What a day! The bus picked us up at 9 AM to take us away through the vast English countryside. One of our tutors (we don't call them professors), Andrew Butterworth, became our tour guide for the day, pointing out historical sites along the way. In addition to being a member of the staff, he's a certified blue badge guide, which means that he's one of the most knowledgeable people about the South of England. On top of that, he's decidedly everyone's favorite person. We liken him to the best Grandpa you could have - he makes jokes, tells stories, and is genuinely interested in your thoughts. I'm so glad he's in charge of the Education programme!
When we got to Stonehenge, we got to explore the new visitors' center, which has a simulation of Stonehenge through history. The simulation places you in the center of the stones, projecting the images on the walls. The simulation, of course, was no match for the real stones, which probably would have been even cooler if the wind hadn't been strong enough to freeze my hands. It wasn't long before we all trekked back inside for something warm to drink (in my case tea).
After Stonehenge, we hopped back on the bus to go to Salisbury. We kicked off the afternoon with a tour of the local cathedral, which is over 750 years old. After a tour led by the wonderful Andrew Butterworth, we grabbed lunch at a local cafe before continuing our journey to our third and final destination of the day: Lacock.
Lacock has its share of history, but the most exciting part is that it was one of the locations at which Harry Potter was filmed! Specifically, Lacock Abbey held the corridors from the first and second films as well as the early potions classroom and Quirrell's DADA room. Since the Abbey was closed, a few of us are making plans to go back and take a look around. We got the chance to see the house featured in the first film for James and Lily, which was a treat, and supposedly Slughorn's house from the sixth movie is around there too, so we'll have to find that.
Anyway, after our little Harry Potter tour, we finally sat down to dinner for the night. I had a lovely roasted chicken with veggies, and a slice of chocolate fudge cake for dessert. After dinner, we hopped back on the bus for one last leg of the trip - coming back to Bath. I have to admit, it feels good to be back in my little flat :)
Time for bed - classes start tomorrow! Cheers!
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