Is it unreasonable to think I can take a bus or train to Stonehenge for the day from London rather than doing it with a tour group? Any good recommendations of where to go for this? I hate being dragged around like a member of a cattle herd by tour guides.

The best way is by train to Salisbury. There's a Stonehenge bus which picks up outside Salisbury station for the 30 minute drive to Stonehenge.

At Stonehenge audio-guides are available for hire.

Salisbury itself is well worth a few hours visit too.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Very easy. buy a day return train ticket to Salisbury (80 min each way) and then hop a bus from the train station to Stonehenge, about five miles away. buses run frequently in season - special buses, often open-air doubledeckers that go right there. Don't neglect Salisbury itself, a neat old town with the stunning Salisbury Cathedral, where is now King Arthur's Round Table (of dubious autheniticity but so what?) but one of Europe's great churches - soaring towers. Walk out into the meadow well behind the church to take in the view of the cathedral and its soaring towers painted by some great English painter several times (turner or Constable? any way mega famous pictures. A great day easily done on your own. In winter check for bus info but in summer just go - well probably consult the Salisbury Tourist Information Centre's web site to be sure. When you buy your train ticket (Waterloo station) ask about combo rail + bus tickets. On the edge of Salisbury is Old Sarum, the famous ruined town that was the subject of a mega-hit book.

As Stonehenge itself is located in the middle of the middle of a barren expanse of the Salisbury Plain, it is not likely to be on a regular train or bus route ... took a tour to Stonehenge and Bath (day trip out of London) a few years ago and frankly, while Stonehenge is fascinating it is not the kind of place you are likely to want to spend more than a few hours. Your best bet might be to rent a car or see if some private tour might be available through your hotel.

The train is the easiest option. London Waterloo to Salisbury. From the station you can pick up a Wilts and Dorset bus service up to Stonehenge, or a guided bus service by Guide Friday. As Stonehenge will have held your fascination for no more than an hour, and the herds of cattle will be all around you being, as you say, dragged around by tour guides you may wish to spend the rest of the day back in Salisbury. The Cathedral is a wonderful example of Early English Gothic, with an early copy of Magna Carta in the Chapter House, to boot.The town has a great archeology museum which could make up for being unable to do all the other nearby neolithic sites such as Avebury, West Kennet Longbarrow, Silbury Hill, Old Sarum,with any ease, as you opted not to take a tour from London.

Pal Q - It was John Constable. That will be five guineas please!

Interested in this thread as we wish to take a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath/Salisbury whilst we are in London in June.
We've been told of a tour company "Astral Tours" which promote they are the only tour company able to take people actually "into" the stones.
Does anyone know anything of this?
Many thanks,

I think that might be a bit much for one day - I could spend almost a whole day in Bath. I find Stonehenge disappointing. I have not been to Salisbury but have heard that the Cathedral is nice.

Astral Travels' Special Access tours are not the only way to get in amongst the stones before or after regular open hours -- you can contact English Heritage directly. The Astral Inner Circle tour that we took in 2001 included a full day, with Avebury and other neolothic sites with side trips to view crop circles, ending the day at Stonehenge.

The good thing about the Astral Travels tour is that they pick you up from your hotel and the entire tour is in a 16 seat minibus, with a small group of like minded people and this leads to a much better, friendlier atmosphere. You get down some of the back roads to the smaller villages off the beaten track and the Neolithic sites like Avebury Stone Circle, Silbury Hill and West Kennet Longbarrow. You'll have a guide with you throughout the tour, much better than trying to get to these places yourself.