Monday 31 October 2011

The Mysteries of Stonehenge


Our adventures around the world involve much more than just good eating and drinking. For a long time now, even before we left Australia, I’ve always wanted to see Stonehenge. It amazes me that in an age where we can find scientific answers for everything, there still remains no clear answers for why this amazing structure of rocks exists and what it means. Of course there are many different theories, but none of which can be proved. It’s most likly that Stonehenge is going to be the oldest structure that Cara and I will ever see. It is said to be over 5000 years old.

Stonehenge is located in the english county of Wiltshire, about 2 hours drive from London. It is a mystery as to how the tall carved bluestone was able to be built and lifted into position. People say that stonehenge is an Ancient burial ground, others say it is a place of worship, maybe it was both, no one knows for sure. I’ve read many myths about stonehenge, and there are too many for me to go through them all, but one which I heard of, is the stones were carefully selected by King Arthur, who employed the help of the wizard Merlin to use his magic and place the stones into a circle arrangement. It was said that King Arthur wanted a place of worship and to morn the death of other knights who died in battle. Many theories like this is what makes Stonehenge a mystical place to visit.

During our visit, I managed to pick up a local souvenir, a beer made by a nearby brewery called, of course, The Stonehenge Ale. The ale’s are brewed by The Old Mill Brewery at Netheravon, Wiltshire. The mill was built on the River Avon in 1914 to generate electricity for a near by air field. Once the mill had closed, it remained vacant until 1984, when a master brewer from Denmark, Stig Anker Anderson, who came to England with the dream of creating an old fashioned English beer. The Stonehenge Ale was the result. A deep amber colour, It has strong refreshing fruity taste, but with a bitter after taste. Because the beer is an ale, the beer contains a strong malt and hop flavour to compliment the fruitiness.

Our experience at Stonehenge was unforgetable. It’s another thing which we can tick off our long list of things to see in England.


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