The West Country

Back in the day I used to tell my English family how cold it was on the East Coast and how they had no idea what type of trials I went through to survive cold American winters. I now know that I was just the pot calling the kettle black. This weekend I went with a group of students through the West Country. Our stops were Avebury, Glastonbury, Wells, Bath, and Stonehenge. We left London early in the morning and at 4 degree’s Celsius. As we got father and father out of London, the temperature dropped more and more. Before I knew it, we were in Avebury and at 0 degree’s Celsius. ‘It’s fine’, I told myself confidently, ‘I go to school in one of the coldest places in America. You can do this!’

As we walked around the stones, I realized two things; I was glad I did not live thousands of years ago and that I had forgotten my hat.

If I had lived back in the days of ‘lets get together and drag boulders across the countryside’ I think I would be a sociopath. Some of the rocks were the size of my dream Yaris and I can imagine that they were not as fun to drive. Can you imagine spending all the time in which you were not gathering food or protecting your family from angry Saxons, dragging tons of stones to a astronomically precise point only to have to position it upright and turn it to a specific direction just in the hope of getting a better crop next year or for the Saxons to get lost on their way to your Island?

I have to give it to the poor Celtic tribes, they were resilient. Which leads me to my second realization. There is only one hat in the world that is adequate enough to make me feel warm. It is pink plaid and had ear flaps and I love it. Without it I wanted to cower in a corner to avoid the wind. But I was inspired by my (very distant) ancestors and decided to brave the weather and admire their masterpieces dotting the countryside. I was just like those brave Celts who worked rain or shine, expect it was not raining and I was not working hard.

The town of Glastonbury was really lovely and quirky and I hope to spend more time there one day. But the ruins were astonishing, not just because of their size or

obvious previous grandeur, but because of the stories that surround the place. It seemed like a hot-spot for all manner of legends and myths. We walked up to the Tor and got to see for miles around the town and myth says that we were also standing on a dragons den.

We then hoped over to Wells and arrived at the perfect moment when the sun made the front of the Cathedral sparkle. I don’t think my pictures will justify what the front of the building looked like but I hope they convey a bit of the wonder it inspired.



We got to Bath that evening and two friends and I went to the Therma Spa to try out their baths. The roof boasted a scenic pool that felt mystical because of perfectly positioned blue lights under the water and steam that rose up for several feet. We also could see the massive abbey from the water, which at night was very striking. If it had not been -3 degree’s Celsius I might have been able to enjoy the scenic view of Bath a bit longer, but my hair started to form into one big icicle. We moved to the steam rooms and enjoyed the different flavors that each room had. Our favorite ended up being Eucalyptus and Mint, which personally put me in mind of the many nights of my childhood when I got croup and my mother had to put my head over a bowl of steaming water and eucalyptus oil.

The next morning we went to the Roman Baths Museum. I have decided that no trip to the UK is complete without a trip to this site. It was amazing to see what the Romans did with the spring and what it has taught scholars about Roman culture.

We left Bath to head to Stonehenge. Our formidable landlady, who is a certified London tour guide, had warned us that Stonehenge was not impressive. In fact the word that she used was ‘disappointing.’ As we drove through the English countryside, most people dozed off and the bus got very quiet. Suddenly we turned a corner and I saw the unmistakable outline of the stones.

It was picturesque and quite how I had imaged it would be. My roommate was asleep next to me so I woke her up so that she wouldn’t miss the view. She is not one to be amazed by ancient rocks, but even she was impressed by the magnitude of the stones. We got off the bus and did the walk around the area. It was exactly like I had imaged it would be… but bigger.

At the beginning of the trip we had been told to decide for ourselves whether we thought Avebury or Stonehenge was more impressive. I can’t decide but I am glad that I got to see both. I am also glad that I live in an age where the hardest thing I will probably ever have to do is figure out how to send a package back to Amazon.com