27 September 2004

Words cannot truly describe Stonehenge

Driving from Brighton to Stonehenge seems to take forever. I'd forgotten what it feels like to be in a hurry, like when you are a kid always asking, "Are we there yet?" My whole life, or at least since my early school days, I had heard of Stonehenge, although I always thought it was called "Stone hedge" because it sort of looks like a bunch of tall rocks making a hedge around something rather important.

As we drove through the English countryside, I was trying to envision those magnificent stones I had read about. In the not-to-distant past (in Stonehenge terms at least), Stonehenge was owned by a local man, Sir Cecil Chubb. He gifted it to Britain in 1918. The fabulous English Heritage now manages it on behalf of the government.

The brochure describes it as one of the finest prehistoric monuments in existence and an even more remarkable mystery.

For 5,000 years it has inspired visitors to cross rivers, climb hills or walk long distances to watch the magic of the sunlight play off the huge tall stones. No one but our ancestors know for certain the answers to the true mystery of why people have been drawn to this place for so long.

According to the Stonehenge Web site (http://www.englishheritage.org), "Before Stonehenge was built thousands of years ago, the whole of Salisbury Plain was a forest of towering pines and hazel woodland. Over centuries the landscape changed to open chalk down land. What you see today is about half of the original monument. Some of the stones have fallen down, others have been carried away to be used for building or to repair farm tracks and over centuries visitors have added their damage, too. It was quite normal to hire a hammer from the blacksmith in Amesbury and come to Stonehenge to chip bits off."

But none of the pictures or the stories prepared me for the real thing. As we drove down the narrow country road, all of a sudden, off in the distance, I could see the stones. They looked quite small off in the distance, clustered in a modest circle. My mind had conjured up something huge, something spectacular. I was like a horse headed for the barn.

We parked the car on the opposite side of the road from the stones, paid our fee and walked under the road through a huge round culvert pipe. Part of the entrance fee included a little phone that we could hold up to our ears to hear stories about this mystical place.

The most amazing thing about Stonehenge seems to be how the light plays off of the stones. It was late afternoon by the time we arrived and as the clouds blocked the sun, then cleared to release the sun's rays, I was mesmerized by how the shadows from the rocks cast in different spots.

There are no words that can truly describe this place. This is an ancient place. The plains of Salisbury are littered with smaller "Stonehenges," long-forgotten roads buried deep under generations of corn and wheat ... and mounds that have yet to be explored. There are far more mysteries still resting buried under the earth.

Standing in the brisk wind, staring at the tall stones that dance with the light, it is as if this ancient place is saying, "You think this is incredible, look around. You ain't seen nothin' yet." And those whispers are right. This place is incredible and yes, there is so much more to see.

If you get a chance to visit England, don't miss this place. Everyone in your family will be moved by the experience. But for us, we're on to Wales, and the mountains!