Stonehenge questions
 

What is the best way to see stonehenge and avoid the crowds? Go early? Late? We are going to the U.K. in late September and would like to be able to see Stonehenge without hoards of people. Thanks!!

THe last time we were at Stonehenge, we were there late in the day, just before closing, and it was nearly empty. Of course, that was 2001 and during the hoof and mouth disaster. I believe we were just about the last tourists of the day to leave. It was very relaxing not to have to deal with crowds.

We saw it previously in 1997 --- July --- and got there early in the morning. It was already packed. We were lucky to get the English audioguides, which are free with admission, because when we left, there were people standing in line for them. (Other languages, such as French and German were in ample supply at mid-morning, but not Emglish!)

So my advice is plan your visit for the end of day. Even without the h&m disaster, things are usually quieter at the end of the day because tourists are heading to their destinations for the night.

I took the first bus from Salisbury, arriving about 10 minutes before opening. There was one coach-tour group clustered into an obvious huddle, but otherwise it wasn't what I'd call "crowded". I shouldn't think crowds would be any worse in September than in May.

Unless you're into crystals and spirit guides, it takes about 10 minutes to see Stonehenge. The stone circle at Avebury (near Woodstock) is much larger, older and more interesting. There are also a number of other prehistoric sites clustered around Avebury.

Ivy,

We went late in the day, that's probably best. We listened to the audio guide, and were there for about 50 minutes. (And contrary to drsawyers' assertion, I am neither into crystals nor spirit guides). ;)

I found Stonehenge more interesting than Avebury because the audio guide gave you so much information. (It also might have had something to do with the fact that it was freezing and raining when we were at Avebury, too...) :)

Have fun!
Karen

Inlate Sept the crowds will not be bad almost any time - worse on weekends though.

Arriving near closing time will be best because most of the tourbuses are gone by then. But don't cut it too close since some people do spend more than 10 minutes.

And do stop at Avebury too - a totally different experience (It is nowhere near Woodstock BTW)

Avebury is near Marlborough, not Woodstock.

- Avebury is near Marlborough.
- The Duke of Marlborough owns Blenheim Palace.
- Blenheim Palace is located in Woodstock
- So you can see this was a quite justifiable error on my part.

Quick thinking there Doc :)

With all due respect to the Stonehenge enthusiasts...it's a total waste of time. Have you seen pictures of it on TV? Have you seen any sort of documentary on the subject matter, whether narrarted by Leonard Nemoy or an A&E Documentary? If so, great, you've seen everything, now go spend your time sightseeing something much better or try to soak up the culture in another town. When you get to Stonehenge, you look at the rocks and say to yourself "Wow, cool.", and then you think to yourself "just like on tv", and it's over. You cannot even up close. Sorry folks, if you've got a tv, watch the documentary and skip it on your travels. IMHO.

Oh, just think of the thousands of documentaries I could have bought with all those wasted travel funds...it hurts just to think about it!

You can get inside the fences and walk amoung the stones with just a handful of other people if you join one of the after-hours "Inner Circle" tours conducted by Astral Travels, or you can make arrangements directly through English Heritage. Three major benefits: Seeing hte stones up close, avoiding crowds, and leaving hte rest of your day free for other activities.

tskobo - it is treu Stonehenge is not for everyone. But using your logic makes it unnecessary to go anywhere that has been photographed/filmed.

Why go to St Pauls, or the Eiffel Tower, or the Colliseum? I have seen countless pictures of each - but that would never keep me from visiting.

my daughter and i went two years ago with astral tours. they were so wonderful and reasonable. they also are the only company to still get to go inside the fences after the park closes. they only do it once a month, but i would highly recommend them.

Where did you get the idea that Astral does the Inner Circle tours only once a month? There are at least 8 or 10 of them each month in the summertime.

http://www.astraltravels.co.uk/astra...ccess_tour.htm

And you can also get inside w/o using Astral or any other commercial firm. Astral is a good company - but you can go "inside the ropes" w/ English Heritage.

