Prehistoric – Maldo Travels https://www.maldotravels.com Travel - Learn - Share Wed, 27 Apr 2022 22:49:50 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://www.maldotravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Favicon-Black.png Prehistoric – Maldo Travels https://www.maldotravels.com 32 32 Kents Cavern – Prehistoric Caves https://www.maldotravels.com/europe/england/kents-cavern-prehistoric-caves/ https://www.maldotravels.com/europe/england/kents-cavern-prehistoric-caves/#respond Mon, 26 Aug 2019 23:02:00 +0000 http://54.211.235.180/?p=7799

From our Airbnb1 in Falmouth, it took 2 hours and 30 minutes to get to the town of Torquay where the caves are located. The drive from Bristol would be around 2 hours and from London, it would be about 4 hours. There’s a car park next to the ticket office and it’s free if you buy a tour. When purchasing a ticket, just let them know you’ve parked there and they’ll ask for your number plate. A guided tour is the only way to visit the caves and it costs 13 GBP2 each. We arrived at 10.30 AM and luckily, there was a tour scheduled to start in 10 minutes. Upon entering the cave, the air is quite cool and the guide says the temperature is 14 degrees Celsius all year round inside the cave. We walk into the first chamber for an introductory recorded audiovisual presentation. The tour guide then leads the group through a passageway talking about how the cave was formed and its early history along the way. We then arrive at a chamber where there are several stalactites and stalagmites. The tour guide then tells us about the geology of the cave and we learn how stalactites and stalagmites are formed. Next, the group is taken to another chamber where the tour guide takes out replicas of artifacts found in the cave. Stored in an old wooden chest, he pulls out bones, tools, and a mammoth tooth to show the group whilst giving information on them.

We then continue to another chamber where the guide talks about the ancient humans who once took refuge here. The caves are now all lit with several light bulbs, and the guide says the cave is pitch black where we are. He turns off all the lights for us to experience a complete blackout. He then lights an oyster shell and says how it is believed these were used for light inside the cave. Not much light is emitted from the burning oyster shell compared to the lights bulbs. The final stop is a chamber with an exhibition of the stone age and Victorian excavators. There is also a display of some artifacts found in the cave with information panels. The visit took about an hour and then we headed back to the car for the 2-hour drive back to Bristol.

]]> https://www.maldotravels.com/europe/england/kents-cavern-prehistoric-caves/feed/ 0 Stonehenge & Oxford – English History https://www.maldotravels.com/europe/england/stonehenge-and-oxford-english-history/ https://www.maldotravels.com/europe/england/stonehenge-and-oxford-english-history/#respond Sat, 01 Dec 2018 21:29:00 +0000 http://54.211.235.180/?p=5882

Although I started the journey from Bristol, it can also be done in the same way from London with roughly the same timings. There are tours available to Stonehenge, but it’s probably best to get a group together and rent a car. From Bristol, it takes about 1 hour 30 minutes to get to the Stonehenge site. There’s ample free parking available at the site outside the visitor center. This is an English Heritage site and tickets cost 22.80 GBP3 for non-members. Becoming a member gives you free entry to Stonehenge among several English Heritage sites. Since I planned on doing other day trips, I became a member which costs 5.25 GBP a month (for 12 months) or a one-time payment of 63 GBP for 12 months. There’s also a discount on the membership if you’re a student. Once we got our tickets, we picked up an audio guide which is included with the ticket for a self-guided tour. Then, you have the option of a 25-minute walk to the site or waiting for the bus which takes 5 minutes to get there. Once at the site, the trail is easy to follow. There are numbered signposts along the trail which you can input into your audio guide.

Construction is believed to have occurred in multiple phases which the audio guide goes over. What we see now are large stones laid out in a circular form with an outer circle and inner horseshoe. The entrance lines up with the sun in the summer and winter solstice. Several remains have been found at the site which suggests it may have been an important burial site. It took us about 45 minutes to go through the site with the self-guided tour. We then headed back to the visitor site where there is a small museum with artifacts and more information. There’s also a cafeteria/restaurant where you can get food and drinks.

It was now around 1.30 PM so we headed to Oxford which is about 1 hour 30 minutes away. Free parking is difficult to find around the city center, but there are several paid car parks available. We found a car park near Oxford castle so first headed there for a couple of pictures. Then we went for a walk around the city, coming across several of the old university buildings. Once it got dark, we walked back via the main high street stopping by a rooftop restaurant. It was then a 1 hour 30 minute drive back to Bristol.

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