the monuments, the tour guide continued explaining the various theories of Stonehenge's purposes. Was it a religious marker? Was it a massive sundial?
What if Stonehenge was built by a child-dinosaur or alien playing 'lego' with giant stones—the guide didn't mention that scenario, but what if? Honestly, I am not sure any of us will know the true answer for what Stonehenge was specifically created for, but it's fun to play around with the possibilities in your head.
I walked around the stones admiring the simple beauty of their perplexing construction. You know how some people want to read minds or see into the future? Well, I'd want to be able to travel back in time to perceive historical events—then I wouldn't be so utterly bewildered by these massive boulders. I sat on the bench near the monuments for quite some time, just relishing in Wiltshire's nature.
After venturing Stonehenge and all of it's historical glory, I hopped on a bus that would take me to the Cotswolds—excited to see more of what English countryside has to offer me.
The Cotswolds covers a huge area of southwest England, running through five counties: Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire! One of my favorite things about visiting the Cotswolds is exploring the different areas that seem to hold their own individual identities.
I visited Bourton-on-the-Water, a nice little touristy town. I'd consider Bourton-on-the-Water one of the more popular villages in the Cotswolds for its honey-colored architecture and whimsical village scenery. The town is nicknamed the "Venice of the Cotswolds," because it straddles the River Windrush—which is known for low bridges and traditional stone homes. For me, Bourton-on-the-Water captures my heart with it's interesting local events and small businesses, as well as a lot of quirky attractions! There is so much to experience in one small town; from picturesque shops, restaurants, cafes and tea rooms to eccentric places like 'The Model Village' and 'Birdland.'
The Model Village is on Rissington Road—the main road running through Bourton-on-the-Water. This miniature village is an incredibly detailed recreation of the town itself, built with the local Cotswold limestone! The village looks very authentic with its tiny trees, tiny homes, tiny people, tiny shops, tiny displays IN the tiny shop windows (yeah, this place has it all). They even added the cutest touch to this tiny town: a miniature-miniature Model Village... and inside that miniature-miniature Model Village was—well—you guessed it, ANOTHER miniature-miniature-miniature Model Village. No, I am not kidding you, they really did build a tiny Model Village of Bourton-on-the-Water within another Model Village within another Model Village (and so on). It's humorous and quite amazing!
Additionally, not that this adds any valuable information about the Cotswolds, or Bourton-on-the-Water for that matter; however, I thought it would be an amusing touch to mention that apparently the Model Village has frequent ‘cat giants’ that enjoy inhabiting the town and taking naps in the sun—I can’t say that I blame them!
Bourton-on-the-Water has so many delicious local food options; so the question I had to ask myself wasn't where am I going to eat at, but which restaurant should I eat at? I wandered around the artful town until I finally stumbled upon The Rose Tree restaurant. I have to admit, the lovely exterior attracted me; however, the food was absolutely amazing. They had a huge menu, ranging from a typical fish and chips to burgers to moroccan vegetables and lamb! Depending on what you get, I believe that the prices were pretty fair—especially for a touristy town. I ended up getting the fish and chips (because when you're in England, you kind of need to get fish and chips a few times, right?).
As I was enjoying my meal and surfing through my social medias, an Irish lady who was sitting a table over from me had ordered this interesting pudding dessert that looked amazing, so of course I had to ask what it was. No longer than five seconds later, was I ordering "sticky toffee pudding" and to my satisfaction, the pudding was quite literally the best that I've ever had. It basically melted in my mouth while I was eating it. My waiter mentioned that it was one of their best sellers and I can definitely see why!
Along with the great food, the restaurant has a great view as well. It made for a delightful meal and gratifying end to my day. I concluded my day by sitting back, relaxing, and planning out the next destination on my trip around the United Kingdom and Ireland. There are so many places that I want to visit, or even revisit, on my trip. One of my favorite things about traveling is that I am constantly learning and pushing myself out of my typical comfort zones. Three years ago, I would've never sat in a restaurant alone or wandered around various towns and cities by myself. Now, I am basically the director of my own day-by-day travel narrative. Travel has given me an important sense of responsibility and self-awareness that I will forever be grateful for!
Have you learned anything about yourself during your travels?
Comment below!
Stonehenge is on my bucket list.
You are such an active blogger. I love seeing your pictures!