Tuesday marked our second trip outside the constant rumble of central London.  This time our destinations were Avebury and Salisbury, about 2 hours due west of London.

Avebury boasts one of the largest henges in England… think Stonehenge, but about 4 times the size (according to Wikipedia), older, and interactive.  In fact, much of the village of Avebury lies within the henge.  We had about 90 minutes to explore the area which, given the blustery conditions, was probably sufficient as several people ended up exploring the medieval church or hanging out in the souvenir shop.  The hardier souls walked the entire 1 mile circumference of the henge interspersed with frolicking in the grass and photo ops “pushing over” the stones.

Shortly after noon we loaded up the coach and made our way through the verdant English countryside to Salisbury.  The tallest church spire in England is perched atop the Salisbury Cathedral.  Peppered with many other historic sites and one of the oldest continuous markets in England, Salisbury had plenty to offer.  Among the afternoon activities were:  trekking to Old Sarum, a hilltop fort and the original sight of the city of Salisbury; climbing the Cathedral’s 400 foot (well, most of the way) spire; and an impromptu football match on a lovely pitch near the Cathedral.  If you score football by the number of times the ball passes between the posts then I suppose Cody’s team (comprising him, Jenna, Lindsey and Jenni) won.  If, on the other hand, you score by possession time and the number of completed passes then I submit that Team Laura/Kat/Jerry were victorious.

(today’s photos courtesy of Lindsey and Jerry)