Winchester Cathedral and Stonehenge

We dropped Jennifer and her mom off at the Underground so the could catch the Eurostar to spend the weekend in Paris.

Her dad, the kids, and I then drove down to Winchester. We parked and then walked to the see the Cathedral. There was a service going on at the time so we decided to eat lunch on the Close surrounding it.

After lunch we walked about 1/2 mile to Wolvesey Catle. The castle is in ruins but it was still very interesting walking around and looking at what remained. At one time it served as the home of the bishops of Winchester.

Afterwards we walked back to the Cathedral and it was now opened. From end-to-end the Cathedral is 555 feet long and about 80-90 feet high. Next to the current church, with parts dating back to the 12th century, are the ground stones of the original church that was demolished to make way for the current church. It dated back to the 800s I believe and St Swithun is buried there. The current church is simply breathtaking. Looking down the nave in either direction is awe inspiring. One end is the huge stained glass window and the other end is the main altar with various smaller altars and burials behind it. About 1/3 of the way down the nave is the grave marker of Jane Austen.

We then left the Cathedral and made our way to Stonehenge. It was our 2nd trip but it still is as amazing as the first trip. The mystery of the stones gets one thinking of what it was like to build the henge and why it was done in the first place.