Stonehenge, England October 11, 2026

We started the drive to Stonehenge traveling through the area where some of the band members of Coldplay and Radiohead are from. Throughout this journey our guide would play music or video clips of famous entertainers and people from Great Britain. It's really amazing how our cultures are connected. 

It is estimated the rocks at Stonehenge have been here for over 4,500 years. It is believed to have been a prehistoric temple with the stones carefully arranged to line up with the movements of the sun. Today it was our day to make the pilgrimage. 

First glimpse 

Getting closer, an ultralight was flying over

Views from all sides

Thought to be the original entrance 

Notice how big the stones are compared to the people on the right 

View from above from a sign

They had some replica houses of where the people who built Stonehenge would have lived.

This is the size of one of the stones. They think this is how the stones were moved using hundreds of people. 

Stonehenge was an incredible place to visit. Kind of gives you goosebumps thinking about everything that has happened there.

We are ending our day in London where we will have an optional outing of dinner and a show called The Play that Goes Wrong in the West End.

Tomorrow, we get one more breakfast and then the trip is over. It's been a great trip. Twenty-three days on a bus with 44 people was a long time, especially as we were not feeling well for much of it. Overall, the hotels and meals were very good. Living out of a suitcase for this long wasn't great, but manageable. I definitely think we got a much better taste of Great Britain doing the bus tour rather than a cruise. 

I chose the Great Britain in Depth tour, and we saw a lot. I think the sixteen day highlights tour would have been maybe enough. Much of our extra time was sightseeing in some remote and beautiful areas.

We were truly blessed to have had an awesome tour director, Oshan, and a super skilled driver, Paul. They certainly made the trip an outstanding adventure!

Paul on left, Oshan on right 

Here's a photo of our group taken one of the first days.

Our route for the last day.

We fly home Tuesday morning.  That's a wrap on another fun adventure.  Stay tuned for our next trip in January, an Antarctic cruise!!

Plymouth and Cornwall, England October 10, 2026

We started our touring this morning at Plymouth Harbor and the Barbican, the oldest remaining part of the town. Plymouth was almost completely destroyed by bombs in WWII as it was an important harbor. This small area was spared.

The Mayflower set sail from here on September 6, 1620. There are steps and a memorial commemorating that trip. Captain Cook also sailed from here.

The Mayflower memorial 

Plymouth Gin distillery, supposed to be well known 

I've never seen a metallic painted car before, and definitely not a pink one. This Audi really stood out.

There was a rowing club out in the harbor.

We stopped in the village of Looe in Cornwall County for lunch. This was a tin mining area, and Cornish Pasties are the local food. I had a traditional one with steak and vegetable filling. It was good and very filling. The seagulls were eyeing my food. He waited patiently, so he got some crust. 

This castle looking house was on a hill with other regular houses. Strange!

Looe beach

Cornwall scenery

Back in Plymouth I took a picture of this bombed out church facade. They left it as a memorial to the people who died during the WWII bombings. The building behind it kind of looks like wings.

My first ever experience "putting the kettle on". Every hotel room has had one with an assortment of teas and instant coffee. This hotel had instant hot chocolate, too.

I'm hoping it will help my sore throat and cough. The first week on the bus everyone was fine. Week two some people started coughing. By now, pretty much everyone, including us, is sick with a cough, sore throat and runny nose.  I think the germs just keep spreading around. 

Our route for today. 

Cardiff, Wales to Plymouth England October 9, 2026

We left Cardiff in the rain headed to our first stop, Bath, England. Peter Gabriel of the band Genesis, and also the band Tears for Fears are from this area.

The Romans built bathhouses in Bath over mineral springs that were supposed to have healing properties. They still exist today as a museum where you can taste the water.

The entire city of Bath is a Unesco World Heritage site. Most buildings date back to the 1700s. An abbey was built about 500 years ago, and the first king of England was crowned here. It is a breathtaking building!!

The oldest building is Sally Lunn's Eating House, 1680.

Jane Austin lived here for six years and wrote two of her novels during that time. There is a museum dedicated to her.

Typical street

Huge tree in square 

Another church 

Monastery ruin

Pulteney bridge built 1794 with shops on top

This square is the most exclusive in Bath with apartments selling for $5 million.

Our next stop was the small town of Glastonbury, where there is an old monastery ruin. They claim King Arthur and Queen Gweneviere are buried there. Probably not!

This town has an interesting vibe with lots of shops dealing with crystals and supernatural stuff.

Clarks Shoe company was started in England about 200 years ago. 

We drove through Dartmoor National Park and stopped in the little village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor for a bathroom break and to stretch our legs. This little village has a very impressive church.

Our stop for the next two nights is Plymouth. 

Our route for today.