As we’ve seen so often this trip, the landscape changed almost immediately we changed counties. The warm stone of the Cotswolds gradually gave way to the grassy fields of Wiltshire and Somerset. The photo above was taken out the car window somewhere in Salisbury.
Just out of Amesbury we saw them- on the hill…Stonehenge. Sitting in the middle of a field with the highway roaring below them. As we pulled into the busy carpark, so did 2 tourist buses.
At the visitor centre they’ve constructed houses that are supposed to be like what the house-proud neolithic man would have lived in.
There’s also a replica of one of those stones to demonstrate just how many men would have been required to move each one. I quipped that it was the one that Eddy on Absolutely Fabulous knocked over on the fashion shoot…remember that episode?
Anyways, then we saw the entry price to go and look at the real things: 17.50 per person- $36 each in Aussie money. Sarah said it first: ‘that’s more than $100 to see some rocks.’
‘And you can’t even get near them,’ Grant added.
I wavered, but Grant came up with a compromise- an obliging sheep paddock up the road.
This meant that we had time up our sleeve for a detour down to the Dorset coast and into a place I’d always wanted to visit- Lyme Regis. The town is famous for being the setting of The French Lieutenant’s Wife, but for me it can only be where Captain Wentworth began to notice Anne Elliott again- and where Louisa Musgrove fell off the Cobb and got a concussion. I’m talking, of course, about Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
Here’s my hubby walking along the seawall above the Cobb…he didn’t fall off.
Regardless of whether you’re into the literary references, it’s a great town for fish and chips (with curry sauce) on a windy winter day. Here’s our view from lunch.
It’s also a great town to walk off your fish and chips, with a promenade along the beach.
and a look at the beach houses.
I happen to like beach houses, so here’s another pic…
There are some available for rent through the Council for 875GBP for the summer, and 130GBP for the winter. Or, if you’re especially flush with cash, you can rent one for the year at 1250GBP.
As for the beach? Well, it’s not exactly Bondi, but it has a different charm- especially on a windy winter day.
And the Cobb? Essentially it’s a breakwater, with some harbour buildings (below) and the step up to the sea wall (the pic above with my swashbuckling hubby.
Finally, a pic of my girl and I dressed for a day by the sea…
Next time: we’ll backtrack a little and I’ll show you around Bath…
And Anyways... 
Fish and chips and Jane Austen! Perfect!!!
Can’t believe Stonehendge is really that expensive to visit and can’t imagine the up close and personal vista is as impressive as seeing it from afar (in its setting)!!!
It’s interesting that the landscape is so different (makes me realise I have no idea….)
I didn’t realize they charged so much! I went as part of a tour and it was included, think you guys made the right choice.
They apparently do an early morning tour that’s limited in people numbers- & lets you get closer. I would probably pay for that.
Glad you got to visit Lyme Regis. Now you know how cold it is…in the movies they prance around in next to nothing!
Sarah’s comment about $100 to see some rocks, PRICELESS!
It sure was cold!