Stonehenge England Great Britain


Stonehenge England Great Britain

Wayne Pat Dunlap Stonehenge Great Britain England
Wayne & Pat - Stonehenge, Great Britain
World famous Stonehenge is one of Great Britain’s most iconic archaeological sites.

Overview Stonehenge England Great Britain
Overview of Stonehenge
Stonehenge is amazing because it was constructed 4,500 years ago. Its allure is magnified by the fact that experts remain mystified about why it was build. Theories range from celestial timepiece to sacred religious center. Many of its 4-ton stones were bought here from South Wales over 250 miles away using ancient technology of the simplest of tools. This almost inexplicable accomplishment demonstrates the importance these prehistoric Britains gave to Stonehenge.

Stonehenge Spring England Great Britain flowers
Stonehenge in Spring
Stonehenge was constructed over centuries starting in 3000 BC with the outer bank. A thousand years later, the inner circle of granite stone known as the bluestones were bought from Wales. Around 1500 BC, Stonehenge’s main 50-ton stones were dragged to the site and topped with massive lintels that are so famous today.

The inner horseshoe of stones is aligned to coincide with the midsummer solstice sunrise supporting the theory of Stonehenge being an astronomical calendar. Evidence of pilgrims coming to Stonehenge indicates it was much more to them.

Stonehenge Visitor's Center Centre England Great Britain
Stonehenge Visitor's Center
Stonehenge has a new visitor’s center located about 1.5 miles from the site of the stones with parking available. A shuttle bus takes you the 10-minute ride to Stonehenge or you can choose to walk. With its interesting audiovisual displays, the visitor center is a great place to start your visit.

Map of Stonehenge England Great Britain
Map of Stonehenge
Travel tip: Do rent the audio guide to take with you to the site for good description of Stonehenge. Also, if you are planning to visit Stonehenge during the peak summer period, you may want to book well in advance to guarantee entry. In addition, for most of the year to avoid the large crowds, plan your visit early or later in the day when the tour buses have gone through.

Location Map Stonehenge Great Britain England
Location of Stonehenge, Great Britain
Due to vandalism to the stones and the large number of visitors, they have installed a restricted path around the stones at Stonehenge. You can get very close but not walk among them. If you book months in advance, there is a special tour (Stone Circle Access Visit) that you can do so. Also, a larger and less restricted site is north of Stonehenge at Avebury Henge and is available free of charge to those who want to better soak up the unique atmosphere with less crowds.

Important driving tip: Because many of the roads in England are smaller country roads with many confusing roundabouts, getting lost is not hard. In fact, it can be fun if you can get back on track. 

Here is a wonderful tip... Make sure you have GPS - if from your rental company ask for a lesson. The postal code in Great Britain typically has enough information to direct you to your hotel or destination. So, look up postal codes for your hotels and destinations so you can enter them in as you go through your day of explorations. We used a centrally located church or hotel for the villages. Sometimes the GPS asks to confirm the street name and number, so also having an address helps. Also, often just putting in the town/village name will take you to the right direction and you can follow signs to the town center.

Please see our other 12 travel blog posts on Great Britain:

York, England


Beautiful COTWOLDS Bilbury Burton Stow Slaugher Woodstock Burford Minster Lovell Oxford England

Lake District (England's Most Visited National Park)

Stratford-Upon-Avon, England (Birthplace of Shakespere)

England's Southern Coast Canterbury Rye Sandwich Salisbury, England 

Hadrian's Wall, England

Beamish Museum, England
 


Highclere Castle (Downton Abby), England

Chester, England

Magnificent Castle Howard, England 


Alnwick Castle (Harry Potter), England  
 
 
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8 comments:

  1. We enjoyed Stonehenge too. Our visit was on a very bleak, stormy day, somehow befitting the location. Though we like Stonehenge, we really preferred Avebury. There was magic there.

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  2. I lived about 20 miles from Stonehenge in 1969-70 when my father was an exchange teacher in Devizes, a Wiltshire market town. In those days, you could still walk among the stones, but there was no visitors' center. I think it would be worth returning to visit that. I also endorse your suggestion for people to check out the nearby Avebury henge.

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  3. Love your blog and tip on audio guides too. Now to read your Maldive blog. Glad I found my way to your site.

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  4. Your pictures of this iconic site, especially of the moss-tinged stones in the spring, make me remember why I was so captivated when I first read about Stonehenge years ago. Thanks for the great tips too! Maybe if we can plan far enough ahead, we could reserve the Stone Circle Access Visit which sounds truly unique and a great way to tour this "Bucket List" destination.

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  5. I love Stonehenge. It's near where I grew up as a child. Yes, I know our roads can be confusing to our North American 'cousins', but once you get used to them, they're actually quite straight forward!
    And Avebury is a wonderful place. As you say, not touristy at all as not many people know about it. It's pretty well hidden and located not far from a village with a great pub that does good food.
    Glad you could soak up the ancient atmosphere that my area can provide! We're proud of it.

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  6. It was helpful reading about what is at Stonehenge besides the rocks! So glad there is a good visitor centre as this always makes the visit more interesting. Great to know about the Stone Circle Access Visit so I could get closer. Great info!

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  7. I enjoyed your description of the new Stonehenge experience. I've never been but had heard this was coming. And GPS + driving in England = a no brainer!

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