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My centered feeling soon vanished the instant Dan and I found ourselves on British roads in our rental car. Neither of us had ever driven on the other side of the road.  The traffic and roundabouts were harrowing for us.  Dan did his best, and though I may actually have preferred keeping my eyes shut, my job as navigator became letting him know when we were about to hit the curb or run off the narrow shoulders on my side of the car.  I was nearly shaking after our 90 mile drive to the great stone circle of Avebury.

It's curious that in England what attracted us most were the famous stone henges, not sites that specifically centered on water.  In Avebury 4000 years ago stood the largest stone circle in the United Kingdom.  Many of the stones still stand, although most were purposefully buried or destroyed several hundred years ago as the scourge of paganism and its structures were desecrated.  Originally two smaller, most likely ceremonial circles stood within the great henge, and avenues of stones snaked away from the monolithic circle, serpent like. 

In the early 1700s the destruction of the stones was great.  Huge fires were lit around the stones, and when they glowed with heat water was poured upon them to split them open at their fracture points.  Any remaining large pieces were broken apart with sledgehammers.  The stones were used in the building of the local villages, including many structures erected directly within the circle itself.  Today the remaining standing stones, many of which were unburied and painstakingly re-erected, are thoughtfully protected in this area of England famous for its dramatic crop circles.

We stayed in a fantastic bed and breakfast directly within the stone circle.  The large, old home epitomized British village living, and some of the neighboring homes actually still had thickly thatched roofs, much as they had for hundreds of years.  The Lodge was full of antiques, and was lovingly cared for.  The proprietor showed us to our lovely upstairs room and on the brink of exhaustion after our travels and a brief walk around the town, we both slept for 13 straight hours. 

We awoke refreshed and ready to explore the area, feeling no ill effects from our day and half of travel.  Neither of us chose to allow the energy of "jet lag" into our fields during our journey, we always saw ourselves and our bodies adapting to the demands of travel easily and healthfully.  We always made it a priority to allow ourselves extra rest when it was needed, and this kept our energy levels high.

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