Stonehenge

D

Davepick

Well-known member
I have been to Stonehenge a few times.
Absolutely fascinating place.
Just watched a documentary about it with Dan Snow.
How did they convey the 'Blue Stones', weighing 3/4 tons, from S. Wales. That's not as difficult, but a fantastic achievement at the time.
It's possibly the greatest historical enigma ever.
Of course there are other ancient mysteries in the world, but Stonehenge ranks with the strangest and most important.
 
I don’t think the problem was the band being down, I think the problem may have been that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being crushed, by a dwarf.
 
Davepick said:
I have been to Stonehenge a few times.
Absolutely fascinating place.
Just watched a documentary about it with Dan Snow.
How did they convey the 'Blue Stones', weighing 3/4 tons, from S. Wales. That's not as difficult, but a fantastic achievement at the time.
It's possibly the greatest historical enigma ever.
Of course there are other ancient mysteries in the world, but Stonehenge ranks with the strangest and most important.
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Pretty sure you once told me you helped lay those stones Dave.
 
Davepick said:
I have been to Stonehenge a few times.
Absolutely fascinating place.
Just watched a documentary about it with Dan Snow.
How did they convey the 'Blue Stones', weighing 3/4 tons, from S. Wales. That's not as difficult, but a fantastic achievement at the time.
It's possibly the greatest historical enigma ever.
Of course there are other ancient mysteries in the world, but Stonehenge ranks with the strangest and most important.
Click to expand...
I'm sure I read something the other day about them now thinking the main stone in the centre of Stonehenge came from the North. Apparently the stone is of a different type to the blue stones.
 
Always wanted to see it. Agree it’s fascinating. What was it for? Religious worship? Weather observations?
 
Graves said:
Always wanted to see it. Agree it’s fascinating. What was it for? Religious worship? Weather observations?
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England being England you can stumble across it when you’re out for a drive (aka going on holiday).

I went there as a kid apparently but have zero recollection. Since then I’ve driven past it a few times and it always takes you by surprise. Impressive monument.

But that’s the English way. Churchill’s grave is nondescript. Buried away and unremarkable. Confuses the ….. out of American tourists who can’t understand why it’s not bigger.

In fact “discovering the graves of famous English people” could be my new hobby.
 
Mexboroseasider said:
England being England you can stumble across it when you’re out for a drive (aka going on holiday).

I went there as a kid apparently but have zero recollection. Since then I’ve driven past it a few times and it always takes you by surprise. Impressive monument.

But that’s the English way. Churchill’s grave is nondescript. Buried away and unremarkable. Confuses the ….. out of American tourists who can’t understand why it’s not bigger.

In fact “discovering the graves of famous English people” could be my new hobby.
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I’m not dead yet
 
Mexboroseasider said:
England being England you can stumble across it when you’re out for a drive (aka going on holiday).

I went there as a kid apparently but have zero recollection. Since then I’ve driven past it a few times and it always takes you by surprise. Impressive monument.

But that’s the English way. Churchill’s grave is nondescript. Buried away and unremarkable. Confuses the ….. out of American tourists who can’t understand why it’s not bigger.

In fact “discovering the graves of famous English people” could be my new hobby.
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Interesting you put it like that, because I felt the same when I saw both Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky’s graves. Makes them feel like understated historical figures somehow, like Churchill.

Apparently there are some other decent stone circles on Dartmoor. It’s an area I’d like to check out in the future. England has a lot of hidden gems.
 
Graves said:
Interesting you put it like that, because I felt the same when I saw both Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky’s graves. Makes them feel like understated historical figures somehow, like Churchill.

Apparently there are some other decent stone circles on Dartmoor. It’s an area I’d like to check out in the future. England has a lot of hidden gems.
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Yeah. I came across Robert Runcie’s grave completely by accident. Didn’t know it was there and surprised to see it.

There have been a few graves of famous people I’ve actually looked for and it’s always a surprise when you find them. Essentially it’s how there’s nothing, or very little, to mark them out from the graves around them.

And maybe that’s the way it should be.

As for the prehistoric and historic stuff - yeah there’s loads.
 
Mexboroseasider said:
England being England you can stumble across it when you’re out for a drive (aka going on holiday).

I went there as a kid apparently but have zero recollection. Since then I’ve driven past it a few times and it always takes you by surprise. Impressive monument.

