Saturday, February 26, 2011

...take 5: Summer 2011 - (details will be continually updated)

Just decided a few days ago (late for us) to try and put together a summer trip... it will bring us to England for a few days in the countryside, before going into London.



And we've confirmed our reservation, the stop out in the country will be in Wiltshire at The Bowood Hotel. ...located between Derry Hill & Calne... on the grounds of the old Bowood Estate (dating back to the late 1800's).
Have yet to decide on the hotel in London.

Then we travel to Southampton to pick up a Regent Seven Seas cruise on the Voyager - 'Connoisseur's Europe' stopping in these ports...


We will be traveling with our cruising friends from the UK, Stephen & Brenda.. they've decided to come along.. their cabin will be right across the passageway from ours.
The cruise for us will finish up in Monte Carlo, where we plan to spend an additional few days, somewhere in the area (maybe up in Provence...haven't spent much time there yet).


While in the English countryside for a few days we hope to be able to make our way to one or more of the crop circles that still might be available for viewing. The formal touring season pretty much ends in early August, as farmers work their crops and clear the fields... but more of them are starting to keep formations longer, available for folks to see... like this farm manager did at Little Durnford Farms. 

 Then there is a visit to Avebury.
Avebury lies at the heart of England's most ancient and mysterious countryside. Records of human activity here date back thousands of years. Avebury is the site of Europe's largest stone circle or, to be more precise, several stone circles, dating from between 4,000BC and 2400BC. These stones were erected up to 2000years before Stonehenge.

Originally three medieval cottages, the building now The Henge Shop was enlarged and heightened in the seventeenth century. Thatched until the early twentieth century and constructed of sarsen stone, chalk blocks and brick, and has served as the village post office and fire station in the past.
Within one of the stone circles at Avebury is the Red Lion Pub, one of the most haunted pubs in England. The building dates back to the early 1600s, and was a farmhouse until 1802, when it acquired a license and became a coaching inn.
There have been reports of at least five different ghosts at the Red Lion and a large amount of paranormal activity recorded here over the years.
The Red Lion has been voted as one of the top ten most haunted pubs in the world.

Posted by at 5:27 PM