Stonehenge - is it worth it?
 

We're going to be visiting London for a week, and my husband wants to take a side trip to visit Stonehenge while we're there. I had heard from others that it really wasn't worth the trip and you couldn't get very close. Is there anything there other than some oddly placed rocks? Is it worth the side trip or should we skip it? Thanks for the advice! Kris

If you are driving by Stonehenge, stop and see it. If you are a half an hour away, go the extra distance. But if you are going to make a day trip out of it, don't bother. It's one of those places that's nice to say that you have seen once.

Kris, I did go out of my way to see Stonehenge years ago and have never regreted the xtr time it took. You,re driving thru miles of just country side and all of a sudden there are these GREAT structures ahead. I would say that you would regret if you didn't take the time 'cause you'll probably never get the opportunity again. I personally just want to see it all!

You can take a bus tour to Stonehenge and Bath which will take all day. There is also another stone circle about 15 miles north of Stonehenge called Avesbury (Avebury?) which may be of interest if you're driving. Stonehenge is not an all-day event. You can see everything in less than an hour. However, it is one of those things you should see at least once. (I've been there twice.)

We made a day trip on our way from Cotswolds to London in March...my husband really wanted to go and it was really amazing once there...I wouldn't make an entire day of it BUT I would include a stop in Salisbury-for the incredible cathedral and an awesome town in general-its very close to Stonehenge-and the two together make a worthwhile day trip!

If you won't have a car, I did a day trip with Astral Travels that included Avebury, Salisbury, and Sarum Castle as well. I really enjoyed it. Stonehenge was more impressive than I thought it would be. There is a tour that you can pay for to get up close to the stones, but I didn't feel the need. They're so huge that visibility wasn't a problem at all.<BR><BR>For more info on the tours:<BR>http://stonehengetours.com/

Dear Kris We did the same tour of Stonehenge etc. and I would do it all over again it was so very interesting and our driver was just superb. A very good lunch was included and we could never have done this on our own. Also as we were going thru and leaving London we also saw things that you would never otherwise see. Please let us know what you decide. Lois

Once I chose a trip for my students simply because it included a trip to Stonehenge, which I had always wanted to see. Once there with the powerful March winds and the roiling skies, I just hopped and skipped and ran around the stones (the kids thought I was mad). I understand that you can't get that near them now, but to some of us, prehistoric things are our science fiction (I also loved Carnac and the cave paintings in the Dordogne). Let your husband see it.<BR><BR>I also loved Salisbury and Bath, so it would be nice if one or the other were included on your tour. I was reading Peter Lovesey's The Last Inspector in Bath, so he was chasing the perp around the Roman Baths just about the time I was seeing them for real.

Would anyone mind if I ask a question too?<BR><BR>My research indicates that I can get a tour from London and touch the stones for a cost of GBP57 (pounds). <BR><BR>Can I drive to the place and pay someone to take me up to touch the stones or is the tour from london THE ONLY way to get to touch the stones???

Well, Kris, it is a question only you can answer isn't it? To some people visiting Las Vegas to see the "Eiffel Tower" is just as good as seeing the real thing, or going to Epcot at Disneyworld instead of the world. <BR>Maybe you have no interest in seeing it, but maybe your husband has a little more going for him in the history dept. than you do. Indulge him, maybe you can learn something too, you don't want him to be smarter/deeper than you, do you? He may get bored with a flighty wife.

We took Astral's "Inner Circle" tour last year and were glad we did. It included not only the close-up experience at Stonehenge (after-hours, at sunset) but also Avebury, other Neolithic sites, crop circles, etc. Quite an interesting day! It really was special to be able to get within the circle and close to the stones, don' scoff if you haven't tried it. Unfortunately, the Inner Circle tour is often sold out, so you might not be able to catch it at this late date. <BR><BR>One possibility to consider is to send your husband to Stonehenge if that's what he wants, while you do something else (museums? shopping?) that he's not particularly interested in .

Kris, why don´t you study some Celtic history first. Because now it seems that it really would be just some oddly placed rocks to you.

Celtic history may be interesting however Stonehenge pre-dates the Celts by several thousand years.....

Is Stonehenge "worth it"? It depends on your tastes, priorities and pressure of time.<BR><BR>I think it's very impressive, if apallingly treated by its current keepers.<BR><BR>A day that included Stonehenge and Salisbury would be a good day out IMHO.

How do the current keepers treat it?

It's not that they neglect it per se.<BR><BR>Its been badly served by previous owners and governements.<BR><BR>A major road goes past it which is noisy and intrusive. The context of the site isn't reflected well<BR><BR>The visitors centre is woefully underdone for a site of this importance.<BR><BR>However plans are in progress to better serve the oldest man-made thing in Britain.

While there have been a lot of responses to this post, I just had to put my two cents' worth in.<BR>On our summer trip to France, Italy and a few days in London, Stonehenge was the place my son wanted to see more than anything else. He had read about it, seen TV specials about it, etc. My husband and daughter had no interest in going, however, so they went to Wimbledon while we went to Stonehenge.<BR>You don't have to take a fancy tour to enjoy the trip. We took the train to Salisbury (our particular morning train took about two hours with all the stops, but our return trip took about 1 hour and 20 mins.), then took the bus (they leave the train station throughout the day) for the 40-minute ride to Stonehenge. My son's face when he first saw Stonehenge was worth the trip.<BR>With your paid admission, you have access to the headphone narration, but the English versions go fast. You may have to wait around until someone returns one.<BR>Since we left early in the morning, we got back to London in plenty of time to do other sightseeing with dad and sister in the afternoon.<BR>This was my second trip to Stonehenge (I went during a student trip in 1976, when you could climb all around the stones), and it was well worth the time.<BR>Pam B.<BR>

Yes, it is definitely worth it.<BR><BR>I had not planned to visit Stonehenge, because I had heard it was just a pile of rocks not worth seeing. Then on a day-trip to Salisbury, I saw a bus leaving for Stonehenge outside the Salisbury train station. It was only a 20 minute trip, so on the spur-of-the-moment I decided to go. Seeing Stonehenge turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip to England.<BR><BR>When you arrive, buy one of the books that show how construction was done. It is a fascinating story.<BR><BR>If you combine Stonehenge with the trip to Salisbury, you can also see the Salisbury Cathedral, one of the great cathedrals of England.

Salisbury, Smalisbury!<BR><BR>If you want to see a decent cathedral in the South, go to Winchester, the Capital of England before those nasty Normans moved it up to London and a contender for Camelot, has the bones of the Anglo-Saxon kings, Jane Austen's tomb,the longest nave of any Cathedral in Europe and a million more things I can't remember...Salisbury is only famous because it lies firmly on the oh so well trodden "milk route" from London, via Stonehenge to Bath.<BR><BR>You can also see King Arthur's round table which although a fake, is a 400 year old fake.

Prior to my visit to Stonehenge, I thought of it only as a typical "tourist trap". However, once I got to the site, I was totally awestruck and enchanted. I found Stonehenge to be a truly mystical place and it was the highlight of my trip. I absolutely recommend that you see it.