A walk through Salisbury

After Stonehenge, we got back on the buses and continued down the road for another 15 minutes or so to Salisbury. It's a cute little city that was founded in 1220 AD. Their shop lined streets are typical of many cities this size, and on this Friday afternoon we saw many people bustling around during the lunch hour. This included the local school boys, on their way to and from lunch all dressed up with neckties and sweaters. We spent about an hour and a half walking around before going inside the Cathedral.


Jessica and I, along with a bunch of others on the trip, stopped here for lunch. It was a cute little place, and had a good mix of tourists and locals. They did have an interesting way of ordering your food that I thought was rather efficient. Instead of sitting down and having a waiter come to you, first you left your things at a table and then lined up at the counter. The menu was like a cafe - on a board behind the cashier. You placed your order and paid up front, told them your table number, and they would bring the food to you. Drinks were given to you at the counter. I can't say that I ever have seen this before. Usually if they do it this way, you get a buzzer and have to go back up to get the food yourself. Anyway, the important thing is the food was good and it was cheap!


This is just a nice example of an old English house, with a traditional hedge across the front, or back, I can't really tell. Those rooms with the big windows have a magnificent uninterrupted view of the Cathedral. There is something about this picture that I love - the way the sunlight hits the top of the buildings and the bright blue sky in the background.


A river or large creek runs through the middle of the city. There is a nice walkway all the way down on at least one side that many people were using for recreation - either walking, running, biking, or just simply having a seat on a bench and taking in the view.


On the same river, about a quarter of mile down the way, there was a (flock? I guess that's what you would call a group of them) of swans with people feeding them from the path. An interesting note about swans in England - a fact that I had once known but had forgotten until reminded by a tour guide - is that they all are property of the Queen. Hmm...and like Her Majesty, they can be quite mean looking sometimes! I remember a classmate of mine in high school was chased by one in Canada during a field trip to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.


Unfortunately we didn't have time to stop at this cute little side street pub, but it has such charm. It is amazing how many pubs there are in this country and almost everyone of them has is own distinct character and many have their own unique history. Not like in America where one bar looks like any other.


I put this picture in primarily because I like the lighting, but it also demonstrates how in these old cities the new and old are always interacting. These narrow streets and archways, built hundreds and hundreds of years ago - before the United States was even a dream - are now giving way to cars, trucks, and bikes along with the timeless foot traffic of locals heading to the shops.


This central green sits between the Cathedral and the developed portion of the city. Even after hundreds of years of occupation, the English have preserved public greens and gathering areas for the enjoyment of all. More American towns and cities could have taken a lesson from this example. Instead we are in such a hurry in some places to pave over every square inch in the name of "development" and "progress."


The Cathedral's spire is a prominent part of the city's skyline and can be seen for miles. Interestingly, it is what saved this city from bombing during WWII. The German pilots would use this spire as a guide point to tell them when to change direction and head for other British cities that they bombed instead. To avoid risking damage to the spire, the city was spared. There apparently is still almost a sense of guilt among the older residents here, knowing that they were left alone while others had to endure the German bombing.