glastonbury

I’m not really sure how we chose Glastonbury as a site worth visiting. Perhaps the British Heritage site had a great photo. Perhaps we were intrigued by its history—legend holds that it is Avalon. In the end, we went because it was close to where we were staying, and because I needed to see ruins. I have a thing for ruins, which I can’t yet put into words, but my love goes back twenty years to Whitby Abbey. 

                                                    

Glastonbury has abbey ruins in spades. King Arthur and Guinevere are believed to be buried here. Joseph of Arameathea walked here, allegedly. This place is rich in leylines. Though please don’t ask me to explain.

The town is fascinating. Every store holds woo-woo: crystals and buddhas and fairies and Native American talismans. Plus, you can get spiritual alignments. 

And, then just outside of town is the tor. Someone at the abbey visitor’s center gave us a hand-drawn map with a dotted line leading directly to the tor. We cut through two fields and climbed forever before we got to the steps that took us up the backside of the hill. At the top, we zipped our jackets and gazed at Wales.

Glastonbury is also the site of a significant music festival, which was to take place just a week after our trip. Four days, forty-five stages. Need I say more? On one hand, I was glad to not deal with the masses. The festival attracts over 150,000 people. Yes.  On the other hand, the 2010 line up was pretty spectacular, perhaps a bit overwhelming, even. Well, see for yourself. Seriously, who didn’t play here? See that Gorillz, Snoop Dogg, and Corinne Bailey Rae appeared on the same stage. Crazy!