Stonehenge

I am just so excited that we have a home base less than 30 mins away from here.  I've just bought English Heritage passes for the year, which will allow us into a bunch of fantastic places all year...makes for some very inexpensive day trips out..

It was bitterly cold today, but my main outcome was to visit the new interpretive centre and check out the visitor centre which has caused such a whoo har.

The old visitors centre was dismal, especially for somewhere as worldly famous as Stonehenge.  I was very impressed with the exhibition and film they have there. The timeline they have is perfect for kinaesthetic and visual learners and they have a bunch of hands on touchy feely things.. The design team need a big thumbs up for accessing learning modes. 

From the photos you can see that its a very atmospheric day, chilly and thankfully not many tourists still.

i'll look forward to being able to sit on a mound and soak in the atmosphere and draw these stones in summertime.  till then!!

Lillys Arm out of a cast

Poor Miss Lilly has had a bit of rough spin with her broken wrist. The bones in the wrist were pointing the wrong way all together,so there were fears that she needed to get surgery to right it.

When we went in to get it checked a few weeks ago, the doctor was still of the opinion that she needed this to be done, but was letting it set for a few more weeks to see if it would right itself. 

Although they didn't take an xray, the doctor who looked at it was confident that it had set properly and all she now needed was flexibility and strengthening exercises to bring the muscle tone back.

The  major bummer about all of this was that the plaster technician at the Andover Hospital no longer works there, and we had to drive to Winchester to get this done and sorted.  Probably just as well we had nothing planned. 

The great outcome of it all is that we don't need to go back for another three months.

Battle Abbey

You know, I'm going to stop whining about the weather and how dreadfully cold it is.. My photos as I post them on to my blog and instagram show blue sky and sunshine - and no-one is going to beleive for a second how cold it really is.. or how rainy and blustery the winds are. ( straight from the Bunyas.. in joke with Alexanders and Rowes...)

The Abbey was established almost immediately after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, with buildings added, fortified and strengthen over the next few centuries.

This is a photo of the gatehouse leading into the Abbey at Battle. It was built int he 1300s to keep those nasty French out during the 100 years war.  I don't think the French got this far, but the Abbey was fortified and prepared for defence just in case.

The High Alter and cloisters are all gone now, but it is believed that where King Harold fell is sacred ground so the church was built directly on top of it.  All we have as reminders are markings on the ground where the footings were and this slab to commemorate the event.

It doens't seem possible that over eight thousand soldiers fitted onto this field and stood against each other, fighting to the death all day long.

The peaceful meadow is a little eerie. By all accounts it ran rivers of blood on the day with the dead littered so high, none of the grass could be seen.

The Abbey was very successful in the middle ages, and built accommodation houses for the hundreds of monks who came to study and pray here. I love the arched columns and the work put in to the brickworks for this simple storehouse.

Being mid term, the kids had the opportunity to do some hands on activities, including dress ups ( the armour and weapons are a bit of a mish mash of crusades, Roman and viking.. but don't let that stop a bit of fun.

The kids painted shields and made viking boats with insignia sails.

I am loving how each visit to a particular spot is building their knowledge of history, and they are now able to identify certain kings, queens and specific events which changed the way the world operated.