Stonehenge

Ahhh,  the infamous Stonehenge. I finally made it! Would it be cheeky of me to say that it isn't much more than a pile of large boulders? Nifty how they are placed in a pattern though (the 'Aliens' were clever in their signs--how DID they move them anyway?). It's been around since 2400BC. That in itself is impressive.  Apparently there are even more of these rock patterns throughout the UK although this is the most famous of them all. The stones are now fenced-in but for a price of £6 ($10) you can pay to go around the gate and get close but not actually touch or walk through the stones. (They are still protected and fenced up to keep travellers from breaking pieces off and carting them home with them--or perhaps to keep you from falling in between them and travelling to other time periods). If you're in a real hurry and don't have time to stop at the car park and walk across the road to see Stonehenge; catch a glance of it from the A344. You can see the stones on top of the hill whilst driving up to it.

UPDATE: Ticket prices in 2019 are about $20 per person now *Insert my shocked face!

Hayling Island

"Sally sells seashells down by the seashore." Now say that ten times fast...

One of my newest adventures sent me off to the seashore hunting for seashells. After much whining and begging my friend gave in and drove us 65 miles to the south shore of England to a small island town known as Hayling Island. An hour and half later (and several rainstorms later...) we approached the coast. This was my first trip to an English coast and I wanted to take it all in come rain or shine. And rain it did (please no comments about english weather, mum).

Hayling Island consists of over three miles of beaches (and I think we walked most of them) to seek shells. One beach in particular is covered in seashells. From afar it looks like a giant sand dune but when close up you realise you are actually walking on a mound of shells. Brilliant!

Despite the weather and the fact that I wore white to the beach and got soaked, had a wonderful time and most importantly got all the seashells I could carry :) Highly recommend this place with its safe open spaces, fresh air, sheltered waters and small English town feel.  During the summer months the island also has an amusement park of sorts.

Traveller tip: Eat at the local carvery. Good food, relatively cheap!