I couldn't believe there were daffodils in full bloom outside on New Year's Day!
Our next stop was the small town of Shaftesbury. I have no idea how KLS picked this place, but it was a cute one. It had a good mix of the small town charm we loved on the Cornwall coast with a higher population base. Our Airbnb spot was a new planned neighborhood that was still within 20 minutes of the city center.
The quaint town of Shaftesbury.
The post office and bank of Shaftesbury.
The entrance to Gold Hill in Shaftesbury.
The amazing view looking down Gold Hill.
Looking back up Gold Hill.
Another thatched roof, which is incredibly expensive to replace ($140/sq.ft.)
This religious looking building seemed to have been converted to single units to condos.
More cute streets.
The highest end pizza place in town.
KLS and I ended up at another pub for dinner. She was really excited about it.
We love the pub atmosphere.
After a quiet night in Shaftesbury, KLS and I went back to Stonehenge. She was insistent that we use our free passes this trip so we got up early and were on the first bus up to the rocks. Since it was so wet, only one half of the site was still open. Foiled again! It is a curious tourist attraction. The rocks themselves spark the imagination of what they were for and how they were built. However, there is a road running right by the attraction. The official visitor's center is a mile away by bus, but you can drive yourself around via back roads to the rocks as well. Also, you can walk a couple miles via right of ways from Woodhenge, but then can't get into the site. It seems like one of those places you'd want to commune with nature at, but it really isn't in nature anymore. It is still fun though, just look at KLS' smile.
KLS at Stonehenge!
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Brody at Stonehenge!
Stonehenge!
After our quick stop, we were driving off to Bath. The Romans had built baths on the natural hot springs here. They did a really neat job of restoring the original baths while modernizing the building they were housed in. The whole city of 100,000 was a great fusion of the quaint architecture we saw in small towns combined with the modern elements a city of 100,000 needs. KLS had already been on a tour here with her friend, so we got around the city pretty quickly until we got distracted an English Premier League game in a bar.
The Roman baths.
Bath Abbey.
A random street in Bath city center.
The Circus
A cool way to show the remaining ruins with a projection so you can get a fuller idea of what something looked like.
The actual baths.
It was a cold wet day. It sure looked tempting.
Bath Abbey towering above the Roman Baths.
Who knew smelling the natural springs would lead to such mental confusion . . . or I was just wearing two Patagonia jackets and the zippers happened to fit together. I'll take option one. Be careful, kids.
Bath Abbey.
Lacock, a medieval town from the 1300s, was next up on our tour. I think most of the town is owned by the National Trust and then rented out. This town was the most preserved of all the ones that we had seen. This preservation has led it to be used in a number of movies, including Harry Potter. We spent an entire afternoon wandering the 5 or 6 streets that make up the entire town. Unfortunately, we did not make to the abbey where the first ever photograph was taken and some Hogwart's scenes were filmed for Harry Potter. More for next time in this absolutely lovely town.
Main street Lacock.
The others side of Main street.
In Harry Potter, Voldemort goes through this wooden gate on his way to Harry's house to kill Harry's parents. It appears in a flashback scene as Hagrid tells Harry about his parents fate.
A bed and breakfast.
A lovely little stream running through a lovely little village.
Delightful (with a British accent) residential Lacock.
Sign of the Angel restaurant in Lacock where KLS and I had our favorite meal in the UK yet. Tait and Chelsea would be happy to know that it might fall under the fancy meal category and we still liked it
Look at you bein' all fancy! Seems you guys picked some awesome places to check out.
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