White Horses, Stone Circles and Lions
Wiltshire--Britain's equivalent to Egypt's Valley of the Kings--was the venue for the August 1999 Z cruise.
Attractions on the tour included
Many thanks to Brian and Sara McCallion who organised and hosted the day.
Stonehenge
The stone age earthworks in Wiltshire were created up to 5,500 years ago and cover a 2,000-year period from 3,600 BC to 1,600 BC. Stonehenge is possibly the best-known, with building phases dating from 2950 BC to 1650 BC. It is about 15 miles south of the Avebury site but my route across the Salisbury Plain took me past Stonehenge which was still shrouded in early-morning mist.
We're off
A total of nine cars arrived for the start--one Estoril M roadster and eight Z3s (three Montreal and one each of Cosmos, Atlanta, Topaz, Red and Dakar).
Some eyeing up of Bill Pate's Estoril roadster and Paul Ivatt's Dakar Z3.
Our route took us west past Silbury Hill and West Kennet Long Barrow, then north up the Kennet Avenue of stones to the Avebury henge.
Silbury Hill
Silbury Hill is the largest man-made prehistoric mound in Europe, being 120 feet high, 520 feet across at its base and containing some 12.5 million cubic feet of material. [Note the people standing on the top.]
Avebury Henge
We approached the village of Avebury (which is built inside the banked walls of the henge) along the Kennet Avenue of stones.
A henge is a ritual enclosure defined by a bank and ditch. The bank is outside the ditch, clearly showing it was not a defensive enclosure. Excavations have shown that the ditch was originally over 30 feet deep and that the Neolithic builders had cut away four million cubic feet of chalk.
The main stone circle, running round the inside edge of the ditch, consisted of 98 standing stones. Within it are two smaller stone circles, each of which is larger than Stonehenge.
Lunch at Lacock
Back into the cars and a quick drive to the 'Sign of the Angel', originally a 15th century wool merchant's house.
Back on the road
The cars attracted a great deal of admiring looks.
Longleat
Longleat is the seat of the Marquess of Bath. Part of the estate is a wildlife park and the 'Lions of Longleat' are now famous worldwide.
Click here for more pictures of the Z3s on the cruise .