A 'slight detour' to Stonehenge

It's time to leave Coatguards and drive to Fishbourne. We tried to get an earlier boat again, but alas, it wasn't meant to be this time, so we had to wait an hour for the next. It was a much older boat this time and we chugged along the Solent. I especially liked being lowered though when we got to Portsmouth, the whole car deck tilter. Thank goodness for handbrakes.

I wanted to do a slight detour and on paper, it seemed sensible. We went to Stonehenge. Unfortunately, dogs aren't allowed which is a shame because it's only grass paths and you can't get that close to the stones anyway. As a member of English Heritage, I got a free audio guide and caught the shuttle bus to the stones. The commentary was really interesting, about how the stones were moved from Wales, how they were lifted into position. It's absolutely astonishing to think of how old Stonehenge is.

Back on the shuttle and a quick tour of the visitor centre. The film was fantastic. You stand in the inner circle and the 3 minute video takes you through each season. You see the winter solstice, when the sun sets through the biggest stones. Then we saw the sunrise at the adjacent stone.

I can now confirm that Stonehenge isn't a detour from the Isle of Wight home, gosh it was a day in the car.