Sacred Places: Glastonbury and Stonehenge [UK]

The sun rose as I stepped out of my lodgings at the Chalice Well and Gardens in Glastonbury England. We had arrived the day before on an overnight flight from Boston, Massachusetts to London, England. From Heathrow airport we took the Heathrow Express into Paddington station and from there; we took a train to Castle Cary. After viewing the beautiful scenery we arrived at the station and called for a cab, which took us to the Chalice Well and Gardens in Glastonbury where we had made reservations as members of the Chalice Well.

I am a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and had come to Glastonbury for their annual Gathering held each year close to the summer equinox. I spent time between events wandering around the beautiful town that is Glastonbury, climbing the Tor and taking time to meditate in the Chalice Well gardens. It was an absolutely lovely experience. As part of the Annual Gathering they also have an excursion to Stonehenge for a private admittance to the stones including a ritual amongst the stones. This was a great way to see the stones as more than just a tourist.

We stayed on in Glastonbury a few days after the gathering to do some more sight seeing. We booked a tour with a local person who brought us to Tintagel in Cornwall and the nearby Saint Nectan’s Glen. St. Nectan’s Glenn is a gorgeous waterfall. Hiking into the woods where it is nestled, then climbing down a rough stone staircase to reach it. The waterfall is believed to be a place where fairies gather and many visitors leave stones and other assorted offerings for the fairies for good luck. It was an awe-inspiring sight, though sadly, I did not see any fairies myself.


During this trip we also spent some time visiting friends in Glasgow Scotland which is a wonderful city with its own special dialect of Scottish that does take a bit of getting used to. In London we hit most of the famous sites such as the national gallery, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square and even some tourist traps such as London’s Dungeon.  All in all it was a wonderful trip.

From the places we stayed to the friends we spent time with and the new friends we met we enjoyed every moment. We found everyone we had the chance to interact with to be wonderful and friendly people. As a Druid, it was a deeply moving experience for me visiting the sacred sites and landscapes of the UK.

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The above guest post was written by David Smith. You can check out more of David's work here and here.