Day 3 - Stonehenge and Harry Potter (that's not the name of a new sequel)

London faded to the distance as we headed west early this morning towards Stonehenge and heavy rain. Luckily the rain let off and the sun peeked out just as we headed up to see the stones (no Mick Jagger). The henge is part of a huge complex of other stone and wood (long rotted away) constructions and burial mounds strung out along the river for miles. The present version has been there for nearly 5000 years. The sense of deep time combined with the beauty of the place really leaves a person in awe.

A short bus ride got us to the village of Lacock, a typical thatched-roofed village with narrow streets and old buildings. Everyone seemed to love the narrow and hilly roads and tiny villages we meandered through on the way. The attraction here was Lacock Abbey, a significant part of local history, but perhaps more importantly a location used for a number of scenes in various Harry Potter films.

The rain kept showing up, quite hard at times, but then the sun would quickly reappear. It's been our coldest day yet, with some strong winds, making sitting around in a cafe having a latte more like looking for shelter and a hot chocolate. We persevered, however, and managed to find some pasties for lunch, and explore a few shops and old buildings while in Lacock.

We ended with a short stop in Chippenham, a market town that would be hopping if it wasn't Easter Sunday. If you've ever travelled over a major holiday you know that it can impact you options, so Chippenham was a casual have-a-coffee and stroll the river stop, as opposed to a shopaholic fix. From there it was a short drive over to Swindon for check-in and supper. Tonight will be an early night with a 5:45 wake up call tomorrow. For the five people that "didn't get" a wake-up call and had to race to pack and get downstairs, you can imagine how tough tomorrow will be!