This Side of the Pond

When I took my husband on a sight-seeing trip of the place where I was born, it was understandable that he’d want to see Stonehenge. It tops every list of world class heritage sites and wonders of the world, a mysterious tribute to a past we don’t understand.

In photographs, it appears in eerie relief with a backdrop of sunset light or ominous clouds. It is depicted as a stone monument that speaks of long-forgotten magic, alone on the plains in a setting almost as ancient and wild as the stones themselves. Gaze quietly for a moment or two, and you can almost hear the chanting of druids on the...