But that’s the English way. Churchill’s grave is nondescript. Buried away and unremarkable. Confuses the ….. out of American tourists who can’t understand why it’s not bigger.

In fact “discovering the graves of famous English people” could be my new hobby.
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There's already a couple guys go looking for famous graves on Youtube.
 
I love the stone circle in the Lakes, Castlerigg. Small it may be, but it sits on a hill at the confluence of three valleys. If you are ever up on Lewis, Callanish with its avenue of stones, again at the middle of a distinct landscape, is inspiring.

The size of the stones at Stonehenge will always be impressive, but the destruction of its contextual avenues and sight stones is a shame.
 
Went to stonehenge when I was about 4 so that 50 years ago. I think you could just go up to the stones but I may be wrong?
My dad still laughs to this day, allegedly I held up the queue at the ice cream van as he didn't understand my northern accent. My dad had to intervene.
 
Tangerinemoss said:
I love the stone circle in the Lakes, Castlerigg. Small it may be, but it sits on a hill at the confluence of three valleys.
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Castlerigg is an amazing location, on a small hill overshadowed by mountains on all sides. If you get there early, with mists rising and clouds lowering and no other people around it feels mystic.

We have spent a few years visiting some of the caves in France and Spain with Neolithic paintings in them. The most spectacular such as Lascaux and Altamira are closed to the public with simulation museums provided, but there are still a few where you can get close to see cave art painted 15,000 to 20,000 years ago. The artists’ style can be sublime, a single ochre line describing a horse’s or a bison’s outline perfectly.
 
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Curryman said:
I'm sure I read something the other day about them now thinking the main stone in the centre of Stonehenge came from the North. Apparently the stone is of a different type to the blue stones.
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Hi Wilf.
I must watch it again as you may be right.
very interesting prog.
 
Maybe we should put graves of child molesters, murderers like Brady & Hindle for example on the moors ,and pin point them so all us decent folk could go and piss on them ?.
 
I’ve stayed overnight on Salisbury Plain and visited Stonehenge many times on the Summer Solstice… one of only two times in the year when the public can actually get close enough to touch the stones. Seen the sun rise through the stones.

It’s an awesome place 👍
 
Stumbled across Stonehenge about 35 years ago, well I didn't trip over it. I remember sitting on the grass looking at it & definitely felt something, a bit twilight zone 🤨
 
image


Not quite Spinal Tap but a Dino Park in Slovenia
 
Sooty59 said:
We'll have a look at this when we are in Keswick over the New Year. 👍
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Not sure you'd get that in the New Year as the sun would be rising in the southwest rather than in the west as it was in September so the lighting will be quite different.

Also, sometimes it will be about 8:30ish, there's no point being there so early, I'd recommend being there ready by about 8:00 a.m. as that's when the warm pre-dawn light will hit assuming the sky isn't totally overcast. 2 or 3 mornings before I got that as the weather conditions weren't really helpful for good light
 
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April13th1970 said:
Not sure you'd get that in the New Year as the sun would be rising in the southwest rather than in the west as it was in September so the lighting will be quite different.

Also, sometimes it will be about 8:30ish, there's no point being there so early, I'd recommend being there ready by about 8:00 a.m. as that's when the warm pre-dawn light will hit assuming the sky isn't totally overcast. 23 mornings before I got that as the weather conditions weren't really helpful for good light
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I think we'll just have a look regardless, hope it's nice & frosty like last year about that time, although it could be horrible 🤞 PS it is a really good photo.
 
Sooty59 said:
I think we'll just have a look regardless, hope it's nice & frosty like last year about that time, although it could be horrible 🤞 PS it is a really good photo.
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Thank you, it's a really spectacular place at any time, I only suggested the time of day to arrive as I thought you were wanting to take photographs of it and that is when the best light would be
 
Just checked my notes on it, Canon EOS5D, Canon 24-105mm lens set at 28mm, camera mounted on a manfrotto 190x tripod with manfrotto 327 pistol grip head, 4 second exposure @ f/16 &100 ISO
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
I’ve stayed overnight on Salisbury Plain and visited Stonehenge many times on the Summer Solstice… one of only two times in the year when the public can actually get close enough to touch the stones. Seen the sun rise through the stones.

It’s an awesome place 👍
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Were you all wearing your fancy dress costumes.
 
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