Hi - sorry this is going to be long, but I want to be thorough! My husband and I will be in London for two weeks of next month and are looking at day trips outside the city. There may be a million "better" stone circles to visit, but I have my heart set on Stonehenge. We've decided not to do it as part of a larger bus tour (Oxford-Windsor-Stonehenge in a day) because we want more time at the site. We found a website for The Stonehenge Tour; a bus from Salisbury train station to Stonehenge, Old Sarum, and Salisbury Cathedral. Their "package" price says it includes the bus, entrance to Stonehenge, the Stonehenge land train, visit to Old Sarum, and entrance to Salisbury Cathedral. However, in their FAQ, it says "If you buy your entrance ticket for Stonehenge with your tour ticket, you do not get an allocated viewing time to see the stones. If the site is exceptionally busy, you may have to wait a little longer to see the stones, or if you have a tight schedule you may wish to book your Stonehenge ticket direct with English Heritage." English Heritage's site says entrance to the site is managed through timed tickets and advance booking is required. We don't want to go all that way and run the risk of not seeing the stones; but we like the other options the bus has, which is the Old Sarum and Cathedral visit/entry.
My questions: Am I overthinking this? Should we just go early, buy the tickets as part of the bus tour at Salisbury and hope for the best? Is it worthwhile to do that bus tour, or should we do Old Sarum and the Cathedral on our own?
Thanks so much for your help!
Posted by
Nashville, TN, USA
795 posts
I appreciate people who give all the information needed to help them as you did. My recommendation is to visit this site www.stonehenge-tours.com/stonehenge-special-access-tours.html and book a special access tour. You will be assured of not only getting to see the stones but of actually getting to tour and see the inside stones after closing time for the other tours and general public and getting to take the time you need and want to enjoy them and learn about them. Pat Shelley can set you up to have the options you want so go look at this and then email Pat to arrange what you need. The email address is pat-shelley@stonehenge-tours.com . It is great to get to see the inner stones too and to not be there with a herd of people on a timed visit. They can arrange for you to see anything in the area.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
Note that Easter falls in April this year and schools will be on holiday over this time. The dates the children are off depends on each individual schools, but most are off either 27 March to 13 April or 2 to 20 April, so be warned it maybe busier during these times!