Today we did not visit Stonehenge. Well, we did drive there, about 90 minutes from Bristol. The carpark is huge and at our arrival time there was plenty of space. Of course we couldn’t see the bus park. That was huge too. Only it was well patronised. You can of course see nothing from the carpark except the visitors centre. Here you buy tickets, coffee and souvenirs. Here you wait for your bus to go rocks. Here you experience totally organised tourism. |
It really was not for us. The visitors shop was very expensive. They had leather kit bags with Stonehenge embossed on the side for £199. That is about AUD360. As a souvenir!
The crowds were beyond anything we could have predicted. It is a Friday. School is back. Uni starts this week. But the place was so busy.
Neither of us really wanted to suggest leaving. But eventually we realised this was not something we could manage.
So we left.
By now the roads leading to Stonehenge were locked up tight. Cars and trucks crawling along the henge road at about the same speed the rocks are eroding. We were heading in the opposite direction.
We caught a glimpse of the stones in the wide open field. With the visitors walking around the track many meters from the rocks.
Stonehenge was never on our list. This is the spare day we gained after the London Incident. Had we planned the trip we may have booked a special inner circle trip for about £40 per person.
Only 30 people on the tour. No guide, no commentary not even a gift shop because these tours run at 0530 or after 1830. You need to be very committed for this kind of a tour.
I knew that close by Stonehenge is another site called Woodhenge.
We went!
There is nothing here except the memory of a henge in a field. There are sign boards to tell you what you are seeing. There is no car park, no pay and display, no gift shop. Just a field with concrete markers to show where the Wood henge once stood.
This was a good site and we enjoyed the quiet. As we drove off trying to steal a glimpse of the stones we ended up in a MoD housing estate.
Military only.
Run Away!!!
The area is surrounded by military things. Warnings of unexploded bombs, Tanks on the road and live fire testing.
Run Away!!
The drive back took us through a tiny village like so many we have seen this month. One little difference I could not resist. Thatched roofs. They look quite charming. So we stopped and took a few pictures.
After the village we saw fields stacked with hay at the end of the season. The hay stacks made a henge of hay bales.
Then we passed a pig farm with three little pigs close by the road. Julie laughed,
“Should we warn them?
Don’t make your Henge from hay… The farmer is gonna sell it.
A Henge of wood cant last. This one has already fallen over.
You need the Henge made from stone. Those stones are still standing after 2000 years.
The three little pigs need a Stone henge.”
"Just remember that the gift shop is full of wolves trying to sell souvenir kits bags for £200."
The crowds were beyond anything we could have predicted. It is a Friday. School is back. Uni starts this week. But the place was so busy.
Neither of us really wanted to suggest leaving. But eventually we realised this was not something we could manage.
So we left.
By now the roads leading to Stonehenge were locked up tight. Cars and trucks crawling along the henge road at about the same speed the rocks are eroding. We were heading in the opposite direction.
We caught a glimpse of the stones in the wide open field. With the visitors walking around the track many meters from the rocks.
Stonehenge was never on our list. This is the spare day we gained after the London Incident. Had we planned the trip we may have booked a special inner circle trip for about £40 per person.
Only 30 people on the tour. No guide, no commentary not even a gift shop because these tours run at 0530 or after 1830. You need to be very committed for this kind of a tour.
I knew that close by Stonehenge is another site called Woodhenge.
We went!
There is nothing here except the memory of a henge in a field. There are sign boards to tell you what you are seeing. There is no car park, no pay and display, no gift shop. Just a field with concrete markers to show where the Wood henge once stood.
This was a good site and we enjoyed the quiet. As we drove off trying to steal a glimpse of the stones we ended up in a MoD housing estate.
Military only.
Run Away!!!
The area is surrounded by military things. Warnings of unexploded bombs, Tanks on the road and live fire testing.
Run Away!!
The drive back took us through a tiny village like so many we have seen this month. One little difference I could not resist. Thatched roofs. They look quite charming. So we stopped and took a few pictures.
After the village we saw fields stacked with hay at the end of the season. The hay stacks made a henge of hay bales.
Then we passed a pig farm with three little pigs close by the road. Julie laughed,
“Should we warn them?
Don’t make your Henge from hay… The farmer is gonna sell it.
A Henge of wood cant last. This one has already fallen over.
You need the Henge made from stone. Those stones are still standing after 2000 years.
The three little pigs need a Stone henge.”
"Just remember that the gift shop is full of wolves trying to sell souvenir kits bags for £200."