Only the stones remain

On Easter Sunday we went in search of ancient English monuments in deepest, darkest Wiltshire. We first materialised at the most famous megalithic site, Stonehenge.....

Sarah and I had been to Stonehenge before ( about 20 years ago! ) but the kids had never seen it.

Here's James ( and Spidey ) meeting the ancient past. ( Well, as close as you can get to it at Stonehenge... )

Even though Sophie described this amazing feat of Bronze Age construction as "just a pile of stones" ( ah, to be a cynical teenager again! ) I think even she was ultimately impressed by it.

It is incredible to think that this monument was built at such an early stage in the country's history and has survived amazingly intact for so many thousands of years, inspiring countless myths and legends down the centuries. And, of course, it's the home of the Pandorica.....

And here's Sarah, reliving her hippy/Goth past :-)

The stars of the day, however, were a group of Thai monks who were followed by crowds everywhere they went and were happily posing for photos.

Sophie got in on the act.....

What a poser :-)

After the 'henge we travelled on, across Salisbury Plain, to the little village of Avebury, site of yet more ancient stones and famously the location for Children Of The Stones, the fondly-remembered kids' TV show from the '70s that scared the wits out of a generation of impressionable pre-teens.

These stones, however, are far more accessible than the ones at Stonehenge. Dotted around the village, they're not roped off for their own protection but seem surprisingly free of graffiti and

( recent ) damage.

It's a wonderful experience to walk freely amongst these stones as people have been doing for centuries.

The one below, however, obviously needed some propping up.....

And here are some of the residents.....

And, as it was Easter, here's Avebury's lovely little churchyard, complete with wooden cross and crown of thorns.

Soundtrack: Only The Stones Remain, Insanely Jealous, Underwater Moonlight, Kingdom Of Love - all by Robyn Hitchcock and the Soft Boys