This trip was part of my class. Glastonbury is known as the present day Isle of Avalon, for several reasons actually. For one, in the olden days, it would flood regularly and form an island like area of land. Another factor is it's proximity to Tintagel, which is historically linked to Arthur or the chieftan who was later turned into Arthur. It's name, Glastonbury can be traced through several languages to mean the same as Avalon, or so some people claim. There is also the link to the legend that the Holy Grail is buried in Glastonbury, not only being the burial place of King Arthur and Queen Guenevere. Also, Joseph of Aramathea supposedly brought Christianity to the Island of Britain in that location. The facts for this is because there is a type of thorn tree that grows in Glastonbury. It's a Mediterranian throrn bush that is extremely hard to transplant. The legend goes that Joseph brought a staff made of this wood to England after Christ's crucification. When he planted the staff into the ground, it took root and thrived, showing that God decreed this would be the place that Christianity would grow from.

Glastonbury Abbey, when it was fully formed, must have been absolutely huge and stunning! It was destroyed with the Religious revolution that went through England however. Interesting things about the abbey survive, however. Mostly about the supposed burial place of Arthur. There is indeed a tomb that they claim Arthur is buried under. However, is it really Arthur? The Abbey claims so. However, at the time of its finding, the King was not very popular on the throne, and the abbey needed money. So the abbey claimed that they found King Arthur! The king would go along with it, because this way the people would accept that King Arthur wouldn't be returning to take over England again. The monks say that in the tomb, there was the body of a very tall man and a woman with blond hair. One excited monk jumped into the grave and touched the hair, and the skull crumpled to dust. The thought is that this grave, very ornamented for the era, was indeed the grave of a chieftan. Over the grave was found a cross that read, in latin of course, 'Here lies Arthur, king of the Britains'. One theory is that if you take the shape of the stone cross and lay it over the plans for the abbey, the lines match up. The abbey is slightly irregular on one end, so is the cross. And on that irregular end, where the 'X' in Rex (King) is, is the true location of King Arthur.

Chalice Well is an actual underground spring that is high in iron. It flows from a spot in Glastonbury, though filters have since been added to keep leaves and the like from coming out into the drinking water. The actual well is somewhere above this photo, with a wooden covering over it. The water supposedly has healing properties, three drops a day will make you overall healthier, happier and less stressed. Because of the high iron content, the rocks where the water flows is actually orange, the rock around it black, before the natural color of the rock shines through. It's beautiful. Of course, it's a pound fifty to get in. They sell bottles for 50 pence and 75 pence. Of course I have a bottle. My own bottle of holy healing water! The lion's head fountain has two glasses by it, so people can take a drink from it.

The Tor is a hill just over the city of Glastonbury. It's about 518 feet to the top. Atop of the tor, part of the skyline of the area, is the remains of a chapel dedicated to St. Michael. The tor itself has something called the 'Maze' around it. It's essentially like a ziggarut, with seven tiers going around it, under the ground. The tiers are visible from the side, and from the air, though far more clearly from the air, I've heard. From the top of the Tor, the country side spreads for miles in each direction. Atop the tor, the city set a little compass with directions and the cities and sights along each direction, along with the miles involved. Some of these things you can actually see! Though it doesn't really look it from the top, it's a very long way down. In the picture, that's the city of Glastonbury. An interesting fact is that in this area Bridget is a saint. Bridget was actually a Celtic spirit that got incorporated into the Catholic Religion. The interesting part is that she is pictured on the chapel atop the tor and that farmers STILL name their brown cows 'Bridget'.

© 1997 kithan@hotmail.com

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