My guide was Phil. He was a history buff that was so enthusiastic about all the sites were we gonna going to visit and also pointed out a few interesting areas we passed among the way as well. I gave him a great review on the tour website already!

The first stop on the tour was Windsor Castle! The flag was up, so the Queen was spending her weekend there - I was within a few hundred feet of her... I just didn’t actually see her. 😛

Photo taking inside is prohibited so I don’t have photos of the interior but the rooms were pretty fancy! There was a display of old historic weapons and ceremonial swords/knives, state apartment tours, a gallery room of old portraits, and ballrooms in the ‘historical tour’. There was a second route through another part of the castle that showcases more modern parts of the royal family which had an elaborate dining set and princess Eugenie’s wedding dress and other ball gowns and jewellery. Very pretty!!

Because it was a Sunday there was actually a service happening when we visited the castle so we couldn’t go inside. The outside is stunning however, and you can see the steps of St George Chapel where brides walk down for photos. \240

Final fun fact:

What’s the different between a castle and a palace?

It’s not the look or structure. \240It’s the purpose. A castle is meant to be a forstress to protect and a palace is to show wealth and status.

In the same centre square is Abbey Bath which was stunning on the outside and creates a pretty epic back drop to the Bath from the balcony. I didn’t have time to go inside the church but if I have time to go back I would love to see it.

The water in the baths is warm so it’s a bit steamy at water level. Because the bath has an open ceiling the water isn’t clean (pigeons were flying around everywhere!) but there was an opportunity to taste the spring water that was cleaned at the end of the tour. Its supposedly good for you, but it doesn’t taste great in my opinion - the minerals must throw people off.

In a few areas there were buskers playing different instruments and some singing as well. My favourite was a Robbie Williams ‘Angels’ cover by a quirky older guy on acoustic guitar. Apparently there is a strict sign up sheet and sometimes the buskers have to pay to play. They must make more than the cost if they’re willing to do that and there’s always someone playing.

The town is little and full of cobblestone streets and this gorgeous park where lots of people were having s picnic lunch. I’ll add the full Bath experience to my list to try and do before I leave.

I’ll be back!!

From far away it looked pretty big, but oddly enough when I got closer it wasn’t a massive as I thought. It’s also a bit sad that one of the rocks does have a concrete supper underneath it. Over time people have chopped rocks off of to steal pieces and therefore they started to lean.

Since the ‘why’ on Stonehenge has been chalked up as a calendar tool based on the sun they do mark where the sun rises and sets on the summer and winter solstice. It lines up almost perfectly with a marker rock that was also placed there.

The comical part of this stop was the sheep running around the tourist path. The land beside the site is generic English countryside so there were sheep eating grass 🐑. I think some people were more interested in the sheep than Stonehenge itself!