Disembarking Day....All packed up and ready to leave Southampton
But, just when you think you've left all the fun and great tours behind.....Tony (with International Friends Tours) arrives! We had no idea what a great day we would end up having....
Beginning in Salisbury
at the Cathedral
Beautiful historic town -- Salisbury
Because there were only 10 of us, Tony was able to drive the small country roads so we could see the "real" English countryside.
We saw many houses with thatched roofs which are very expensive to replace -- about 25 thousand pounds. If a home has a thatched roof, the owners are never allowed to replace it with any other kind of roof. There are 2 layers of thatch, inside and outside. The inside layer is always left in place and the outer layer is replaced. A thatched roof usually last about 20 - 25 years.
Tony entertained us with stories related to Stonehenge. He just made everything more interesting! We almost picked up a few women from another tour because they did not have a guide and were
really drawn in by Tony's commentary :-) Stonehenge was a site I had always wanted to see
and it is more impressive in person than in all the pictures I had seen.
We stopped on a little winding road to take a picture of a limestone horse on the side of a hill. There is limestone beneath the grass so to make the horse, the grass was just removed.
We also went by the site where the stones at Stonhenge came from.
We had an opportunity to see a local thatcher working on a roof. You can see the inner layer on the left and the outer layer that he is replacing on the right. This skill is highly sought after and is
passed down from father to son.
Lacock Castle
Lunch was at the George (Lacock), the oldest licensed pub in England. I had steak and ale pie -- yum! Al had faggots which was a chopped sausage type of "formed pattie" that includes liver in the
ingredients -- not bad and definitely authentic English.
Tony held the chalkboard with the daily specials at the George so we could all make
decisions on what to order.
A "sheep gate" used to keep sheet out of church
Outside a "cooling room" which was used to put bar patrons in when they got into a brawl
Very old stone buildings
The Red Lion
Back on the van and off to Bath
Local park in Bath -- beautiful!
We had an opportunity to see so many interesting sites in the more rural parts of England that most tourists never get to experience. Tony had the best sense of humor and kept us all in stitches while mixing in history and facts. He was definitely one of the best guides I have ever toured with and made our day one to remember!
