Bath to Stonehenge

Which companies have you looked at?

I've done 2 different tours with Mad Max tours from Bath but not the special access tours. I looked at the price and it is probably reasonable at 110GBP as it does include entry to Stonehenge. I'm not sure what the actual cost of a special access ticket is, but it's 22GBP for a "peak" weekend ticket.

https://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/all-tours/tour-3-special-access-stonehenge-tours

Both tours I did with Mad Max were quite good. They have a driver guide and both times the person was knowledgeable, witty and personable. I'd tour with them again. Their number of tours is way down, due to Covid I expect as they used to have half a dozen or so choices. I felt I got good value for money on both tours.

editing to add: I just checked the website of one of the Stonehenge tour experts, Pat Shelley from Salisbury. He also does special access tours but his are 140GBP. His drive time would be a lot shorter but you'd want to stay in Salisbury for that.

http://www.stonehenge-tours.com/stonehenge-special-access-tours.html

Are you asking if its worth it to see Stonehenge?

Depends on your interest in viewing a Neolithic cite that archeologists and historians are still trying to decipher how and why it was built.

If you are interested, early morning train to Salisbury and then the bus to Stonehenge.

Visiting it 30 years ago on a November day when we had the place to ourselves was worth it. Found it fascinating.

You walk into Bath railway station and ask for an off-peak (9.36 or later on weekdays) day return to Salisbury = £20.10. Trains are hourly (usually on the Cardiff to Portsmouth run) with the returns from Salisbury around x42 mins. Journey takes just under 1 hour.
Schedules > www.traintickets.com

To get from Salisbury to the stones see:>https://www.thestonehengetour.info

Never really understood the fascination with Stonehenge
It is mainly a Victorian and later reconstruction

I think it is a little unfair to describe Stonehenge as a ‘Victorian reconstruction’. Aubrey and Stukely’s studies from the late 1600’s and 1700’s respectively give the lie to that. Admittedly some re-erecting of stones and straightening of stones to prevent them falling has taken place, some much more recent than Victorian times. What we have today is rather less than early illustrations showed, so it can hardly be described as a ‘reconstruction’.

I think Stonehenge of itself on first viewing can be disappointing. And despite all the theories that surround it, as things stand, we’ll probably never know what it was really for. My friend who actually lived down near the site many years ago when you could do that without getting arrested knows as much as anybody about it. His take is that whatever theory you come up with, if you can back it up with plausible evidence, it’s as good as any other. My own take on it is that, following the beliefs of Jonathan Meades (always worth checking him out on architecture), it is more likely to have a utilitarian purpose rather than spiritual. A guide once told me of all the alignments of solstices, equinoxes, star alignments etc., and it was mind blowing and thus became much bigger in my head than the actual stones themselves.

Also I think it’s important to consider Stonehenge in context of the very extensive Neolithic landscape around it, I.e., the Cursus, the numerous barrows and the recently more prominently explored Durrington Walls for instance, and similarly the wider Neolithic landscape around, Avebury, Silbury Hill, West Kennet Long Barrow, Wayland’s Smithy, and indeed, the Ridgeway itself.

Not wishing to start a fight over it, but Stonehenge is clearly so old and such an important site (leaving aside its iconic status) that it must be taken in the light of a more comprehensive history.

Ian

Stonehenge was built by the ancient Welsh who dragged the Blue Stones all the way from the Preselli Mountains. They did it so that the English would have a world class tourist attraction in years to come.

Here’s the thing about the bluestones. They were originally a stone circle of their own in Wales (comparatively recently discovered - how they identified that the bluestones were from that circle is really cool). Isn’t it possible that English tribes from the Stonehenge area were exploring Wales, saw the circle and thought “wow, cool, we’re having that”. I mean it’s not like we haven’t got subsequent form on that front down the ages and on a far more ambitious scale!

Another important thing to know about Stonehenge is that there's a large visitor centre with interesting (and, IMO, beautiful) exhibits indoors and out. Your entry ticket includes an audio guide that helps you appreciate what you're seeing. English Heritage also has built very large book/gift shop and a good cafeteria.

People who haven't been, or were only there decades ago, may not realize this.

I also used Mad Max Tours from Bath, and really enjoyed the tour. I can't remember what the cost was