Salisbury & Avebury– Day 17 of 2025 England Pilgrimage

Sunday 10/5/2025

Today was packed full of wonderful experiences and gems. Though we saw a lot, I didn’t feel rushed. We just enjoyed the journey together as the day unfolded.

We knew we all wanted to begin with church at Salisbury Cathedral. The Eucharistic Service was at 10:30.

After easing into the morning with coffee or tea and a light breakfast at Steve’s cozy row house, we walked 10ish minutes to the Cathedral. The rain had passed but it was still a blustery day. Even so, it was a lovely day to be outdoors.

I was rather surprised at the crowd that attended the service. The Cathedral was nicely filled… with people in coats, boots, scarves, and some with gloves. They came prepared, knowing that the heat isn’t turned on until late October. The bulletin states:

We are carefully monitoring temperatures as we head into autumn. We plan to turn on the Cathedral heating towards the end of October, as usual. Please dress appropriately during this transition period. This arrangement supports our environmental aspirations: even in the martingale months of April and October, heating the Cathedral for just one day emits as much carbon dioxide as it takes 24 mature trees a whole year to absorb. – Kenneth Padley, Canon Treasurer

Nobody seemed to mind. And many people stayed for coffee after the service so the chill in the air may have encouraged that social time. It was lovely to see everyone enjoying each other. Jennie and Steve saw some friends and had a nice chat catching up. (I liked their style of walkers – light, easy to fold up, but expensive in the US.)

There was a “fair trade” table set up in the back as well. We bought a dark chocolate Advent calendar.

Thanks be to God, the big screens from yesterday were gone. No more Frosty the Snowman pictures blocking the view through the quire to the Martyrs Window. Gregg commented that of all the Cathedral’s we have visited, this may by his favorite. The stonework in the lower columns includes dark gray. As your eye goes up towards the high ceiling, the colors and space become lighter. It instinctively lifts your eyes up, which also lifts our hearts and spirits up towards God.

The alter was beautifully decorated for fall because it is their Harvest Festival – a day of thanksgiving for farmers and the food God has provided us through them. The congregation was invited to bring non-perishable items to be distributed through local charities.

I don’t think I commented on the font yesterday. It is large, beautiful shape, filled with water that overflows on four corners and is recycled back. Though the water is flowing, the water looks still. The reflections in the water are gorgeous. There was a baptism yesterday afternoon. I bet it was a very special service around that font.

Much of the service was sung. The whole service was special.

There was a men and boy’s choir who sang throughout the service. Their voices were beautiful and the acoustics allowed their voices to fill the Cathedral. They say in chairs to the side and back of the alter, not in the quire, which was further behind the alter that was used.

No incense was used in this service. The past two weeks we attended more “high church” services which did include incense. The fragrance is a memory-connection to Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Cocoa, Florida as a teen. That is the church Jennie attended a long with several other good friends such as Anne and Susan.

Looking back on my life, I love how God introduced me to the Episcopal Church in high school. Then He used the Episcopal Church to draw me back to Himself before I met Gregg. I had become hurt, disillusioned and angry with God and walked away from Him during college. Life without God felt empty and I eventually chose to seek King Jesus again. Once married, I introduced Gregg to Christmas Eve Mass and it had become a cherished family tradition. Then, September 17, 2023, Gregg and I became confirmed in the Episcopal Church (which is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion led by the Archbishop of Canterbury.)

And now, during our second Pilgrimage visit to the United Kingdom, the next Archbishop of Canterbury has been announced. It is a historic moment. The first woman has been appointed Archbishop. I watched a video interview of Bishop Sarah Mullally, the current Bishop of London, in which she shares her faith and vocation journey. It is interesting and encouraging. Here is a short written bio about Bishop Sarah.

After church and coffee hour, we went to the Cathedral’s Cafe for lunch. The ceiling is glass, so we sat under the spires as we ate. So lovely! Gregg and I shared a “Sunday Roast,” a very traditional English meal on Sundays. It included roast pork, roasted potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, bread pudding, and cabbage salad. We also shared a fruit scone, but I didn’t share my small pot of tea that came with the scone. It was all very delicious.

We didn’t see the Magna Carta yesterday so the guys went to see it (our tickets are valid here for a year) while the girls browsed the gift shop.

After one last walk through Canterbury, we returned to the townhouse, packed up, and headed out. There were many options, including going straight home, but I am tickled about the option we chose.

Driving through country roads through the rolling countryside, we went to Avebury. (pronounced with a long A) It is a World Heritage Site. The village is surrounded by a stone circle – standing stones similar to those at Stonehenge. Outside of that circle is a deep ditch, then a steep hill – presumably made from the contents dug out of the ditch. One of the many mysteries is that the hill is outside the most which indicates the ditch and hill were for keeping people (and animals?) inside the ring rather than protection from those outside the ring.

The mystery of it all is magnified by the fact it was constructed sometime between 2850 BC and 2200 BC, during the Neolithic period. No modern machinery. No metal, just tools created from stone, bones, and antlers. The who, why, and how have been lost to time. It is a beautiful place to walk around. Here is another link for more info.

We also went inside a church, St. James Avebury. People have been worshiping Jesus on this site for 1500 years. WOW! The oldest part of the church dates back to around 1000AD. A Christian monastic settlement from the 3rd Century (200’s!) has been confirmed to have been here. This link tells about the history.

Our drive home from Avebury was about an hour and a half. The route included going through a “Magic Circle” Roundabout. Man, was I even MORE glad I wasn’t driving! We had seen one of these last year but, thankfully were turning left so we didn’t have to get involved in it. My mouth dropped as I realized cars in the very center of the circle were not going left but going right. It is one huge roundabout with five smaller roundabouts inside. I still don’t understand how it works. It seems terrifying.

We all returned wiped out. Though Jennie had been our trusty driver all day, she still found energy to make a delicious (and beautiful) dinner – of Orecchiette Puttanesca. In other words, a lovely combination of ingredients including Orecchiette (dried noodles), chick peas, olives, capers, cherry tomatoes, smoked paprika, cumin, caraway seeds, tomato paste, cloves, parsley, lemon zest, and chicken stock. Wonderful comfort food for the end of a chilly day.

We relaxed before bed by watching Beauty and the Beast, live version. It was fun.