Windsor Castle, Runnymede, and Magna Carta at the British Library

Today, our penultimate here in London, I find myself tired. It's chilly and rainy, gray and "English." We've been so lucky with the weather while here- mostly sun and blue skies or rain just when we'd arrived somewhere. We have packed an incredible amount of things into each day, so really, it's no wonder I feel pooped. We all are, but boy have we maxed out this trip!

Windsor Castle

After Stonehenge on Sunday, we went on to Windsor Castle where we toured the State Apartments, saw the famed Queen Mary's dollhouse and climbed the Round Tower (which is actually shaped like a D). The Queen often spends at the Castle but is in Balmoral, Scotland, now and so the tower is available for visiting. The view from it are gorgeous.

view from the Round Tower of the Long Walk, a 2.65 mile pedestrian road leading out from Windsor Castle. Only royal carriages can drive on it.

We didn't have quite as much time at Windsor as I'd have liked and many parts of it are off-limits, but it's a beautiful place, and I'm glad we went. It's amazing how old things are here; really gives you a sense of awe and humility. And the craftsmanship of these things put many modern constructions to shame!

Magna Carta

On the way back to London, we drove through Runnymede where, in 1215, King John met with the rebel barons to negotiate the Magna Carta. After signing it, John promptly reneged on most, but after his death in 1216, the Magna Carta (or Great Charter) was renegotiated several times. Finally, in 1225, King Henry III (John's son) signed, with his Great Seal, the definitive copy.

This year marks the 800th anniversary of the first charter. Of its original 63 clauses, three remain enshrined in British law. The one of primary import decrees that all 'free men' have the right to a fair and just trial which in essence diminished the space between king and subjects and made the monarchy subject to laws of the land. 

I've always been fascinated by the Magna Carta which has greatly influenced many documents since, not least the American Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights as well as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights following World War II. 

This morning, we spent a marvelous couple hours at the British Library's special Magna Carta exhibit. It was one of the best collections and presentations of incredible artifacts I've ever seen. The BL has two of the original 1215 Magna Carta's plus at least four of the later versions. They're in various stages of decline but for being so freaking old, I found their degree of preservation awe-inspiring. Several still had the King's Great Seals attached. And on the Papal Bull that nullified John's first Magna Carta, you can still see the Pope's seal. Amazing. 

If you click the link I provided, you can see pictures of everything!

Stonehenge

Visiting Stonehenge has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. It's hard for me to articulate the why behind that desire, really, but a few days ago, on a chilly, rainy Sunday, I crossed this one off my list.

As you may know, Stonehenge is a grouping of enormous stones quarried and erected more than 2,500 years ago (around the time the Egyptian pyramids were constructed). In the spot on which it stands, first came what's known as "earth henge," a circular ditch and bank structure (see below pictures) constructed roughly 5,000 years ago that is still quite visible and serves as the outer perimeter of the Stonehenge landmark.

Inside the inner bank then came the Aubrey Holes, a ring of 56 pits. It is believed that in each once stood a tall stone, and in some have been found cremated remains of humans. No human remains have been discovered further into the sacred space. Some think timber once stood in the Aubrey Holes -wood henge- while others wonder if the now-interior bluestones were first in the Aubrey spots and then moved.

Quarried and rafted upriver 150 miles from Wales, the bluestones were treated so specially because they are considered to have healing powers. Can you even imagine doing all this prior to the iron age, wheels and industrialization of any form? 

View fullsize

see the shorter, thinner bluestones between the two sarsen rings?

The larger, outer ring of trilithons -two vertical stones capped by a horizontal lintel; the three are fixed together rather like a Lego- was once contiguous. But as many of the sarsens and lintels have toppled, we now experience what remains. 

There are also a number of directional stones: the slaughter, heel and station stones and their related markers. It's believed these helped orient the builders such that Stonehenge is not only a very accurate circle design but also perfectly frames the winter and summer solstice suns as they rise. The slaughter stone was not the site of any sacrifices of which we know; rather it contains iron deposits that tinge red any water that sits in the stone's divots for long. Red water -> bloody -> the "slaughter stone" moniker.

look closely and you can definitely see the reddish hue of the pooled water

I decided that were we going to drive nearly two hours from London to see this magical stone sculpture, we might as well do it really right. If you can, I highly suggest purchasing the Stone Circle Access Tickets which are very limited in number but totally worth the effort and extra cost (roughly double a normal ticket). 

With these tickets, you not only enter the site before the official opening time (we had 7:30am tickets; regular opening is 9am) but also get to ignore the guard rails and go mingle with the stones. No touching but you can otherwise get as close as you like. 

You can see the lichen varieties growing across the stones. You can see up close the holes carved into the lintels and the mounds left behind in the sarsens so that they fit together securely. You can see where the blackbirds like to land and where they have built nests. You can look into the "bloody" pools of water atop the slaughter stone. You can stand underneath thousands-years' old stones and feel small and humbled. You can wander and never want to leave and also think, god, this is such a remote, odd spot. 

sarsen fitting into a lintel; note the lichen

the birds love their perch

I loved it and feel so lucky to have gone. As we left, the storm that had been rolling in opened and let loose. The wind whipped our hair and bodies, dirt crumbs caked our legs. And it felt just right. 

