Stone And Steam

This will be a short entry, because we have spent a lazy day enjoying the company of friends, and not done much.  And because bandwidth seems slow tonight.  And because I have heartburn, and want to get to bed.

But, this morning, after a lazy breakfast, we declared our one particular interest for the day, which was to see Stonehenge.  So, off we went, and soon arrived at the site.

There was a huge reception area, where we paid quite a stiff price to be admitted. Nearly £20, but this the sort of landmark you don't want to miss.  The place seemed to focus on relieving the tourist of as many dollars as possible, but at least (unlike Lands End) the "temptations" were related to Stonehenge in some way.  No Haunted House, or Cowboy Experience, for example.

So, we paid, and were taken by bus, from the Visitor's Center, to the site of the Henge.

There were lots of tourists.  Lots!  But the stones were worth seeing, and our friends who accompanied us were as knowledgeable as any tour guide, and filled us in with all the interesting factoids you could want.

We took lots of pictures, but it was sprinkly and cold, so when we had seen everything, we came home again for lunch.

After lunch, our hosts suggested several ways to pass the afternoon, and we settled on a visit to the Crofton Pumping Station, and see the Crofton Beam Engines at work.  These are the world's oldest steam driven engines still at work in their original location.

These machines were used to pump water up to the head of a canal system that could not be filled by a natural supply of water.  Still functioning, these machines are periodically operated so the public can enjoy the sight of them in action.  We were fortunate that this rare opportunity arose while we were staying only a mile away.

We were lucky enough to observe the procedure of starting and stopping the machines from up close.  It was quite interesting, and the chap who was doing the startup, admitted that it was somewhat of a dance.

We enjoyed it so much we treated ourselves to an iced cream cone each, complete with a chocolate flake, served by a pretty girl!

Later, we returned to the house, then we all went out again to have dinner in a quirky pub.  Then it was home again, and off to bed.

Unfortunately, it appears I'd cocked up the camera settings at Stonehenge, so if the photos look a bit washed out, blame me!