London, Day Three: Salisbury

Yesterday we awoke tolerably early, at about eight thirty, had breakfast, and hopped the train to Salisbury. On our way to the train station, the underground was inexplicably host to gaggles of cosplayers! Turns out there was an Anime convention in town! It was really exciting to see the normal masses of people punctuated with garishly costumed kids in bright wigs.

The train ride to Salisbury was only an hour and a half, so we were in town before we knew it. We had a hell of a time finding the tourism office, but once we managed to buy a ticket, we were on our way to Stonehenge. It really was mystical looking, despite being surrounded by crowds. It was a stormy, drizzly day, and ravens were perched everywhere across the grounds and on the stones themselves. One can see why early archeologists thought it was a place of sacrifices.

On the bus ride back to Salisbury, we also got to see a crop circle, the first in England. It was fading a bit, but someone (or something) had flattened a wheel shape into a field of yellow flowers. It was quite beautiful.

From there we went to the St. Thomas Beckett church, which hosts some of the oldest remaining heraldry insignias in England, along with a recently rediscovered painting of the Divine Judgment. It was amazing to sit in a church that was over a thousand years old, yet still in active use. Right under Queen Elizabeth I’s heraldry, marked as dating from the 17th century, was a playpen for younger children’s Sunday school. We just simply don’t have enough history in America for such things to occur.

Today, we’re off to Bristol and Glastonbury. I can’t wait to see the supposed burial place of King Arthur!