Yes, janis, the original post about inner-circle access, over an hour ago, mentioned that one could gain direct access via English Heritage.

I just wanted to second the vote for the Astral (or Heritage!) "Inner Circle" tours.

Not only do you get to go INSIDE the circle with a knowledgeable guide who shows you interesting details (like the stone on which Christopher Wren carved his name, and the unique features of the stones that made their architecture so unique), but the tours are arranged for before or after the crowds have gone. The whole site is literally shut off to everyone other than your small group, which is limited to about 15 - 20 people. A very memorable and unique experience, IMO, and vastly different than what I'd imagine it would be to go like during the day with crowds of people and not being able to get within 5 meters of the circle. (And I'm not into crystals and spirit guides, either!)

I've got photos of both Stonehenge and Avebury if you want to compare. They're in the last album on this page:
http://pages.prodigy.net/drsawyers/

Stonehenge is certainly more "photogenic", but in my opinion Avebury is much more interesting. Plus you don't need special permission to walk among the stones. Unfortunately, a village and two busy roads have been built right through the middle of the ancient site.

Another possibility is to visit Stonehenge "after hours" - it may officially close but you can still see it great from the road (a two lane but fairly busy road goes within a few feet of it). Yes you have to look over or through a chain link fence. BUT - there won't be hords of tourists. We were not planning on going as I didn't think seeing it in a line of tourists would be very worthwhile but we were in the area and decided to drive by even though it was about 7:30 pm (in July). It was wonderful! There were about three other cars pulled off the road and a handful of people looking through the fence. We spent about half an hour just looking at it, photographing it, being amazed by it. But I really think if I had been there with all the tour bus crowds it would not have been nearly the experience it was. Avbury was also worthwhile, special in its way, but somehow not as moving as Stonehenge.

We are going to take the special access tour of stonehenge with astral tours next week. I'll try to let you know how it goes.

My daughter went to London for a month and recommends not to go unless you just have to say you went. She was on an exchange trip with her university and all the professors and kids that did go see it just said it's just rocks, just like TV. Can't get close and can't do much. Just see it. Not like the Eiffel where you touch, ride, see it, and other things you see on TV but you do interact with. Plus it's kinda out of the way and can kill your day

Connie, have you read ANY of the other posts on this thread?? We've been discussing ways to get within the circle and up close to the stones, and tours that make a very full day incorporating not just Stonehenge but also Avebury and other Neolithic sites, etc. When we took the Astral Inner Circle tour in summer 2001, we got a side trip to see some of the current crop circles and even the pub where they're allegedly planned.

I'm sorry that your daughter was disappointed with her tour. I guess if I'd spent a whole day just going out there and back, and seen the stones from behind the fence, I'd be disappointed, too. What a shame that her group didn't at least go to Salisbury, just a few miles away.

A biggie, as far as disappointments.

Hi Ivy. I hope you'll be able to take advantage of one of the previous suggestions for being up close and avoiding crowds. That sounds wonderful.

But I visited Stonehenge during the morning one June after visiting Avebury, and found that I was just as mesmerized as if I were alone. (well almost, I suppose) I could have sat down on the path, let the crowds mill around me, and happily spent several hours communing. (And guess what, I'm not a crystal person either.) I think it has to do with your expectations and the preparation you've made by reading about that amazing testiment to the prehistoric people who built it (and the leader who planned it).

I think so many tourists (dare I say younger?) come with something like an ADD approach because they've become accustomed to razzle dazzle. Been there, done that, what's next. Well if that's all you bring to Stonehenge, you are indeed wasting your time. There, I've said it. I'm old. J.

Guess I've been to Stonehenge three times. First in midsummer 1985, (I think,) with a tour, were told it was closed because the Druids were causing a bit of a ruckus, but then we were given permission to see it. So amid barbed wire barricades and armed military, we went and walked around it. Yes, from a distance, but still thrilling.

