Runnymede and the Magna Carta

Strangely, Runnymede is somewhere that we had never been, until last week. Despite, not visiting last year, in the anniversary year, we decided the time had come especially as our younger two were keen to visit the place that they had been learning about in history. So we had a parent and younger children trip.

The day we visited was very wet and Runnymede is an outside venue. Wellies/walking boots and waterproof clothing were essential. It is not a suitable for disabled visitors nor for non-specialist pushchairs. The pictures all look damp because it was damp!

The oddest thing about Runnymede is that it is really an American monument. It seems as though England has really forgotten the Magna Carta.

The main memorial was erected by the American Bar Association.

One of the other major monuments, on the site, is to J.F. Kennedy. In fact, the ground on which this monument stands was actually donated to the US.

The ground up to the J.F. Kennedy monument abounded with wildlife and was a great nature walk.

The last, and newest, monument was commissioned by the National Trust and Surrey County Council to make the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, last year. England has managed one mark of remembrance! This is called the Jurors and depicts various scenes from around rights for various different groups.

This shows a boat full of refugees and commemorates responsibility to refugees and maritime search and rescue protocols.

Despite the mud, we stayed for just over a couple of hours. It was worth visiting although might well be better in summer when it might not be necessary to empty water out of wellies! 

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