During my recent visit to London, I took a day trip to Stonehenge. It reminded me of the Beatles outdoor recording session on Salisbury Plain in Help! where the group performed George’s “I Need You” and Paul’s “The Night Before.” One of my favorite visuals from the film is during “I Need You” when a close-up of George playing the chords on the neck of his guitar goes out of focus to reveal Stonehenge in the background. After I returned from London and compared the segment to my pictures, I determined that the picture below is close to the angle shown in Help!, but is a little off as the scene in the movie was shot on an upward slope looking down at Stonehenge.

Unlike the Beatles, who were on Salisbury Plain on cold and rainy days, I had perfect weather for my visit to the historical setting. I paid extra to enter the prehistoric site just before sunset. Being inside the outer ring of the massive vertical sarsen standing stones and walking alongside the smaller bluestones of the inner circle was an incredible experience. I marveled at how human beings could have constructed such an impressive structures over 4,500 ago.

In addition to memories of Help!, I remembered scenes from the two Spinal Tap films and European Vacation. In the latter film, after Chevy Chase’s character informs his family that Stonehenge was built to endure time, the elements, and war, and will be a glorious sight for millions of future generations, he accidently destroys the site. Fortunately, the Griswolds don’t exist in the real world, and Spinal Tap only had models of one iconic arch to accompany their stage show, so Stonehenge shall continue to be a glorious sight for future generations. I highly recommend you visit the site if you are in London.