Well after about 9 hours or so driving and getting a ferry too see the pile of ancient rocks, I must say English Heritage know how to make money from something that used to be free.

Giftshop is bigger than the monument itself and the food is ghastly, least the chips were nice up North. The drive is amazing and the view of monument is incredible from the road.

Getting on their coach reminded me of Calais they jam you on like there's no tomorrow.

Yes I always feel that Stonehenge is something everybody must see once, like the Taj Mahal, but actually, after the initial amazement, it's a bit disappointing. As opposed to Petra which is my personal Wonder of the World.

andrew wrote:
Well after about 9 hours or so driving and getting a ferry too see the pile of ancient rocks, I must say English Heritage know how to make money from something that used to be free.

Giftshop is bigger than the monument itself and the food is ghastly, least the chips were nice up North. The drive is amazing and the view of monument is incredible from the road.

Getting on their coach reminded me of Calais they jam you on like there's no tomorrow.

You need to go again for the solstice, Andrew. They take the fences down so you can see and touch them properly.

What is virtually unique about Stonehenge is that - nobody knows why it was built, how or by whom?

Indeed - even the stone is not of local origin - and experts can only guess where it came from.

Or how it was transported and erected.

honey!oh sugar sugar. wrote:
andrew wrote:
Well after about 9 hours or so driving and getting a ferry too see the pile of ancient rocks, I must say English Heritage know how to make money from something that used to be free.

Giftshop is bigger than the monument itself and the food is ghastly, least the chips were nice up North. The drive is amazing and the view of monument is incredible from the road.

Getting on their coach reminded me of Calais they jam you on like there's no tomorrow.

You need to go again for the solstice, Andrew. They take the fences down so you can see and touch them properly.

I don't think I can bothered again unless something as heard it's a nightmare driving when it's the solstice.

I might go to New York later in the year.

NYC has the Manhattanhenge or Manhattan Solstice, where the east/west streets have sunset and sunrise alignments every year - as a result of the grid system making up central Manhattan's street layout.

Google is your friend...or worth a look on YouTube...

Spee wrote:
NYC has the Manhattanhenge or Manhattan Solstice, where the east/west streets have sunset and sunrise alignments every year - as a result of the grid system making up central Manhattan's street layout.

Google is your friend...or worth a look on YouTube...




I just ask you Spee, might of been a more enjoyable drive if I didn't have the same album on the loop but it was all I had.

andrew wrote:
Spee wrote:
NYC has the Manhattanhenge or Manhattan Solstice, where the east/west streets have sunset and sunrise alignments every year - as a result of the grid system making up central Manhattan's street layout.

Google is your friend...or worth a look on YouTube...




I just ask you Spee, might of been a more enjoyable drive if I didn't have the same album on the loop but it was all I had.

Couldn't you get a Gary Glitter CD for a pound at the motorway services?

I've been in a lot of places - mainly Europe - but not nearly as many as JK and others.

Of them all, I thought New York, New York was the best by far. Fast moving, so much to see and great value - except accommodation which is expensive.

Major improvements in the past 20 years - and it's only about 11 miles x 3! You could almost walk around it!

Very safe - policemen on the pavement, horses and motorbikes everywhere. Well armed with tazers, guns and all types of gadgets.

My second home until 17 years ago when Surrey Police and the CPS decided to assist a move. Many happy decades on Concorde going from my bedroom in London and arriving in my Manhattan bedroom at exactly the same time.

honey!oh sugar sugar. wrote:
andrew wrote:
Spee wrote:
NYC has the Manhattanhenge or Manhattan Solstice, where the east/west streets have sunset and sunrise alignments every year - as a result of the grid system making up central Manhattan's street layout.

Google is your friend...or worth a look on YouTube...




I just ask you Spee, might of been a more enjoyable drive if I didn't have the same album on the loop but it was all I had.

Couldn't you get a Gary Glitter CD for a pound at the motorway services?

Why not settle for a release from K-tel which used to flood the service stations. Listened to Briar which is great but how many times can one listen to Frankie?

Spee wrote:
I've been in a lot of places - mainly Europe - but not nearly as many as JK and others.

Of them all, I thought New York, New York was the best by far. Fast moving, so much to see and great value - except accommodation which is expensive.

Major improvements in the past 20 years - and it's only about 11 miles x 3! You could almost walk around it!

Very safe - policemen on the pavement, horses and motorbikes everywhere. Well armed with tazers, guns and all types of gadgets.




No more XXX theatres so what's the point ?

For example - the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue - one of the largest museums on earth.

Almost one million visitors a month, with over 2 million exhibits. Including real pyramids transported from Egypt.

Every exhibit has a number - and, after keying in the number into the keypad of your hired electronic divice - you will be told what you're looking at.

Byzantine art, Chinese poems, Islamic art, Inca statues, Palestinian crockery, Egyptian mummies or a Spanish frigate.

Fascinating and, in itself, one of the wonders of the world....