Driving the English Countryside

Who knew driving a big stickshift car on the wrong side of the road could be so much fun?  Well, it is fun for the driver at least — I’m not sure that everyone else would agree!

Having been herding around on public transportation since arriving in Europe, it has been fun to have absolute control of your day. If only those pesky roundabouts didn’t appear every kilometer or two.

We have three or four days to explore the countryside around Southwest England, using Bath as our base. And we spent the first half of it on the road taking in the gorgeous countryside visiting little piddly towns and big ticket stops like Stonehenge.  As Zack said, it’s almost too quaint — as every turn of the road unveils another thatched roof cottage, an ancient pub, or unspoiled little farm village.

A population of 350 people keep the medieval town of Castle Combe in good enough shape to consistently win the "Prettiest Village in England" award

Avebury features an interesting stone circle about a mile in diameter -- and plenty of sheep grazing nearby. We stopped here on the way to its more famous cousing Stonehenge.

We stopped for roadside potty break and noticed these rocks piled up in a field...

Salisbury is a fantastic old town with one of the prettiest churches we visited (and we toured 20 of them)

Dave easily manhandled England's tallest spire at Salisbury Cathedral

I wonder what Sunday attendance was like at St Michaels cathedral -- having a mile hike up Glastonbury Tor ensured that only the most earnest Christians worshipped here until an earthquake knocked most of it down. It was active from 500 to 1250 AD.

Glastonbury and The Tor have many mystical and mythical connections -- including fairies, King Arthur and Avalon. The nearby town now hosts the UK version of Woodstock each year.

Feeling a bit tired after hiking up the huge Tor hill at the end of a long day.

Not sure what the real story of the Tor is -- but I know the view is truly inspiring and you walk down feeling pounds lighter.

Wells Cathedral is one of the oldest and largest gothic cathedrals in England -- and placed in a tiny little town that is now well off the beaten path.

We put nearly 400 miles on our trusty Ford station wagon