The first place I went to was a direct result of the travel bug that hit me at the conclusion of my Barcelona trip. Since then, I have gone somewhere almsot every weekend I have had off except when I was forced to stay home and finish an essay for university. I decided to hop on a train and smell my way to a place called Salisbury in the South-West of England. This place is one of the oldest towns in England, and was the place where the Barons swore allegiance to William the Conquerer following the battle of Hastings in 1066. It is very old. This was the first time I had actually been able to explore a real English town. I found it absolutely incredible that almost EVERYTHING in this place was older than both of my countries COMBINED. What was also interesting was the way people used and lived in buildings and on sites that were so old, and in some cases (especially one building that had been standing since 1206) the original building. It was really very curious from an archaeology perspective :p
One of the main reasons for my visit to Salisbury was the amazing Cathedral there. It has the 4th tallest spire in Europe, and was the first Cathedral I have seen on this trip. It was quite awe inspiring to say the least, and I spent a long time walking around the grounds and reading all the gravestones and internments.
There was also a great many war memorials in the Cathedral itself, specifically from the Boer Wars in South Africa. I suppose the regiment from the area must have been heavily involved. In fact, the countryside around Salisbury used to be the major training grounds for the Allied forces in preperation for Operation Overlord and the subsequent landings. Apparently there are a few ANZAC memorials around the area too. So the area is steeped in military history.My main purpose here was to catch another bus and head to STONEHENGE! I was really excited about this, despite almost everyone I have ever mentioned this too telling me that I was goingto be dissapointed. They were wrong.
I suppose it makes a difference when you have such an interest in the material. When you have read about it a hundred times, thought about how it would have been constructed, pondered on the transportation process. The monument itself is not impressive, but it was built almost 5000 years ago people! I mean if that itself isnt something to give you Ancient History tingles, then I have given up on you. It was really quite mysterious. No one knows for sure what it was used for or why it was built. However, when you consider there are almost 300 grave mounds all within a 1.5km radius around Stonehenge, you get a sense of how important it was. Spooky!The next day I made my way to Winchester. This place was even more historically important than Salisbury. It was the capital of Saxon England under the incredible King Albert the Great
No other King of England has received that epitaph, and for good reason. Albert created the place that we could call 'England'. He pushed back the Viking invaders and formed a state that would eventually become what we now know as England. Needless to say, Winchester is important. It is also home to an even more impressive Cathedral than Salisbury, although in different ways.
I wondered for ages around the side streets of Winchester, lapping it up.
Before heading back home to get ready for another week at work, I managed to find the unmarked gravestone of King Albert. He is buried in the grounds of a very small church marked only by a plane gravestone with an incised cross. Quite thought rovoking considering he was one of Englands most important kings.
The next week I decided I just HAD to start my tours of Universities in England with Oxford. It was surprisingly easy to get to and only involved a 40 minute bus trip. I had been in contact wiht one of my friends from the dig, Flo. She is a PHD student at Kings College in London, but is familiar with Oxford and has spent some time there. She was kind enough to show me around some of the colleges and explain to me how the system worked.
I can't describe the feeling of Oxford. It had such a buzz to it. The university IS the city. The students are its citizens. Everyone is running around talking about university related shennanigans. The colleges are imposing and impressive. YOu are reminded at every single turn that this is one of the most revered institutions in the world and about the incredible people that have studied here. I absolutely LOVED the feeling of the place. I never really saw Oxford as an option for my post-graduate study, but I can easily see myself thouroughly enjoying it there. Its quite intimidating because I will have an incredible amount of work ahead of me if I want to make the leap but i am sure it would be worth it.The next week Ben, a very good friend of mine over here, came back to visit. He is currently working at another site but comes around every now and then to hang out. We decided to do a road trip down to Canterbury to check out the cathedral over there as it is supposed to be one of the most impressive in England both architecturally and historically. The drive down was awesome. Juiced up on Energy drinks with Guns and Roses and the White Stripes blaring in the background, we made the 3 hour drive in Bens horrible little Nissan Micra that threatens to explode at any speeds over 30 miles an hour.
It was amazing. The Cathedral was pretty good too. Its the spot where Thomas Beckett was famously assasinated by the knights of King Henry (I forget which one :p) and has become one of the major pilgrimage spots in England.
While there we also saw the tomb of the Black Prince, and the catacombs underneath the Cathedral. We were going to stay the night there and head to the cliffs of Dover in the morning, but we had trouble finding a place to sleep and decided just to head home and hook up with the rest of the crew back at Wavendon.My next trip only happened 2 weeks later due to a rather large obstacle in the form of an essay for the one and only course I am enrolled in at University this semester (Yes, as hard as it is to believe, I have still managed to do a course while travelling). I wanted to continue my tour around English universities by heading to Cambridge.
It was very similar to Oxford in many ways, including the system and structures that seem to be in place. However, it had a very different feel to it. It was much more laid back than Oxford and much more spread out. It also reminded me a little more of a university as I know it. The colleges were still incredibly impressive, and the entire place stooped in history with graduates such as Winston Churchill, Darwin and Isaac Newton.
I managed to explore the actual lecture halls and check out the archaeology museum there, along with the classical library. Lets just say that the facilities knocked my socks off. I really dont know whether I like Oxford or Cambridge more, they both have their pros and cons. However, Cambridge DOES have 'Do Not Walk on the Grass!' signs in seven different languages.....
Now I only have a couple of weeks left here in England, and while all the travelling has been fantastic, the work has been very very draining and frustrating. I have so much to do before I leave so I wont be having much more free time. I will try make time for Sheffield University next week, but other than that I will be buying cold weather clothes and replenishing my backpacking supplies before meeting Rishi at the airport on the 29th of November. I cant wait. It cant come soon enough.
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