Hi All!

I just got back from a 3-day tour of southwest England and one of the stops was Stonehenge. I really enjoyed the visit (and lucked out with clear blue skies!), and thought the place was incredible. I know some people feel otherwise and think it's overrated, and I put the question out on my blog (along with photos, etc). Feel free to weigh in here or there if you have an opinion: http://www.aladyinlondon.com/2012/12/stonehenge.html

Happy Travels!

I enjoyed your description. I find Stonehenge very interesting, though I wouldn't call it magical. Amazing that it was erected, and intriguing as to its purpose.

Well, maybe I would call it magical.

When I read your post, I was thinking that when I visited Stonehenge back in the 60's, it wasn't roped off, and that I was able to walk among the stones and touch them. However, I wasn't sure if my memory was accurate.

I just checked Wikipedia to see when Stonehenge was roped off so that one could not walk among the stones. I learned that happened in 1977, which means that when I went there, I was indeed able to have a more immediate experience.

I began traveling in 1963, when fewer people traveled. I'm glad that more people are able to experience the excitement of visiting wonderful places like Stonehenge, but at times I wish that those days were not past.

I remember when I was in a market in Sapporo, Japan, and a little boy pointed to me and told his mother that I was a "gaijin," a foreigner. In those days, all I had to do was leave the train at Shinjuki station and take out my map of Tokyo, and someone would come up to me and ask if I needed help. That was always fun.

When I was on a tour with a group of American and Canadian teachers in Moscow, a television crew met us as we got off our train. Apparently we were unusual enough that we were on the nightly TV news. That was in the late 60's.

Traveling wasn't as convenient then, but there weren't so many people milling about, so in some ways it was more enjoyable.

Gosh, I'm off the topic here.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'm jealous that you got to do so much traveling back when it wasn't as common/easy to do. I wish there were more places like that today!

Pegontheroad,

I was about a decade behind you but like you I was able to see and do things people can't do today.

I too was able to walk among the stones and touch them at Stonehenge. Amazing. I walked across the top of the Pont du Gard.

I was able to walk among and touch the columns of the Parthenon in Athens and the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion. I climbed to the top of the Tumulus of the Athenians at Marathon. I've been back to all of them in later years when they were inaccessible... maybe it was because it was the second time around but I didn't feel the same thrill. I was lucky to have been at such places when being right in them was still possible.

On my first trip to England (not long after Peg's) I went and stood inside the circle. There were maybe half a dozen other people there that day even though it was summer, but the rain was bucketing down. I was awed.

Twenty five years later I was back with two nephews. The 10year old had put Stonehenge as a top priority on his list.
It was a sunny Sunday summer afternoon and there were a bjillion other people there, but it still felt awesome to me even though we were outside the rope. The boys were also almost reverential. The older one took a picture with his little point and shoot film camera and somehow, he managed to get a shot with no people in it and the sheep were grazing in the distance. I still look at that picture and am amazed at the skill (luck?) of that kid in getting the perfect shot.

I forgot to say thanks for sharing your wxperience with us!

Thanks!!

I've visited Stonehenge several times, before and after the roping off. Personally, although I cherish the memory of walking amid the stones, I think they look better without us draping ourselves on them. The photos are also improved!

At any rate, count me as a fan. By-the-way ALady, the stones are even more mysterious and evocative under threatening skies. Return someday and also see Avebury, the West Kennet Long Barrow and the other neolithic monuments in the vicinity!

Stonehenge was featured on the BBCAmerica morning news because of the winter solstice and the Druids,etc. that visit. I just went back in October and I find the site very moving. I wish we could be nearer the stones, but understand that in this age of mass tourism, some of the prior experiences are no longer possible. ALady, thanks for posting your experiences. Also, I saw an excellent documentary about Stonehenge on History Channel within the last year that explains who settled, how the stones were drug across from Wales and the relationship of Stonehenge, Old Sarum and Salisbury.

Thos are all great stories! I'm glad you shared them. It's always nice to hear about others' experiences with a place you've visited.

I've been to Stonehenge three times. and loved it each time but agree the fence is not nice. But the real gem is a few miles away at Avebury. Same stones, not as big but set in the middle of a little village. Just as surreal as to why they are there in the pattern they are in. You have complete freedom to roam the stones, visit the haunted pub and marvel at the stones. I enjoyed it as much or more than Stonehenge.

The first time we went saw the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum, it was just there for the touching. Second time, covered in hard plastic. I was just mentioning the other day that the first time we visited the Louvre (early 70s), you could walk right up to the unprotected Mona Lisa.

I agree that travel in the 60's and 70's had many pleasures that are now gone, such as visiting Stonehenge unrestricted, which I did on the Winter solstice of 1969, with only family and two friends. I also remember that the exchange rate was such that one US penny equalled one (old) GB penny, making values easy to comprehend without trouble. However, the availability of ATMs, online booking, etc. is a welcome new feature.

Wow, it's amazing how many things that people used to be able to get up close to see are now behind protected cases or ropes. A bit sad, but good to know that future generations will be able to see them.

I loved Stonehenge. I have been there twice, and always feel that magic among the stones. It is almost as if you can sense the pull of the ancestors. I find it one of the best places I have visited in the world. Right up there with the great wall of China.

That's great! I felt the same way about the Great Wall of China, too.