Day trip to Devizes Street Fair
Trip Start
Unknown
1
8
31
Trip End
Ongoing
Devizes, England, United Kingdom
Monday, August 30, 2010
Take the August Bank Holiday trip to Devizes for example!
There was quite a queue at Swindon bus station when we arrived - evidently more people going to Devizes than we had thought! The trip took us through Wroughton - not straight through of course - via an estate. The bus was soon full with people standing and some merriment as more passengers were squeezed on. The atmosphere was a bit like I imagine an annual bank holiday outing would have been in the early twentieth century.
We passed the stone circle at Avebury - I had been there briefly before but the ancient stones seemed more numerous and more spread out than I remember so the site must have been very extensive. I wonder what remains below the ground. The market square at Devizes was crowded but pleasant enough. Not as much music as I had expected but I think music venues were spread out and probably on later in the day after we left.
We only stayed a couple of hours - long enough to have lunch and browse the stalls in the arcade. Then back on a much less crowded bus, travelling on the upper deck so that we could admire the rolling countryside.
The equivalent to this type of outing can be found in the weekend markets in Greece. They take place in Messinia throughout September, moving from town to town. In the past local produce would have been sold, and some still is, but there is more imported merchandise now so less interesting as goods are the same across the world. Still - it's a chance to go to to town for the day, to eat and drink, wander around with friends, neighbours and family, and buying household goods.
