STONEHENGE

On a recent TransAtlantic cruise to England I decided to spend two nights in Southampton.  This would allow me a full day to visit the World Heritage Site of Stonehenge, the prehistoric megalithic structure located in Wiltshire, England on the Salisbury Plain about 8 miles north of Salisbury, England.  

 

Archaeologists believe that Stonehenge was constructed in several phases from around 3100 BC to 1600 BC, with the circle of large sarsen stones placed between 2600 BC and 2400 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, has been dated to about 3100 BC.

 

The site and its surroundings were added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage.  The surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.

 

The Stonehenge that I visited last month seems incomplete with many of its original sarsens and bluestones having been broken up and taken away, probably during Britain’s Roman and medieval periods. The ground within the monument also has been severely disturbed, not only by the removal of the stones but also by digging—to various degrees—since the 16th century, when historian and antiquarian William Camden noted that “ashes and pieces of burnt bone” were found. A large, deep hole was dug within the stone circle in 1620 by George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham, who was looking for treasure. A century later William Stukeley surveyed Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments, but it was not until 1874–77 that Flinders Petrie made the first accurate plan of the stones. In 1877 Charles Darwin dug two holes in Stonehenge to investigate the earth-moving capabilities of earthworms.  The first proper archaeological excavation was conducted in 1901 by William Gowland.

 

Getting to Stonehenge from London is easy with several options.

By train

Salisbury will be your nearest train station. There is a direct line from London Waterloo which takes around 1 hour 30 minutes. From Salisbury you can take a taxi from the station (12 miles/19 km) or take the Stonehenge Tour Bus which departs hourly from the railway station area. You have the option to stop off at Old Sarum on your return trip if you choose to take the bus. 

 

 

By coach

There are many companies offering coach tours from London. Many of these depart from London Victoria 364 days per year. There are also small group and private hire options available to book online.

 

By car

Stonehenge is located just off the A303. For Satellite Navigation use "SP4 7DE" or "Stonehenge Visitor Center"  and follow the brown and white tourist signs to the Visitor Centre. There is a parking charge to non-members and those who have not pre-booked tickets. Journey time from central London is around 2 hours.

 

My planned visit to Stonehenge began at the Ibis Hotel in Southampton.

 

My GPS indicated it was under a half a mile from the hotel to the train station but I opted to call UBER, mainly because I knew the day would require a lot of walking and the extra steps would be taxing on me.  The UBER fare from the hotel to the train station was £4.05GBP or $5.12USD for two of us.

 

Arrival at the central train station in Southampton was 8:00am.  The departure board indicated a train would be leaving at 8:10am but I opted instead for an 8:37am departure.  The cost for the Southwestern Railway ticket was £28.50GPB or $36.01USD for 2 round-trip tickets from Southampton to Salisbury.  Arrival in Salisbury was 9:17am.

 

As you exit the train station, turn to your left and walk around the corner.  There is a posted BUS STOP sign on the building with the schedule.  

 

 

 

 

The double-decker green Stonehenge tour bus leaves every hour on the hour.  I caught the 10am departure.  Tickets can be purchased online or directly from the bus driver.  You can also buy tickets from the driver that include your Stonehenge admission. 

 

I arrived at the Stonehenge bus parking lot at 10:50am.  Return trips to Salisbury are every hour on the hour.  

Bus drop off location

Walking toward Visitors Center

 

Walking toward Visitors Center

Visitor Center Entrance Sign

Stonehenge Visitor Center Main Building

I first walked to the visitor center and exchanged my ticket for a wrist band.  As I was uncertain of the weather and wanted to definitely see the monument without rain, I opted to go directly to the shuttle bus boarding area first.  The shuttle bus takes you to the monument parking lot from where you will have to walk the final little bit to the actual site.  Shuttle buses run about every 20-30 minutes.  On the day of my visit it was both very cold and windy.  

 

 

Shuttle bus to Stone Monument

 

After walking around the monument, I caught the shuttle bus back to the Visitor Center and made my way to the Exhibition hall and also outside to look at the Neolithic houses. 

Sarsen stone

After a short break in the café area, I headed back to the bus area and boarded the 1pm back to Salisbury, arriving at the train station at 1:30pm.  The next train back to Southampton was 2:37pm, arriving at 3:05pm.  

 

Plan on spending a minimum of 2 hours at Stonehenge

• Start at the visitor centre
• Take the visitor bus to the Stone Circle
• Take in the Stonehenge virtual stones experience
• Find out about the Stone Circle and its ancient landscape in the Exhibition Hall
  
• Wander around the Neolithic houses
• Feel the Touching Stone and try your hand at pulling a sarsen
• Return to browse the shop, and take a well-earned break in the café