Avebury

Posted on 2010/09/17 22:52:36 (September 2010).

[Monday 6th September 2010]
Given that we'd hire a car, we thought it a waste to just shoot straight back to London today, so decided to go back by way of somewhere interesting. Yuka had already seen Stone Henge on a previous visit to the UK (and I think like most people was a bit underwhelmed - on the other hand I actually rather like it), so today we planned to go to Avebury instead.

This time we were able to drive the full length of the stretch of road that goes through the Wye Valley between Monmouth and Chepstow, which was rather lovely. We stopped off very briefly for a quick look at Tintern Abbey as well.

Stopped off at a pub called appropriately the White Horse somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Wiltshire for a quick lunch (making it three pub lunches, three days running!), before then heading on to Avebury.

I wasn't sure what to make of Avebury. I think part of the reason was that it was a funny sort of weather, plus as a result of still having the rest of the journey back to London ahead of us I wasn't at my most receptive. I imagined it was going to be atmospheric and mysterious, but in the end it didn't seem to have much of an effect on me. Perhaps I need to go again with somebody who knows a bit more about the place.

We made a couple more stops on our way back to London (at least partly because we didn't want to arrive in London when the congestion charge was still in effect) - first at Marlborough - which I remember as being an attractive little market town, but nowadays seems to have the same bland selection of chain stores as everywhere else in the UK - and also in Bray, to go and look at the Fat Duck and the Waterside Inn. It's interesting that these places display their menus on the outside still, as though they ever get casual diners just wandering in off the street.

Finally got back into London some time after 6, and after dropping off the car, headed back home, and had a quiet relaxing evening in.

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