Stourhead Gardens were set out by Henry the Magnificent in the early eighteenth century when he and a team of fifty gardeners planted and tended beech , oak , sycamore, ash and holm oak along with a variety of rhododendrons and camellias . The centre piece of the gardens is the lake , achieved by damming the River Stour. The lake is surrounded by some magnificent buildings , the most spectacular are the Temple of Flora, The Pantheon and the Grotto.

The Palladian designed house is the home of the merchant bankers , the Hoare’s . The magnificent house is adorned with many splendid paintings and many examples of furniture made by Chippendale. The time passed very quickly , with so many things to see.

We then retraced our way back to Stonehenge. This is perhaps the most famous prehistoric site in Europe. There is evidence of Mesolithic Posts on the site going back to 8500 – 7000 BC. The first Stonehenge was built around 3000 BC. The stones were raised in the centre of an enclosed ring approximately 2500 BC. The site has been at the centre of British history with evidence of Bronze age carving (1750 – 1500 BC ) and with the Romans being in the region in AD 43.

The whole site has been greatly improved with the new visitor centre, with frequent buses from the centre to the stones.