Stonehenge, what can I say? | Day 226 of my 2023 Journal

“There is no way I am leaving England without seeing Stonehenge first,” my youngest child said when we did our planning day in Forest of Bowland a week(ish) before. Funny enough, you might think he would be tired of old stone circles, cathedrals, pottery, and little round marks in the ground where there might or might not have been some wood construction 6000 years ago. He is not. None of us are.

And, of course, we had to see Stonehenge. Lucky for us, our British friend Tyler had never seen it and wanted to come, so we got to have an extra day with her. I visited the Stones about 35 years ago with my mother, and back then, you just parked on the side of the road and walked up to them as far as I remember. Nowadays, it is a massive thing: A vast parking lot full of buses and a museum, and you must buy a ticket. I read a very negative review online saying it is not worth it, and you can see it from almost the same distance without paying, and not worth it anyway.

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Don't believe anyone else in general. It was worth every penny for us, and we did not feel like sheep. Even the museum was not just bling, but very informative and well made with a lot of real stuff and good explanations.

It is massive to stand on holy ground where people have been unfolding their lives, probably their spiritual lives, 10.000 years ago. People taking pictures. Languages spoken. Guided tours. One single person meditated before we joined and quadrupled the number. The flimsy here and now, both in the form of the humans and the weather such a beautiful comment on the thousands of years. Stonehenge is probably 5000 years old, still standing.

I felt the day I had with my mom there, remember touching the stone, remember the awe. Tapped right into the awe again. Felt my passing through time and enjoyed the photoshoots we did, the conversations we had, and the pace we took. I had walked there barefoot and felt the cool grass under my feet, and my tired legs and open mind, and it was beautiful.

Some landmarks have become overcrowded in a way that annoys me; Stonehenge was not one of them. And I very much appreciated the fence, as it left space for everyone to see the stones, whereas they, the rocks, would have been overcrowded with people had they been able to enter the circle.

All in all, it was beautiful to visit Stonehenge. The lunch at the parking, the barefoot walk to the stones, paying with hay on the way, talking on the way back, the quick and chaotic meal we made when we came back, and the perfect cup of tea we had in the sun as the very last thing before we drove back to Tylers place to watch a movie and have a lot of popcorn.

Love and light

Cecilie Conrad

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