Saturday 5 September 2015

Amesbury, Wiltshire


CC image by Rod Allday
 I was looking forward to Amesbury Abbey. But although we visited on a Saturday, it was shut up tight, looking as though it was never open, and without a notice in sight. This was very disappointing, as there's supposed to be part of a Saxon cross inside, and the building itself looks very ancient interesting from the outside. The church's website says 'Visitors Always Welcome' but perhaps they didn't mean visitors inside. We felt a bit miffed. As B pointed out, what if we'd been after a bit of Sanctuary? And we'd have bunged them a quid or two. The road from Amesbury to Stonehenge and beyond was absolutely stationary and solid with cars, and the town itself was bustling. It seems strange not to funnel a few stray tourists into the church.

I can't even find a picture of the cross anywhere, which has miffed me further.

But to make up for it we walked down to the nearby River Avon and watched the water go under the bridge, and quacked at the ducks. The River Avon's been there a lot longer than the church, and as I tried to explain to B, as archaeologists would have it, is important in the whole Stonehenge - Durrington ritual summer winter life death thing that they've made up   surmised from the evidence.

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