Stonehenge bus from Salisbury and the "English Heritage Overseas Visitor Pass"

With an English Heritage overseas pass the entry to Dover Castle is free (saving £42.80 per couple which is nearly the price of the pass itself). National Express provide a service from Salsibury to Stonehenge from £5 and entry is free with your English Heritage pass saving £19 per adult so no need to pay higher prices for a bus and entrance. With your English Heritage pass you can book a specific time slot so the claims by the bus company of beating the queue are not relevant. Not only that but your English Heritage pass is valid for so many places across England it really is worth getting.

JC's answer is much more complete than I could have given. I'll just mention that we used the pass, our first use of it was at Old Sarum. I showed the receipt to the guard at the entry and he said in a rather official tone, "Where did you get this?" I said I bought it online about 3 months previously. He said to go into the gift shop and have it validated, which I did. Everything went very smoothly from that point on.

When buying an English Heritage Oveseas Visitors Pass it requires validation as Epitd experienced. This can be done at any staffed English Heritage site. This is the blurb from the English Heritage site:

You need to print out your booking confirmation (voucher), and take this with the credit card used to make the booking. You must also have proof of identity with you in the form of a passport, identity card or driver’s license to authenticate that you are the rightful owner of the voucher and as proof of overseas residency. This can be a photocopy.

@JC & @epitd, Thank you both. Since we'll be going to Dover Castle first, I'll plan to get the pass and have it validated there.

@JC, I may be missing something, but from my "googling" it appears that the National Express bus service to Stonehenge is only to the town of Amesbury which leaves you fairly distant from the visitor center. According to http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/arrive.php

"Get off at Amesbury. From there you can either walk (about 2 miles) or get a taxi."

Does that sound correct?

I can't say for sure about the National Express bus, but it sounds right that it won't take you any nearer than Amesbury. The bus that takes you right to Stonehenge itself is the Salisbury Reds bus, which I believe serves a route including Stonehenge - an intermediate park & ride lot - Old Sarum - Salisbury and the reverse. According to Rome2Rio, it's the PR11 Salisbury Reds route, and their phone number is +44 1202 338420.

Depending how deeply you want to delve into the Stonehenge experience, you can either drive or walk to Woodhenge and Durrington Walls. For us these were a must-see, as in "We're not coming all this way and then skipping these!"

Within the Stonehenge campus itself, you can either walk or ride the free shuttle between the visitor centre and the stones. The shuttle also makes an intermediate stop, I believe, for those who wish to walk part of the way. The Stonehenge visitor centre has lots to see,, both indoors and out. There's also a large gift shop and a nice cafeteria.

The nearest 'ordinary' service bus to Stonehenge is the Salisbury Reds X4 to Larkhill Medical Centre and Stonehenge is about a mile down a country footpath. Maybe only for the adventurous.

@JC, I may be missing something, but from my "googling" it appears that the National Express bus service to Stonehenge is only to the town of Amesbury which leaves you fairly distant from the visitor center. According to http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/arrive.php "Get off at Amesbury. From there you can either walk (about 2 miles) or get a taxi." Does that sound correct?

Yes, the National Express doesn't go the Stonehenge visitor centre, it goes to Amesbury which is a gentle 2 mile stroll through some interesting countryside, Stonehenge isn't all about the stones, there are the neolithic and bronze aged burial mounds surrounding it and many other aspects intrinsic to the creation and believed purpose of the stones which you'll be passing through. Of course you could always get a taxi.

The major point however is the usefulness of the English Heritage pass and if used well will more than pay back its cost. Will the National Express Coach and additional taxi outweigh the cost of the Salisbury Red bus? Who knows but you're visiting some of the most interesting parts of a country in the world and your decision making rests solely on the difference of £tens. Throw caution to the wind, buy the English Heritage pass, take the direct bus to the stones and forget the relatively small additional expenditure, you only live once!

Oh and whilst you're in the area be sure to visit the stone circle in Avebury. It's different to Stonehenge, is on a bigger scale and you can walk amongst and touch the stones, If I had to choose I would say I prefer Avebury over Stonehenge. Just don't eat at the Red Lion pub within the stone circle, the food is crap and the packs of frozen, brought in food the chef collected from one of the outbuildings didn't inspire confidence that it was all hearty, home cooked fare.

Thank you all! Lots of great tips/insight/advice! Based upon what I've heard & researched here and elsewhere, here is our plan:

• Purchase the English Heritage Overseas Visitor Pass online.
• Get the initial validation when we visit Dover Castle.
• While we enjoy walking, we will take the Salisbury Reds bus buying the "bus only" ticket.
• Use the Pass at both Stonehenge & Old Sarum.
• Research using the Pass elsewhere while on our visit.

Thank you again!