Stonehenge

We did Stonehenge as well as Salisbury on a day trip from London (had a rental car). Very glad we did it.

I think it’s fine.

Do old stones interest you? Many on this forum seem to think that they ought to visit there, because it’s a box to tick or someone they know has been, rather than because they have an interest in the topic.

Personally, I can think of better ways to spend a day, as I have other interests. How many days in London do you have?

Stonehenge is much smaller in the flesh, but the visitor centre is comprehensive. You can’t get up close to the stones - Avebury is better in that respect. It’s straightforward to get there from London - train to Salisbury (which is worth seeing) then take the tour bus that goes to Stonehenge.

This is a business trip for a week and I'll have free time.
I like ancient world heritage stuff in general but am also just ticking off a box to post on social media to show off to friends and will go to Salisbury to check it out same day.

We loved our visit to Stonehenge, but we did a before-hours admission that allowed us to walk among the stones (no touching allowed). We stayed in a B&B nearby overnight and took a cab to the stones, though. Here is the info:

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/things-to-do/stone-circle-access-visits/

They're pricier, but it looks like there are tours available, if you want to do this option:

https://www.getyourguide.com/london-l57/from-london-stonehenge-inner-circle-and-windsor-day-trip-t320558/?

https://www.londontoolkit.com/tours/stonehenge_special_access_tours.htm

https://www.viator.com/en-CA/tours/London/Private-Viewing-of-Stonehenge-including-Bath-and-Lacock/d737-2452T2

Do it! I’ve done it several times when with friends who had never been and I enjoyed each visit.

I saw Stonehenge as part of a long guided day trip on my very first trip to London--first stop was Windsor castle, then to Oxford--would have loved more time there--and finally Stonehenge. While it was interesting and I am glad I saw it--we spent perhaps an hour there--I would not have visited on my own, and would definitely make independent return trips to Windsor and Oxford now that I know how easy it is to do that.

AI, I like your frankness :-)

We've "seen" Stonehenge as we drove past on the motorway. I'm sure it's amazing; we've just always had other things to do, and have enjoyed crowd-free wanderings among standing stones in Dartmoor (in a lightning storm!) and Cornwall (I passed through Mên-an-Tol, and I have a great photo of my husband appearing to hoist the Lanyon Quoit – not a soul in sight) and Avebury.

We recently made a pilgrimage to Carhenge, in Nebraska, arriving just at dusk – it was probably the highlight of the trip for my son, on a cross-country journey that included the Badlands, the Rockies, Death Valley, etc. :-)

Interesting, the people that comment that Stonehenge is not worth a visit are always from the UK.
Not sure why, we stopped by for about an hour to see the huge stones, which have a prehistoric origin. Also, having driven all over Great Britain, we have found other stone circles as well, however none are as massive or sited as well.

Does familiarity breed contempt?

I've only been once, on a day trip from Bath. It was not as impressive, interesting, inspiring, mysterious, etc., as its reputation. Mainly because the "ancient-ness" of it was obscured by the hordes of selfie-wielding tourists moving in endless circles around it. We spent more time in the gift shop. But I perfectly understand the check-the-box instinct. Now Avebury, I liked. And the white chalk figures on the hills in the area. But so far, Stonehenge is in hanging in on my list of top five travel disappointments

Well, I've been a number of times over the years and it always amazes me. I love stones. I love the landscape. I love looking out and seeing the tumuli (earthen burial mounds) surrounding the site of the stones. They don't convey any "mystical" meaning to me, I just love the fact that they are there.

I've seen prehistory sites in other locations in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and yes, the US (Weis Rockshelter). They are ALL interesting to me but I respect they may not ring someone else's chime!

I'll also say seeing them on a day trip is not the way I'd do it but I realize others have little choice if they have limited time. I will also say I always have more to do in London than I can ever accomplish so I'd not choose to do a day trip that involves this much bus or train time.

Your vacation day from work...your choice on what would be fun and interesting to you.

I've been twice and enjoyed it both times. I love history, and I tried to tune everyone out and just think of the ancient people who put so much effort into building it. And tried to think of what it must have meant to them.

MaryC I do the same!

My views on Stonehenge have nothing to do with familiarity breeding contempt, it’s just as I said in my first post - I have other interests other than the Neolithic period.

The visitor centre there is excellent, but I know I am not the only person that has commented on how disappointed they were with the size of it! Americans on this forum have said the same thing in the past.

The comments made by UK posters is as we all know it is mainly a Victorian and later reconstruction

We recently made a pilgrimage to Carhenge, in Nebraska

Wow, something to actually do in Nebraska except watch the corn grow and go to a Nebraska Cornhuskers football game ... JK my husker friends :-)

Yes, MaryC. That tends to be what I do everywhere I go. I think about the people of that era, and what it might have been like to live then and to interact with the sights I'm seeing.