Harry Potter and the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, London

It must have been when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#6) was released that T and I gave up trying to share a copy and instead each bought our own. That tactic continued through #7, HP and the Deathly Hallows, and I very clearly remember reading side-by-side in bed, both our noses buried in our respective books, flying through the pages as fast our eyes and brains could carry us. It was thrilling: the story; the fanciful shared flight; the total immersion in a great tale.

When I closed the back cover of the Deathly Hallows, I did so with real sadness. The epilogue was terrible and unnecessary, so certainly I mourned that rare misstep by Rowling, but most of my grief was because there was no more Harry Potter to be read. My maiden voyage with the series was finally over, and I considered that fact fairly awful.

The films, excepting number 4 (the Goblet of Fire which certainly deserved and needed the two-part treatment granted the Deathly Hallows, and was quite miscast) were marvelous and have provided repeat succor. David Yates really finished things off with a directorial bang; films 5, 6 and both parts of 7 were masterfully executed.

Jack was ensorcelled by Harry Potter when he started book 1 several years ago. We told him that as he finished each book, we'd all watch that movie together. (That means that second child Oliver has seen all the movies despite being only halfway through having book 1 read aloud to him. Alas.) J took a hiatus after book 6 but became re-energized early this summer when London started looming, so we encouraged him to read HP 7 so that we could watch the movie before heading here. He finished it a couple weeks ago and was as crushed as I was when he finished. To my delight, he immediately started reading the series again.

 All of us got to come full circle on our Harry Potter fandom yesterday when we trekked out to the Warner Brothers studio where much of each film was shot. There you tour many of the original sets, see thousands of original props, learn about the make-up and costume creations, see the blueprints and variously scaled models of Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc, and also about how the creatures and other magical beings were constructed and filmed.

out front!

It was really an outstanding place that in no way disappointed; I absolutely had as much fun as the kids did. The attention to detail was inspiring: 17,000 wooden wand boxes labelled with hand-written notes; 400 place settings at the students' tables in the Great Hall whose real stone floor added to the grandeur of the set; various animatronic items that made magic come alive. In this case I think pictures say it all, so here you go. 

Harry Potter fans: what do y'all recognize? 

One of my favorite parts of the experience was the enormous range of people there. There were just as many teens as younger children, and adults of all ages were there with their families but also on their own. A number of people were dressed in costume. I heard at least six different languages being spoken and am certain there were many more in the (very well-managed) crowd.

What all that really proves is that Rowling touched a representative sample of everyone with Harry Potter. The series' demonstrations of kindness, hard work, loyalty and courage; portrayal of good and evil and the battle between them; honest take on fairness and justice as something that should be striven for but is often elusive in the real world; respectful treatment of children and the very real capabilities they possess; belief in the power of progressive education; and the wish so many of us have for magic to be real are appealing on multiple levels and in various ways. They are universal themes or goals that we can all understand and desire.

Everyone at the studio was a big fan having fun in the unabashed way children do. At the green screen station where you can "fly" on a broom and "drive" the blue Ford Anglia that Harry and Ron crash into the Whomping Willow, I donned robes (Gryffindor, naturally! The kids chose Slytherin- what?!)  and hopped on that broom as quickly as did the kids. It was such a blast.

Hilariously, Oliver wore a green shirt that exactly matched the green screen color and so on the screen looked invisible except for his head and hands. He said, "It's like I'm wearing the invisibility cloak." The people in line were laughing hysterically!

Tips for if you visit:

Buy your tickets well in advance and get to the studio early. Kids under 4 are free though I don't think this is a great venue for such little ones, and various packages are available. We bought the family package.

The tour is mostly self-guided though you can rent (~£4.99) an audio component for extra information. Tom really enjoyed all he learned via his. The boys and I just roamed and took in plenty that way. We spent about four hours total from lobby back to lobby.

The studio, which is in Watford, is about a 40-minute drive from London. You can take public transportation there but not in a direct fashion. We took an Uber which was easier, faster and not much more expensive than taking the tube and buses you'd need to otherwise.

You can bring your own food and drink which is lovely. If you don't feel like schlepping vitals out to the studio, the two cafes (Studio and Backlot) offer really nice salads, sandwiches, burgers and such at reasonable prices. The food is loads better than anything you'd find at an American studio or theme park. For example, I had a couscous salad with beets and goat cheese, and the boys had a beautiful hamburger on a glistening brioche bun that came with stunning lettuce leaves (NOT iceberg) and gigantic tomato slice. 

The gift shops are pricey though I admit that much (not all but much) of the merchandise is nice. We did a spin before going on the tour so the kids could be thinking about what they might want to spend their money on. I think that was helpful because as they went through the visit, certain things faded or became more beloved in their minds.
We've had the kids saving their own money from gifts and such and have asked them to buy their own souvenirs. It's been meaningful for them and a great lesson on budgeting, and hey, we are treating them to this trip. 

Bring a camera and wear comfortable shoes! 

Try to get a good night's sleep before you go. I hope you do. It's well worth it!

in Ollivander's