10 top tips for making your visit to the world famous Stonehenge UNESCO World Heritage Site smoother
When a world famous UNESCO World Heritage site is on your doorstep it would be rude not to visit! Day trips to Stonehenge are possible from a large area of the south of the UK and you can easily get to Stonehenge from London with lots of guided tours (see my recommendations below).
As a result of its accessibility it can be busy with lots of tourists from all over the world. However, there are ways to enjoy Stonehenge in a more relaxed way – and if you have your own transport and are happy to view from a distance you don’t even have to join everyone in the visitor centre.
This guide on 10 top tips for a day out at Stonehenge will cover:
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Why visit Stonehenge?
Stonehenge was one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the UK. It sits in a stunning landscape of other neolithic sites including Avebury stone circle, long barrows and burial mounds. It is iconic and the only stone circle in the world to have ‘lintels’ (the stones on top) with construction methods that can not be seen at any other prehistoric monument. This is made all the more incredible given that Stonehenge is nearly 5000 years old.
The site is therefore both significant and intriguing – no one really knows its purpose but it is closely linked to the winter and summer solstice. The sun rises in alignment with Stonehenge on the summer solstice and sets in alignment on the winter solstice.
There are lots of guided tours to Stonehenge available from London and other major cities such as Bristol. The advantage of a guided tour is that they often include other great places to visit and allow you a chance to relax on the journey. Here's my pick of the top rated guided tours:
Planning your visit to Stonehenge
The parking, coach drop off and visitor centre is located some distance from the stone circle of Stonehenge itself. You can not see Stonehenge from the visitor centre. To see Stonehenge your ticket includes a short bus journey to the Stone Circle or you can walk there (it’s just over a mile/2km each way). The visitor centre includes an interesting and easy to navigate exhibition with audio-visual displays, artifacts and stories of Stonehenge history.
The plan your visit section of the website is very comprehensive but there are a few things they don’t tell you (or that are not obvious) that are worth knowing and may also help you to beat the crowds.
Where to stay near Stonehenge
There are beautiful country house hotels close to Stonehenge but it is also very accessible from visitor-friendly cities like Salisbury. Here are my recommendations for places to stay:
10 things worth knowing before you visit Stonehenge
1. Choose your type of ticket - Stonehenge tickets vary in price according to whether it’s peak, standard or off peak season. This should give you a guide as to how busy it may be and also how to visit at a slightly reduced rate if you can go out of peak season. It is also cheaper to book in advance and avoid queues on the day.
2. Download the audio guide app before you arrive - There is an audio guide which you access via an app on your phone. The guide covers 3 areas – the visitor centre, the Stonehenge neolithic landscape and Stonehenge itself. There is a small sign with a QR code that you can use to download the app and guide when you arrive but mobile phone reception at the visitor centre can be patchy so it’s probably worth downloading it before you arrive.
3. Consider walking instead of taking the bus - There are buses that will transport you to the Stone Circle from the visitor centre. But you don’t have to take the bus, nor do you have to take the bus all the way. The walk is about 2km (1.2 miles) and you can walk all the way on a tarmac path or through the fields. You can also get the bus part way and walk the rest, walk there and get the bus back or get the bus there and walk back!
4. Time your move - Queues for the buses seemed shorter around lunchtime which means that Stonehenge is going to be quieter even if you are not getting the bus.
5. Use the loo at the visitor centre - Once you are at Stonehenge itself there are no formal catering outlets and no toilet facilities. The whole trip from the visitor centre to Stonehenge, around it and back takes at least 30 mins even by bus so make sure you ‘go’ at the visitor centre before you set off. When we visited there were a few informal catering stalls set up selling fruit, tea, coffee, chilled homemade lemonade and ice cream but they may not be there all year or in all weathers.
6. Take a picnic! - I don’t know why we didn’t think of this ourselves. The café at the visitor centre sells food and drink but it was quite expensive and busy. There are benches around the visitor centre where you can have a picnic and you can also sit on the grass around Stonehenge itself and have a picnic with the most memorable of views.
7. Go off the beaten track to enjoy the landscape - The landscape is well worth exploring just for its sheer beauty if nothing else (especially on a sunny day). You can explore the landscape route (including audio tour) if you walk between the visitor centre and the Stone Circle. What no one tells you is that on the walk to the Stone Circle you come across a wooden gate in a fence on the left which leads to a path through a grassy meadow. This is a much more pleasant route to Stonehenge than going along the tarmac path and allows you to pick up the landscape audio tour as you get to the other end of the meadow.
8. Pick your timing if you can - The best time to visit Stonehenge depends on your motivation. Around the summer and winter solstice the site can be busier with more security and parking restrictions. So if you are just after a regular visit then a trip outside of those times would be better – and weekends and school holidays are likely to be busier too.
9. Book a VIP tour - To visit at a really quiet time you could consider a ‘VIP’ experience which are small-group, hour long accompanied visits within the circle of Stonehenge at the start or end of the day. This gives you access to the stones that ordinary visitors don’t get but you do pay considerably more.
10. Visiting for free is an option - Finally, you can see Stonehenge for free but you don’t get up as close, you can’t access the visitor centre, you don’t benefit from the audio guide or buses and English Heritage lose out on much needed funding to maintain the landscape and Stonehenge for future generations. However, if you do want to try this option it’s best achieved if you have access to a car which you can park near Larkhill or Woodhenge or public transport to the visitor centre, and will require walking to the site.
Top places to visit near Stonehenge
- Experience Salisbury with its medieval architecture
- Take a tour of Salisbury Cathedral which has Britain’s tallest spire (see my Salisbury Cathedral guide)
- Spot Great Bustard’s the world’s heaviest flying bird reintroduced onto Salisbury Plain (see my guide on what to expect)
- Taste some English sparkling wine at Bluestone Vineyards
- Get up close to spectacular birds of prey at The Hawk Conservancy