Whatever happened to me?: U.K. Trip Anniversary Posts

The Avebury Stone Circle and Wisley,

the Disneyland of Gardens!

[Photo taken at RHS Wisley]

By the eighth day it was starting to settle in on us that our week was drawing to a close. Our weather in the morning was a leftover from the previous day. It appeared we might experience overcast skies but as the day went on and we moved farther South, it became gloriously sunny and clear! What a gift. Our original itinerary for the day included a private garden in Windsor, but do to a family emergency, they were not in the best state to accept visitors. This was an unfortunate turn of events (more for their family than anyone) but it meant we had more time to spend at Wisley. Even at that... it was not nearly enough! What a place!

But first... let's get onto the coach and proceed to Wiltshire and the Avebury Stone Circle. There are a lot of weird things in the Wiltshire area... Avebury, Stonehenge, some mounds and land carvings. Since the soil is so chalky (the paths were glistening white), the carved out areas show up for miles (and from the sky). The sight of them poses more questions than answers.

The first indication we are nearing a land of mysteries ... not the usual to see a mound such as this near the highway (although one can see Indian burial grounds in the Southwest).

We've gotten off the coach and are walking down a hill to the village of Avebury. It's quite small with a church, some shops and access to the stone circle. Despite taking care, I took a souvenir back to the coach park on my shoes, since we had to walk through sheep and cow pastures to get up close to the stones and access the viewpoint. ;-) A very friendly kitty cat came out to greet us as we walked the path to the village. :-) I suspect it was an opportunistic little kitty, who knew the nature of tourists and had mostly had good experiences, such as this one with Angie (and me, when I wasn't taking pictures). I love cats.

The color of Mimi's jacket looked so great in the pictures. :-) A few people ducked into this little shop for a look around.

That little bent up bit of wire to your right is the gate you enter to see the stone circle... very unpretentious. :-)

I think it's time to drop in a little history on this place...

Avebury is the site of an ancient monument consisting of a large henge, several stone circles, stone avenues and barrows, surrounding the village of Avebury in the English county of Wiltshire. It is one of the finest and largest Neolithic monuments in Europe, about 5,000 years old. Although older than themegalithic stages of Stonehenge 32 kilometres (20 mi) to the south, the two monuments are broadly contemporary overall. Avebury is roughly midway between the towns of Marlborough and Calne, just off the main A4 road on the northbound A4361 towards Wroughton. Avebury is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, a World Heritage Site, and a National Trust property.

This next bit is interesting...

Avebury is seen as a spiritual centre by many who profess beliefs such as Paganism, Wicca, and Druidry; for some it is regarded more highly thanStonehenge. The pagan festivals all attract visitors, and the summer solstice especially draws increasingly large crowds. Avebury is said to stand on the St Michael ley line, an alignment that is said to run across England from Cornwall to East Anglia.

The question of access to the site at certain times of the year has been controversial and The National Trust, who steward and protect the site, have been in dialogue with a number of groups. Neo-Druids call the site Caer Abiri.

The Red Lion public house in Avebury is rumoured to be one of the most haunted pubs in England.

The church

The circle is surrounded by this dip and change of grade.

Angie walked back on the uphill side of what is seen in the previous photo and someone joked with her about flying with some nearby soaring birds (it was very windy there). This makes me smile. :-)

Driving through a village as we proceed to Wisley.

You know you're about to experience something special when you see a couple of creations as the ones below... constructed of frames that are filled with impatiens and strung with irrigation drip hoses. They were stunning! You've arrived. :-) It was truly a veritable Disneyland for gardeners and a few hours are not nearly enough time. The place is huge, with so many types of gardens to see. I never entered the glasshouse ... that's a whole 'nother world in and of itself! Here's some info from Wikipedia (this is for me as much as anyone):

The Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Wisley in the English county of Surrey south of London, is one of the three most visited paid gardens in the United Kingdom alongside Kew Gardens and Alnwick Garden. It is one of four public gardens run by the Society, the others being Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall and Rosemoor.

Wisley was founded by Victorian businessman and RHS member George Ferguson Wilson, who purchased a 60 acre (243,000 m²) site in 1878. He established the "Oakwood Experimental Garden" on part of the site, where he attempted to "make difficult plants grow successfully". Wilson died in 1902 and Oakwood (which was also known as Glebe Farm) was purchased by Sir Thomas Hanbury, the creator of the celebrated garden La Mortola on the Italian Riviera. He gifted both sites to the RHS the following year. Since then Wisley has developed steadily and it is now is a large and diverse garden covering 240 acres (971,000 m²). In addition to numerous formal and informal decorative gardens, several glasshouses and an extensivearboretum, it includes small scale "model gardens" which are intended to show visitors what they can achieve in their own gardens, and a trials field where new cultivars are assessed.

The laboratory, for both scientific research and training, was originally opened in 1907, but proved inadequate. It was expanded and its exterior was rebuilt during World War I. It was made a Grade II Listed building in 1985.

Visitor numbers increased significantly from 5,250 in 1905, to 11,000 in 1908, 48,000 in the late 1920s, and 170,000 in 1957, and passed 400,000 in 1978, 500,000 in 1985, and 600,000 in 1987.

In April 2005 Alan Titchmarsh cut the turf to mark the start of construction of the Bicentenary Glasshouse. This major new feature covers three quarters of an acre (3,000 m²) and overlooks a new lake built at the same time. It is divided into three main planting zones representing desert, tropical and temperate climates. It was budgeted at £7.7 million and opened June 26, 2007.

Not a great photo... but the beginning of our adventure.

Chris taking a break to enjoy the meadow and review her photos so far.

Are your legs tired yet? ;-)

Joe Binetti waiting, while we organize for a group photo.

There was an inside joke on this one of Ray with the "Big-A-- Aster." ;-)

[Next two photos taken by Joe Binetti]

Arlene checking out the cleome (an old fashioned annual). While we were waiting at the airport, we somehow started talking about families and she'd mentioned that they had a couple children born on the same day as herself (I hope I got the numbers right). Ron has a similar scenario with being born on his mother's birthday. Being the curious sort, I asked her which day that was for their family? She said, "May 31st." =:o That's my birthday too! It was so weird.

This planting was spectacular (Chris reviewing her photo).

Joe Binetti took this one...

Not the sort of oxalis one weeds out of the flowerbed!

Colorful, in a sinister sort of way.

I experienced "mushy peas" with lunch and they were delicious! :-)

Angie had a knack for finding beautiful dish towels.

This looked even neater in person... the sun highlighted this huge stand of verbena bonariensis. We are going back to the coach and a different hotel in London.

Our first view of the River Thames, in London.

The view from our hotel room window.

This was the first time I saw a telephone in a hotel bathroom. AND... there was a speaker in there that connected to the television. That's fine unless a roommate turns it on and you had no idea your bathroom was wired for sound. =:o Hearing a man's voice in the loo is not what you expect (BBC News).