From Ancient Stones to Lands' End

It was April 2017, and I was experiencing wanderlust once more. I decided to check out more of merry ol' England, this time the southwestern side. I hopped on a plane and skipped across the Pond to see what I could see...

This was my first time trying out the small group tour company called Rabbies, and I was in for a treat! Before this when I traveled I just went on day group trips and did things on my own. It was so nice to have other people share in the full experience!

I, and my fellow adventurers, left London and went West on our 5-day trip. Our first stop was the city of Winchester, which is in the heart of Anglo-Saxon territory. We roamed the streets, went through a farmer's market, and grabbed some lunch before checking out the cathedral, burial place of King Alfred the Great...

We then went back in time even further, to time immemorial, and walked among the ancient site of Stonehenge...

There is more than Stonehenge itself located on Salisbury Plain. There are also several burial mounds, and an excellent little museum, both inside and outside, where you can explore what it may have been like thousands of years ago...

We then made our way further West to Exeter, our base for the next 2 nights. After a lovely dinner at a local pub, we took a walk along the river and crossed this bridge...

And saw some swans...

The following morning, we drove through a place known from the Sherlock Holmes story Hound of the Baskervilles...the mysterious Dartmoor. As we made our way over the rolling hills and wide expanse of the moor, I could imagine seeing those hounds race across the landscape! Alas, we did not see any hounds...but we did see some Dartmoor ponies...

And this cool old bridge...

We then headed to Tavistock, birthplace of Sir Francis Drake, for lunch. We found a nice little place to try a Devon Cream Tea, which was delicious!

We headed back to Exeter with time to explore more of the city. I and one of my fellow travelers walked along the shopping streets and saw the old Roman wall, and then went to Exeter cathedral...

The next day, we drove into Cornwall and saw some castles, including one associated with the legend of King Arthur.

First, we stopped in the ancient capital of Cornwall, Launceton, and saw the 12th century Norman castle...

We then headed along the coast to the small village of Boscastle, where there are amazing clifftop views over the Atlantic...

Our next stop was Tintagel, where it is thought the legendary King Arthur was born...

There's even Merlin's cave on the beach below!

We then made our way to Falmouth, our base for the next 2 nights. We ate at the famous Rick Stein's Fish and Chips...

The next day we headed as far west as we could go before running into the Atlantic ocean. On our way there, we made a brief stop to view St. Michael's Mount...

And the Minack Theatre, a working theatre started by Rowena Cade in the 1920s...

We then finally reached the most southwestern point in the UK...Land's End.

We then made our way back inland and stopped at St. Ives for lunch...

Our last day of the tour we crossed Bodmin Moor and made our way back into Devon, and on into Somerset, where we stopped in the mythical town of Glastonbury for lunch...

Where I had just enough time to walk half way up the Tor...

We then headed through the patchwork landscape of grass and rapeseed back to London.

An amazing trip and highly recommended! If you would like more information about the magical lands of southwest England, check out this site: https://about-britain.com/regional/devon-cornwall.htm