United Kingdom
Glastonbury

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    • Day 1

      Glastonbury

      June 25, 2021 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Glastonbury is a quirky town and steeped in history and myth concerning Joseph of Arithamea, the Holy Grail and King Arthur.  Most people, however, associate it with the music festival which, by coincidence, was meant to be this weekend; there are still many "new-age" types and hippies here though...

      We walk via the back route to access the nearby tor (hill) from behind; the conical hill is topped by the roofless St Michael's Tower, built in the 14th century to replace the original wooden church, before returning to town down the front of the hill. We pass a 14th century tithe barn, now the Somerset Rural Life Museum, on our way to the Town Centre.

      Glastonbury is a market town and extremely attractive, with many old buildings - not least the Abbey and the two churches of St John the Baptist and St Benedict. We wander around enjoying the ambience.

      It has surpassed expectations.
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    • Day 109

      Heading to Plymouth

      August 2, 2016 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Back on the causeway made from stones from the abbey. Six hundred years ago this land would be a marsh land with secret tracks through. Imagine the pilgrims finding their way to the Abbey. 1685 Charles ii died and eldest illegitimate son rebelled. Was Duke of Monmouth. Lost battle. Beheaded before portrait painted. Had to get parts together to repaint!

      Lovely villages being passed by. This area had severe flooding a few years ago and they are in some cases just recovering.
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    • Day 39

      The Tor revisited

      November 3, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

      Went back up there so I could see it without a massive storm lol. The views were worth the second trip! Plus a couple more pics of the town for good measure.

    • Day 8

      Glastonbury Abby, England

      May 29, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      1191 behaupteten Mönche der Abtei von Glastonbury, die Grabstätte von Artus und Guinevere entdeckt zu haben. In rund 2 Meter Tiefe seien sie auf eine steinerne Grabplatte und ein bleiernes Kreuz gestoßen. Das blonde Haar Ginevras sei, so die Überlieferung, bei der Berührung durch einen gierigen Mönch zerfallen.Read more

    • Day 8

      Glastonbury Abbey

      June 12, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Verfallene Abbey aus dem 12. Jahrhundert, oder wie Stefan sagte a very old Obtei ⛪ die wir mit der eigenen Phantasie wiederbelebt haben.

    • Day 23

      Glastonbury

      September 10, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

      2:45 pm Glastonbury Abbey. Lady's Chapel is oldest part, legendary site of small wooden church supposedly built by Joseph of Arimathea. Thorn bush grew where he stuck his thorn staff into the ground, according to legend. Blooming cutting sent every year to the Queen. Glastonbury now center of Wicca and alternative culture devotees.Read more

    • Day 9

      Can't get enough of the place

      October 13, 2012 in England ⋅ 🌙 39 °F

      Glastonbury has been interesting enough to extend our stay. At breakfast the two other B&B guests told us about running into a local yesterday, who told them the details of his pond's carp. Apparently they were beamed into a spaceship, and he thought he had lost them; however, the aliens did return them, eventually ejecting them into the pond from whence they came. He was quite animated about the splash made by their return.

      We started the day at the White Spring, across the street from the previously mentioned Chalice (aka red spring) Well. The red spring carries the female energy and the white spring exudes male energy. The spring is located in a dark, damp brick building that is built into a hill, so it feels like you are way underground. As we walked in, a middle-aged man pointed at our feet and said, "You're going to want your wellingtons for in there." Translation...you need your wellies (knee high rubber boots-all the rage in England) because the water is a little too deep for your current footwear. Amy and Kim talked me into stripping my pasty feet and entering the lair of darkness. The water was several inches deep in some spots and super cold. My little toes were shivering! It takes a bit for your eyes to adjust but there were four or so altars near the corners of the rectangular brick vault. The ceiling was about 15-20 feet high and in the center of the place was a large pool, wherein the spring runs, then drains out on the other side. Our B&B friends mentioned that men were swimming naked in it yesterday when they visited. Luckily we were spared that uncomfortable social encounter!

