Monday 22^nd July 2019

We caught the 10:11 bus from Devizes to Swindon to visit Aaron and see his new flat. However, we bought day rover tickets and stopped off at Avebury for a few hours.

Avebury is a centre of Neolithic culture that would be every bit as impressive as Stonehenge, although much older, dating back almost 6,000 years. The Avebury site comprises a large circular bank and ditch with a large outer stone circle and two separate smaller stone circles located inside the centre. The site however, is a part of a much larger prehistoric landscape containing several older monuments nearby, including West Kennet Long Barrow, Windmill Hill and Silbury Hill.

We used our National Trust Membership Cards to visit the museum in Avebury Manor Tithe Barn, this tells the story of, and explains, the site through the ages. A further museum displays archaeological finds with some fascinating items.

    

After walking around the stone circles we finished with a glass of coke at the pub before catching the bus into Swindon. Aaron met us off the bus and we visited his new flat. A comfortable attic flat within a house with a very homely feel to it. It was nice for us to see where he is now living.

Aaron then drove us around Swindon where we crossed the “Magic Roundabout”, five mini roundabouts all contained within one large roundabout. He reckons it flows well but it must be an absolute nightmare for visitors. We passed the Ambulance Station where he is based and called into an electrical supplier where I eventually managed to get a cable gland.

We had a pub lunch and sat and chatted in another pub garden before catching the 17:11 bus back to Devizes. The bus was hot and airless, the drive seemed very long and, while we had a really nice day, we were glad when we got back to the boat.

Weather: hot, hot, hot.