I guess I have a good imagination, and I enjoy allowing my travels to inspire it.

"Interesting, the people that comment that Stonehenge is not worth a visit are always from the UK."

I thought we were world famous for our self depreciation/deprivation? :-)

When you step off the vaporetto at St Mark's square, when you see the eiffel tower towering over Paris, when you walk into St Peter's and gaze up, when you look down at Manchu Pichu in Peru, when you walk through the gates at the forbidden city-- these and others places-- why they take your breath away!

When you see stongehenge-- not up close as it is roped off at some distance-- you say "nice. Very nice. Now on to Bath."

We did Bath and Stonehenge with the kids a dozen years ago. Nice day trip. It was raining lightly if I remember right.

I was privileged to be able to spend a March afternoon at Stonehenge 55 years ago, when I was studying in Germany. A friend and I took a spring break trip to England and Ireland, meeting up with 2 others who had a car. It was a beautiful sunny day, cool and breezy, and we could think of no better way to spend it than outdoors in the company of the stones. There were no barriers then, neither fences nor ropes, and we could walk through the grassy field right up to the circle itself. I spent an hour or so sitting in the grass with my back against one of the stones.

This was 1967, a time of great turmoil in the world—the Cold War, the Vietnam War, trouble brewing in the Mideast (the Six-Day War erupted less than 3 months later), riots in the US. So this afternoon of serenity, surrounded by nature and this mysterious monument erected by the ancients for an unknown purpose, was a welcome respite.

I returned with my older son in 1998, when he was also a student in Germany. We rented bikes in Salisbury and rode to Stonehenge on back roads, on a lovely sunny day in May. This was before the current visitor center was built, but there were barriers to entry, including ropes that separated people from the stones. Still, my son and I both enjoyed the experience.

And I will return, next time with my husband, probably for the Inner Circle access tour. We are both interested in ancient history, especially the cultural aspects and the development of mathematics, engineering and scientific knowledge. There are still a lot of unknowns about these aspects of Stonehenge and its builders. I find the whole subject fascinating. But not everyone does.

To answer the question, I think it would be difficult as a daytrip from London. I am an advocate for spending a night or two in Salisbury to make for a more relaxed experience.

We visited Stonehenge in September and loved it. But we also discussed that we may have been disappointed if we hadn't done the early morning inner circle tour. I can understand how some may be underwhelmed if they're no closer than the roped-off area. But it's only an hour and a half to Salisbury and a visit to the stones still gives you plenty of time to wander Salisbury for a few hours. In my opinion, it's a day we'll spent.

I really liked Stonehenge and went twice (I probably would have been fine with just going once but my husband was with me on the second trip to the UK and he wanted to see it). Went on tours both times, I don't remember the name of the first one but I didn't like the tour company for multiple reasons. The second time with my husband it was with Evan Evans tours and it was lovely.

I do think the enjoyment of it will be based on your expectations. First time I went with a group and we were there and they came up and said they were so disappointed because we were so far away, at the ropes. I, on the other hand, was thrilled we were so close because the only experience I'd had with Stonehenge other than from pictures was my mom's story of visiting in the late 60s/early 70s - when she went she said it had an ugly chain link fence around it and they weren't able to get close at all, so I thought the tiny rope was a great improvement!

As noted, easy to do if you're wanting to tick boxes. I went in June on a very quick day trip (left central London just after lunch, back around 7 p.m.) There are "express" options with Golden Tours and Evan Evans that include round trip bus, entry fee, audio guide. Ours trip was delayed about an hour by traffic from a horse race, so ended up being a longer day. I had low expectations but it ended up being a highlight, partly because we had seen a big Stonehenge exhibit at the British Museum the day before. I would go again, but next time would stay in Salisbury overnight for a less rushed experience.

We did the early morning experience where we walked among the stones and it was incredible. While I think I would have been happy with any opportunity to see Stonehenge as it has been on my bucket list forever, the roped off area the normal tours visit is quite a distance from the stones and I can’t imagine it being nearly as intimate of an experience. Seeing them up close and personal was phenomenal - but it required more time and effort to get there.

I’ve been. Loved it. Have mentioned in prior posts about witnessing some wackadoodles trying to enter the stone circle as they were waiting to experience alien ascension.

As mentioned in other posts one needs to use their imagination. Who created the henge? How did they carve them? Move them? No cranes, no hydraulics, no electricity, et al.

I wonder if those who are disappointed feel the same about the Pyramids, Mach Picchu, Petra, Nazca Lines, Teotihuacan, NewGrange or Angkor Wat?

Lovely visit. Went shortly after opening in the morning, not crowded, great visit, thoroughly enjoyed it. By the time we came out the lines were much longer.

August 2019 visit.