      We did some shopping at places like The Psychic Pig, and Man-Magic-Myth, while glancing at the windows of Faeries, The Wonky Broom (actual hand carved witches brooms), and The Witch's Cat. For personal care, we noticed you could pop into the Inner Beauty Salon or the Holistic Hairdressing and Healing shop. All this shopping was a little much for me, so I left Amy and Kim to do the fiscal damage, and I went down to the Glastonbury Abbey.

      The Abbey, like all other churchy things around this part of the world, was built on a pagan site. A capped spring can be seen in what is left of the cathedral's crypt. The spring was used for pagan rituals long before the church arrived. This church site is special though. Jesus's uncle Joseph is said to have come here and built a small church, the first Christian church in Europe, which stood for about 1000 years. A monastery was later placed on the grounds, which is about 36 acres of the town. Models of the original structure are amazing, and the enormity of the building was not imaginable to me. As I stood at the south end of the cathedral, I looked at the remains at the north end and could not get my mind around the size of this structure. Some of the walls that remain only stand about one-quarter the original height of the building. Incredible. Unfortunately, a king, who's name escapes me, dissolved the monastery, hung the abbot, and raided the church's treasury. The monks ran off to France, and the Abbey has been sitting here, watching over Glastonbury ever since.

      We rested at the B&B for a bit before dinner at the “Who'd a Thought It” pub and inn. I've finally had my official fish and chips, so I am a very happy girl!
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    • Day 8

      Glastonbury Abby

      May 29, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Glastonbury Abbey ist eine ehemalige Abtei der Benediktiner bei Glastonbury. Über die Gründung des Klosters gibt es keine gesicherten Erkenntnisse. Entsprechend der traditionellen Überlieferung soll die Gründung bereits durch Jünger Jesu erfolgt sein.Read more

    • Day 8

      Glastonbury Tor

      May 29, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Glastonbury Tor (Tor bedeutet Berg, Erde) ist ein 158 m hoher, tropfenförmiger Hügel. Aufgrund der strategisch günstigen Lage siedelten zeitweise Kelten auf dem Tor. Später besetzten Römer den Hügel. Auf der Spitze steht der restaurierte Turm der Kirche St Michael’s aus dem 14. Jahrhundert.Read more

    • Day 7

      Avebury RFD

      October 11, 2012 in England ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

      We got a late start (seems to be a theme), so we didn't pick up our rental car until about 1pm. The road to Avebury is a mix of motorways and smaller byways. It's quite possible that we went through 50 roundabouts today. Luckily, Amy had here GPS, so we were able to move forward the entire day; as opposed to Ireland, where we double backed a multitude of times.

      We arrived in Avebury about 4:30. With a light mist, the area was magical. Large stones emerge from the earth in flat meadows where there appears to be no rock. Concentric rock circles engulf you, making one realize how terribly insignificant we are and how briefly we appear in the history of the world. The earthen embankment, which I've seen called fosses, also create a circle and were actually constructed first. The embankments run around the outside of the largest circle. The builders dug a ditch thirty feet down, then piled the dirt thirty feet high at the edge of the ditch, creating a hill of sixty feet. These "structures" we're built in 4,000-3,500 BC. It wasn't until 2,600 BC that the stones were placed.

      We walked the interior of the large circle, after Kim and Amy did some serious purchasing at The Henge Store. The NE quadrant is filled with sheep, grazing obliviously around the stones. The other three quadrants were sheep-free during our visit, but there was evidence they had been there.

      Just beyond the henge is Silbury Hill, the largest man made structure in prehistoric Europe. Basically, it's a huge pile of chalk, dug up from the local area. The landscape here is just a few inches of top soil, sitting on top of solid, white chalk.

      We left the henge to eat dinner and drive to Glastonbury. We ate at The Waggon & Horses, a site built in 1669. The food was amazing, giving me the energy to finish off the drive to Glastonbury; home to hippies, crystals, goddesses, and incense. Just like Boulder, just older!
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