On another trip with friends, did a day trip from London and the third time, in March of this year, in a private car, we got there about 15 minutes before official opening, so basically had the place to ourselves. True, we were not free to walk among the stones, but still worth the experience. It's my recollection that I wasn't able to climb the pyramids of Egypt either, but still a thrill to be there.

During my latest trip to England, in March, we also toured Avebury and Stanton Drew, where we wandered at will. We just stumbled upon Stanton Drew which is located in a sheep pasture, but was most interesting. Then Avebury, with it's huge undressed stones, where it's possible to almost feel a mystical presence.

Would I return to Stonehenge again, even without walking among the stones? Absolutely, in a heartbeat!

Go on a rainy day like I did. Lots of people will whimp out.

But Stonehenge isn't that big of deal anyway. I thought it was a disappointment. There is a much better equivilent nearby call Avery or somthing like that. I'm bad with names. You can walk up to all of the stones.

Delighted to hear there is a way to get inside the inner circle, but it looks from their website as though Astral Tours only does it from London. What if you are already down around Bath or the Cotswolds, is it possible to hook up with something? The English Heritage lead didn't get me anywhere.

What do you mean, the English Heritage lead didn't get you anywhere? I just did a google search on 3 words, english heritage stonehenge, the first link in the search took me to English Heritage's Stonehenge page, where there's a link to "Private Access". Here's the link to the page, I refuse to copy out the contents for you!

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/d...e%26WCE%3D6479

Thanks for your help Annonymous. I didn't click "private access" -- was expecting something less obvious such as, say, "Inner Circle Tours," "Behind the Rope," or even, "After Hours Tours." Guess I am dumb, huh? Or just not thinking like a Brit, yet.

Perhaps you also overlooked hte text on that page, which says, "There is no access to the centre circle during normal opening hours, however, Private Access can be arranged out of hours by telephoning (01980) 626267. Use the menu on the left to find out more about Private Access to Stonehenge"? "Inner circle" is the branded name for Astral Travel's tour.

Just returned from London, which included a road trip to Salisbury. From there we drove out to Stonehenge and got there around 10:00 a.m. We were lucky to have a sunny day. It was great. We loved the sight of it as we drove up. Then the audio guides that you get were really great. It wasn't too crowded while we were there (just about an hour) but we saw more buses arriving as we were leaving.

I wasn't sure what to expect either since you hear so many people say to just skip it if you've seen the pictures. But my husband and I really enjoyed it and are so glad we went. We would recommend it to anybody.

Terry

I guess its all a matter of your perspective. I visited Stonehenge the first time in the 60s as a teenager with my parents. At that time, there was no problem with accessibility. My parents took pictures of my sister and I sitting on some of the smaller stones and doing headstands with our feet against some of the larger ones. However, at that time, I must admit that I was totally unimpressed.

I next visited Stonehenge with my teenage daughters a couple of years ago. We went early in the morning on a bright sunny day with only a few people there. Even though we had to walk around the outside of the rope barrier, this time I was totally impressed. I tried to imagine how and why such an ancient people could haul those huge stones so many miles and then set them up there in the middle of nowhere. I ended up taking a lot of pictures of the stones from all different angles.

While it might still be nice to walk among the stones, you really can't take the whole site in unless you stand back to look at it. I really wouldn't pass up Stonehenge just because you are unable to arrange for inner circle tour. Of course, predictably, my teenage daughters were less than impressed and couldn't wait to leave.

My dad claims to have a photo of him and college chums doing chimney climbs between the stones from the 40's... Things have changed.

I've been there twice, and neither time was the site terribly crowded. Maybe 30 people tops... (Weekday, July 91 and Sept.00)

I have a photo of me sitting on one of the stones with my Scottie and Airedale sitting at my feet -- taken in the 70's.