Traveling to Avalon in Glastonbury

Hello everybody,

A few years ago, in March of 2013, Sam invited me to the Spring Avalon Faery Ball and Fayre in Glastonbury, Somerset, UK. We were still living in Germany at the time. We didn't know what to expect really and we ordered some books about the place to do some research in advance. We decided to stay in a local B&B and off we went.

Glastonbury Abbey, Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

The only thing I knew about Glastonbury was that it was said to be the Island of Avalon and that it had something to do with King Arthur, the Holy Grail, Merlin, Morgan le Fay and the Lady of the Lake. I had recently watched "The Mists of Avalon" based on the book by Marion Zimmer Bradley. This movie is beautifully performed. The story of King Arthur, Lady Guinevere, Lancelot and Morgan le Fay has been told in many ways but this interpretation is definitely my favorite. Morgan le Fay is portrayed as a great sorceress who is able to enter the world beyond the mists and is being trained to master the elements. She is a victim of changing times, a heroine rather than an evil witch. Having a fancy in depicting fairies as light-beings it is only natural that this version inspires me most.

Hello! It's me at the Glastonbury Walls, Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

As we left our house for the airport I think naughty fairies tried to play tricks on us. At first it was just an awkward feeling, but later on incidents became more prominent. Nothing bad happened really but a whole bunch of annoying misfortunes seemed to be following us. First we took off late from Stuttgart and then we had to circle over Heathrow for thirty minutes because of air traffic. Once we were finally on the ground, our luggage was an hour late, and then we suffered an excessive wait for our shuttle to the rental car office. When we were finally on the road from Heathrow to Glastonbury, we got lost while trying to get out of the airport. Then once on the Motorway, there was the complication of driving on the opposite side of the road (for us) and our GPS was not very helpful since our B&B did not appear on the map. After asking for directions at local pubs and fish and chips stands, we ended up lost, tired, and hungry in the middle of a dark forest at 9pm. Luckily, when we finally reached our destination our kind hosts had patiently waited for our arrival. It was a very cozy place and it felt just like home. We immediately liked it.

Glastonbury Street, Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

Although Glastonbury is a very small town with everything within walking distance, we kept losing our way from the pub where we had delicious meals back to where we would spend the night. Were those naughty fairs playing tricks on us again? Well if they were it was again not too bad. The worst that happened was that we got really embarrassed when we got back to the same pub for the third time in 30 minutes to ask our way back to our B&B. I am sure that humans and fairies alike had a good laugh.

Glastonbury Flowers, Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

Since then we became absorbed in the beautiful magic of Glastonbury, which would once have contained the Island of Avalon. First we visited the Fairy Festival at Glastonbury Town Hall, where fairies were omnipresent. It was just beautiful with enchanting fairy related arts and crafts presented by artists wearing magnificent costumes.

Glastonbury Tree,  Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

Glastonbury First Wooden Church, Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

Then we went to the Glastonbury Abbey located next to the Town Hall. On the Abbey grounds the tombs of King Arthur and Lady Guinevere have supposedly been discovered in the twelfth century, but the graves would have been removed during the religious troubles in the sixteenth century. According to some legends a very young Jesus accompanied his uncle Joseph of Arimathea to England and built the first wooden church here. The trees look like one might catch a glimpse of a dryad at any second. This place definitely inspires people to believe.

Glastonbury Red Chalice Well, Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

Glastonbury Chalice Well, Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

Then we visited the Chalice Well grounds, a place of pilgrimage for people of several belief systems. It is a beautiful thing when people from different walks of life come together with the common purpose to practice kindness and compassion. Here we saw the Glastonbury Thorn, the sacred tree that would have sprouted from Joseph of Arimathea's staff. Because the Hawthorn is blooming in winter as well as in spring it is also known as the symbolic Tree of Life. The Chalice Well is one of the candidates for being the Holy Grail. There are actually two wells in Glastonbury, the Red Chalice Well and the White Spring Well. The white represents the female aspect connected to the moon and the red the male connected to the sun, or in the interpretation of the Holy Grail, the white is the sweat and tears of Christ and the red is his blood. The water from the red well actually has a high mineral content which taste is similar to that of blood. The water of the wells is believed to have healing capacities.

Glastonbury Hawthorn Blossom, Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

Glastonbury Hawthorn, Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

Finally we walked to the Glastonbury Tor where would have been the legendary Island of Avalon. The Tor is a hill characterized by terraces that are subject to many speculations. A long spiraling rail of stairs leads to the top of the hill where the remains of the 14th century tower of Saint-Michael's church stand. We were accompanied on our journey by sheep grazing along the trail and occasionally crossing over.

Glastonbury Tor, Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

Glastonbury Sheep, Intuitive Photography by Samuel Woodbury

Too soon the weekend came to an end but there was an extra diversion. On our way back to the airport we had the chance to visit Stonehenge, another mystical place speaking to the imagination of many. We were caught in the icy wind of an early spring snowstorm so we didn't stick around for too long. That was quite all right since we had to catch our flight back to Stuttgart, Germany. It was an amazing long weekend trip full of magic, wisdom and inspiration.

Samuel Woodbury at Stonehenge, Intuitive Photography by me

Have you ever visited this place or do you have something to share about Avalon? I would love to hear your thoughts!

This article was illustrated by my husband's beautiful photography. You can view more of his work on his blog Images and Impressions by Samuel Todd Woodbury.

Love,

Rika