Castle Combe
We drive over the Severn Bridge into England and our first port of call; the picturesque village of Castle Combe, which is considered to be one of the prettiest villages in the UK. It is certainly one of the most visited and frequently finds favour as a backdrop for period television and cinema dramas.
The village is built around the 14th century Market Cross with the old water pump beside it. St. Andrew's Church is probably 12th century, and of particular interest inside is the modified 15th century clock which used to ring the hours from the tower.
Next we drive to the charming rural village of Lacock, which dates from the 13th century and has many lime-washed, half-timbered and stone houses. It was used as a location in the television and film productions of Pride and Prejudice, Moll Flanders and Emma.
Lacock Abbey
The 13th century Abbey, used as a location for the recent Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone film, was founded in 1232 and converted into a country house c.1540. The fine medieval cloisters, sacristy, chapter house and monastic rooms of the Abbey have survived largely intact.
Stonehenge
We continue across Salisbury Plain to the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge.
We will probably never know why hundreds of people struggled to build this amazing monument, but visitors from all over the world come to marvel at this fantastic feat of prehistoric engineering.
(Photograph courtesy of Amanda Jenkins.)
Avebury
500 years older and 14 times the size of Stonehenge, the stone circle at Avebury is our last stop. The site comprises of a circular ditch and bank about one mile in circumference. Inside the ditch are the remains of an enormous ring of almost 100 standing stones with two smaller stone circles inside.
You are free to roam amongst the stones.
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