Day 0: Home to London
Our flight was delayed almost two hours so we arrived in London about one hour late. We got a meal, continental breakfast, and complimentary beer and wine on the flight, which was nice. We both slept on the flight, which helped.
Day 1: London to Salisbury
Our plan was to get to Salisbury as quickly as we could and see Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral today. We got the bus from Heathrow to Woking, then just missed a train to Salisbury. We had a humorous moment at the Woking train station. Steve didn’t see me scan my train ticket at the turnstile and ran into the barrier. So he’s calling out to me to stop and help.
Thanks to our delayed flight and missing the one train we got to Salisbury later than we planned. When we arrived the bus for the Stonehenge tour was waiting at the station so we decided to just hop on and do it without checking into our B&B first. Since we travel with carryons only and had our new backpack carryons we could do that easily.
The Stonehenge Tour was nice, we got some commentary on the bus and got to see some countryside too. (This is Steve’s first visit to England.) We think we saw a hare on the way to Stonehenge. Either that, or rabbits are bigger here. Stonehenge was about what I pictured – eerie, windswept, amazing. We had an anachronism when a helicopter flew overhead. Other than that and the other tourists it could have been any century.
We stayed at The New Inn, which dates back to the 12th century. We wanted to stay at at least one pub on our trip. Kind of a small scale all-inclusive. At the end of the night all you have to do is make your way up the (steep) stairs to bed. The pub was a bit posh but nice and traditional. It had a rustic common room, a restaurant in back, a lounge, and a nice beer garden with an open fire and a view of the cathedral. We had Badger, Fursty Ferret, and Tanglefoot beers, and cider.
We walked around town a little, down to the cathedral. There’s amazing detail on the spire and statues on the face of it. It was closed for the day so we’ll need to check out the inside before we get on the train tomorrow. The cathedral sits in the midst of lawns, so it was easy to get a good look at it.
We slept well. I woke up at 4:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep, but still got six hours in.
Essentials
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Lodging
Having never stayed at a pub, we weren’t sure what to expect. Check in was a breeze once staff located the person who handled the B&B details. We had a private bath across the hall from our room. Both rooms had their own key so there were no privacy issues. Robes were provided for travelling back and forth, which was handy. The bedroom had everything we needed and more, and charm to spare. The ceiling and floors were delightfully wonky. The ceiling was also short. I’m 5’7″ and I banged my head on the doorjamb. Tall people might find it claustrophobic. The bathroom was small but well-designed and modern.
Dining
We ate dinner there that night. I had the lamb burger – one of the best meals I had on the trip – and Steve had fish and chips, which he also liked. The menu was interesting and varied without being too fussy; just what we needed to help combat jet lag. Breakfast the following morning was served in the restaurant section of the pub and was great. Best sausage we had on the trip, and fried bread under the egg which, while evil, was delicious!
Transportation
We took the bus tour to Stonehenge. Other than that we walked during the short time we were in Salisbury.