Stonehenge in the February rain

Perverse to visit Stonehenge yesterday, with heavy rain forecast for most of the day. Perhaps it was only Bristol Water, turning off our supply for 8 hours for 'urgent repairs', who could have forced us out.

Anyway, a chance to see the new Visitor Centre and admire the A303 before it vanishes into a tunnel forever.

Clare approaches the new Visitor Centre - henge-themed

An ancestor of Trevor Eve was found here 5,000 years ago
(click on image to make larger and read the caption).

Never have I seen such bedraggled sheep

Traffic jams on the A303 .. oh, and some rocks

Clare was sampling something from the local druids I guess

We did have a conversation about it.

Afterwards we took a late lunch in Warminster. Much as I would like the town to be associated with the heavy military presence on the adjacent Salisbury Plain, in fact:

"The town's name has evolved over time, known as Worgemynstre in approximately 912 and it was referred to in the Domesday Book in 1086 as Guerminstre.

The town name of Warminster is thought to derive from the River Were, a tributary of River Wylye which runs through the town, and from an Anglo-Saxon minster or monastery, which existed in the area of St Denys's Church.

The river's name, "Were" may derive from the Old English "worian" to wander."

...As the wheels churned uselessly ...

It was a last resort - Adrian calling me - to report that his car was irretrievably stuck in mud off the A350 just north of Warminster. Sometimes the satnav demands a U-turn, and sometimes you have to pull off the main road to effect the manoeuvre. And sometimes that side road in the dark is, unbeknownst to you, the entrance to a sodden ploughed field.

Adrian's stranded car

Alex and I arrived about 45 minutes later laden with planks, spades and chocolate bars. After watching them work for a while from the warmth and dryness of my own car, I was persuaded to transfer to the stuck one to reverse out (on those newly-laid planks). At this point a large white van pulled in; the livery said 'Garden Centre' and the guy and girl offered use of their winch.

We compromised: I reversed enough to show in principle we could have gotten out, and then they winched the car to the concrete entrance way. Nice people.

Adrian finally retrieved

Here's Alex's impression of Adrian safely back at ours, checking stuff out on his laptop.

Oh Mighty One - thank you for helping us!

And here's Alex's impression of ...? A Greek God? A Roman Emperor? It's hard to be sure.