Listings

Stonehenge is renowned the world over and, together with surrounding prehistoric monuments, is a World Heritage Site. It was begun in the Neolithic period, about 3000 BC as a circular ditch surrounding stone or wooden posts. The stones arrived about 500 years later, some (the Sarsen stones) from the Marlborough Downs about 16 miles to the north, other (the bluestones) from the Preseli Hills some 150 miles to the west, in Pembrokeshire. No one knows for certain why it was built - there is no shortage of theories. But it would have taken not only a lot of effort, but also a lot of organisation, to build Stonehenge. Further, it is situated in a landscape packed full of other monuments and reminders of our prehistoric ancestors. Stonehenge is extremely popular. There is a busy visitor centre with a compelling museum, exhibition gallery and reconstructed round-houses. You are transported part-way to the circle by shuttle bus, after which you can walk. The area has been landscaped so that the visitor centre is not visible from the monument. Note: Many visitors are disappointed by how crowded Stonehenge can be - and also that the circle is smaller than they have imagined.

Westminster Abbey has been at the centre of English, and British, state occasions - coronations, weddings, funerals, services of commemoration - since William the Conqueror was crowned there on Christmas Day 1066. The Abbey was founded by King Edward the Confessor in the 11th century, though the present building is largely 13th-14th century, with the addition of 18th century towers. The interior of the abbey is breathtaking and contains the tombs of many of England's great monarchs, including Edward I and Elizabeth I, as well as memorials honouring heroes and poets - and the tomb of the Unknown Warrior. A sense of history is all around you.

However, entry is expensive and it can get incredibly crowded.  Photography is allowed, within reason.  However, you can download images from the Abbey's website - as shown here - which are copyright Dean and Chapter of Westminster.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a World Heritage Site set in 300 acres beside the River Thames between Richmond and Kew in south-west London.  It boasts 6 glasshouses, the great pagoda, a range of landscapes and the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world".  There is also a large, specialist, library. One highlight of a visit is Kew's Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway which takes visitors underground and then 59 feet (18 metres) high up in the air.

The botanic gardens were founded in 1840, though its roots (pun intended) go back much further, to at least 1759 when Princess Augusta, mother of King George III, established a nine-acre botanic garden within the pleasure grounds at Kew.  However, this part of the world has been a bit of a Royal Playground for centuries.

Kew Gardens has its own small police force, the Kew Constabulary, operational since 1847. Entry into the gardens also gives entry to Kew Palace, managed by Historic Royal Palaces. Kew, and the botanic gardens at Wakehurst, Sussex, are managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, a government sponsored internationally important botanical research and education institution.