Our first attempt at visiting Avebury was aborted.
We arrived at around 2 o’clock on a very cold, miserably damp afternoon. Pulled into the car park to find the ubiquitous “pay & display” machine demanding we hand over £4.00 for the privilege. Between us we had just £3.80 in coins and we didn’t fancy risking a £50 fine so we left.
You know sometimes when something doesn’t work out, but next time you try it is so much better than the first time could have been? That’s how it happened for us. The next day we were better organised and arrived at around 11am, armed with the required £4.00 parking slug.
The weather was cold but thankfully not raining. A pleasant English winter’s day and perfect for ancient stone circle viewing and village wandering.
Avebury. I had no idea I would find the perfect place here for my sister Robyn. She spent the day with me in my heart when in fact she was glamping with her family at a beach on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. In glorious summer sunshine.
Why did I channel my sister in that place? I don’t really know but I felt she’d also love the serenity, the history, the mysticism. I’ve not had that strong feeling about my sister and a place before.
It was in the little Church of St James that I felt true peace & calm, and Dave was very patient as I spent well over an hour just hanging around the small intimate spaces. And thinking of my sister.
I’m not religious and I usually admire churches and cathedrals from a historical, architectural and construction perspective.
Of course the main reason people come to Avebury from all over the world is to marvel at the immense Neolithic (4200BC – 3000BC) stone circles, the largest circles in all of Europe.
The area consists of a deep ditch, a huge circular embankment and stones that are dauntingly massive, and it costs nothing to wander and explore this mysterious area.
It was an amazing experience to walk among the rock formations and try to get a sense of the history, something we can’t do at Stone Henge as the area is fenced off.
Avebury Village is tiny, just a couple of streets and with a population of around 500.
We wanted to visit Avebury for the stone circles but we found a wonderful surprise with the beautiful village.
And I felt a strong connection with my dear sister back home, and that was nice.
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Great Blog. I wonder if you and Rob had a past life experience in that place!!!