We spent our last full day in Bath exploring the surrounding hillsides and nearby towns. We visited Lacock, the home of William Henry Fox Talbot, the inventor of negative-based photography and the Lacock Abbey, a 13th-century Augustinian nunnery converted into a Tudor country house. In this very Tudor house was written the Magna Carta on which our American Constitution is based. Then the ruins of Farleigh Hungerford Castle, built by Thomas Hungerford (the first Speaker of the House of Commons) and owned by his family for three centuries. Then on to Bradford-on-Avon, a historic market town and last, but not least, the quaint town of Mells on the Mells River, with its medieval streets and stone cottages. Many movies were filmed here.
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Friday October 23, 2026
I've been to Stonehenge.
I've been to Stonehenge.
I've been to… Stonehenge.
Not in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to see Stonehenge in person, so I was beyond psyched. S and I took the 30-minute walk from the visitor centre. The strong wind at our backs, I suspect, helped us arrive a little sooner than expected. We crossed wide-open fields, and passed through a wooded area: a quiet and meditative way to prepare ourselves, both physically and mentally, for what we came to do.
To behold this sacred place, this holy burial site.
I think that may be the first time I've ever used the word behold in a sentence. Until now, I never really understood the significance of the word. Or found the right occasion to use it. Yes, this warranted it. Behold we did! I still can't wrap my mind around just how spectacular and powerful Stonehenge is—or how very, very old. And its connection to the stars and the sun. I was profoundly affected by the whole experience. I could hardly talk, it was so moving.
As we followed the circular walkway around the stones, the wind picked up speed. Taking photographs without losing our iPhones or our hats became difficult. It was also bitterly cold, and intermittent raindrops hitting our faces felt like tiny pinpricks, so cold and sharp. By now the wind was causing my eyes to tear and my nose to run. I found myself leaning into the wind just to keep my balance. The clouds overhead threatened rain at any moment, but, fortuitously waited until we made it back to the car. Earlier, we had heard on the car radio that a severe storm in Cornwall had knocked out their electricity. Perhaps we were catching the tail end of it? As we were leaving the car park, staff members were closing the heritage site to incoming visitors because of high winds. I couldn’t believe it! Not only had we seen Stonehenge, but we saw it just in the nick of time. Simply amazing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
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And that’s not all. We got into London early enough to take a walk in the neighborhood before it got dark. The Victoria & Albert Museum was close by so we went in. It’s open until 9pm on Fridays(!) There was an exhibit of the clothes worn by Freddie Mercury for his concerts placed in various rooms throughout the museum. In the tapestry room, we admired his clothes (and his tiny physique) to Bohemian Rhapsody.
Freddie Mercury rocks!