Day 3 - May 30 - Salisbury to Glastonbury

Before leaving The Homestead, we shot a photo of their lovely layered garden which I have included here. We then went up the road and visited an iron-age fort known as Figsbury Ring. It's a nice morning walk around the ring with a great view of Salisbury and also of the local livestock. Alas the morning was too foggy to take any photographs. There is also a Roman Road which runs north of the ring and behind The Homestead. We did not visit it however.

We headed for Salisbury via Pitton and took some interesting country roads. These are technically two-lane roads, but from the photo you can see that there is barely enough room for a single car. If another car happens to be coming from the other way, someone has to find the nearest pullout (perhaps having to back-up to get to it) and let the other car pass.

We finally found our way to Salisbury and parked in one of the public car parks at the cathedral. The cathedral is being renovated and the finished portions look very good. We had researched Salisbury beforehand and took a walking tour suggested in the Lonely Planet guide. It turned out to be an enjoyable expedition. On the cathedral grounds we saw the biggest rhododendron trees we've ever seen, in full bloom. We would see them again in our travels, but this was our first encounter with these giants.
We had hoped to have lunch in a particular cafe but were informed that they were closing down and had no food. We settled for Burger King, which wasn't a bad second choice.

After Salisbury, we headed for Old Sarum, the original site of the town and castle. This is only about a mile and a half north of Salisbury on the A345. Old Sarum is a really big circle fortress. It's mostly in ruins, but the sheer size of it is awesome.


Garden at 'The
Homestead' B&B
nr. Salisbury
A typical
2-lane C road
Salisbury
Cathedral
Four views of
Salisbury
Old Sarum
n. of Salisbury
Old Sarum

Leaving Old Sarum, our next stop was Glastonbury. There isn't a direct route from the Salisbury Plain to Glastonbury and this is where a map or atlas is an absolute must for the tourist. We made our way to Glastonbury and parked in the public car park just outside the cathedral grounds. For Sonya and myself, Glastonbury Cathedral is one of those places where an undefined old feeling of 'been here before' occurs. Actually there are several places in Britain where this feeling occurs, but it is particularly strong at Glastonbury. It is not explainable. The cathedral itself is little more than a ruin but covers several acres. The experience is enjoyable and peaceful (unless you come during one of the festivals).
By the time we were ready to leave the cathedral, it was late afternoon and we enquired at several hotels in town. All of them were either full up or the rates were unreasonable, so we headed back to the east on the A361 hoping to find a B&B. Instead we found The Lion at Pennard, a hotel with very reasonable rates. The Lion also has an excellent dining room, which we photographed.


Glastonbury
Abbey
Glastonbury
Abbey
Glastonbury
Abbey
The Lion
at Pennard
nr. Glastonbury
Interior view
of The Lion
The Lion sign

Day 1London to Devizes Day 8Anglesey and Holy Island, Wales
Day 2Wiltshire Day 9Beaumaris (Anglesey) to Chester, England
Day 3Salisbury to Glastonbury Day 10Fountains Abbey
Day 4Glastonbury to Tintagel Day 11Chester's Roman Fort - Hadrian's Wall
Day 5Tintern Abbey to Arthur's Stone Day 12Edinburgh, Scotland
Day 6Hay-on-Wye, Powys Wales Day 13Sherwood Forest to Oxfordshire
Day 7Carreg Cennan to Caernarfon Day 14Windsor and Windsor Great Park

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