The Day I Got Stoned (Again) (Stonehenge)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Stonehenge
Date:	04/04/06 (289 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Still a spectacular site/sight

Disadvantages: Poor facilties, not a full day out

***Introduction***
It was whilst trying to come up with something constructive to do during the school holidays that the thought of visiting Stonehenge suddenly popped into my head. I vaguely remember being a visitor for the first time way back when whilst I was still at school (that may well have been during the Stone Age). My hazy recollection of the ancient monument featured a graffiti-laden collection of stones and a shop full of school kids on the rob in nearby Avebury (not guilty, m’lud). Still, the rest of the family had never been so we decided to risk it even if most reviews I’d read hadn’t exactly been that complimentary and I still remembered being notably underwhelmed myself.

***Getting there***
The official site at www.stonehenge.co.uk carries comprehensive directions for all modes of transport including road, train and bus as well as having maps available. To travel from the Midlands (in our case – Northampton) the most straightforward route was A43 > M40 > A34 > A30 > A303 but if you want a good route then try the route finder at www.aa.com. The AA site will give you a blow by blow route together with a handy map to guide you (I use the site all the time). The nearest train station to Stonehenge is in Salisbury about 9.5 miles away from the historical site with trains arriving from London Waterloo departing every hour.

***Places to stay***
I didn’t know the area at all and decided to go by the recommendations on the Stonehenge site itself. Generally, I ask for views from friends online but as this was so last minute I took a flyer and went with the 3 options available at www.stonehenge.co.uk. It was a choice of either The Milford Hall Hotel in Salisbury (www.milfordhallhotel.com), The Old Manor Hotel in Trowbridge (www.oldmanorhotel.com) or The Fairlawn Hotel in Amesbury (www.fairlawnhotel.co.uk). The Milford Hall Hotel was booked up for that weekend so I ended up reserving a suite at The Old Manor Hotel, which is a grade 2 Listed Georgian House with converted stables. There are plenty of places to stay in this part of the world with numerous bed and breakfast places available so if you don’t want anything as elaborate as the accommodation we ended up with then I’m sure a trawl of the B & B sites online will show up something suitable for everyone’s taste.

***Stonehenge***
Having parked in the car park, we duly paid our £14.80 for a family ticket (covers 2 adults and up to 3 children under 19) and entered through the turnstile (no dogs allowed except guide dogs). I paid in cash but it was possible to pay by plastic card (debit/credit) if you didn't want to use the more traditional method of payment. We only had a hand full of folks in front of us so waiting wasn’t a problem. As ever with English Heritage sites, there was a cabin devoted to signing new members up to English Heritage, which would have meant free entry into Stonehenge. Incidentally, at £65 annual membership for 2 adults and the facility to take up to 2 children (under 19) free then with all the various places we end up visiting that are owned by EH then this wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. Anyway, I digress as usual.

Having entered through the turnstile, we were duly offered a free, complimentary audio tour, which came with an audio wand. I initially declined as I prefer to discover things for myself although I did end up listening to one at the end of the circuit with curiosity eventually getting the better of me. I would say that with so many people having these audio wands pressed to their ears, it made for a surreal scene that looked like something from a mobile phone convention! The audio commentary comes in several different languages including French, German, Dutch, Italian, Swedish and Japanese to name most of them. Of course, there is also an English version to cater for both those groups from hereabouts and those from the U.S. Judging by all of the accents we heard then this range would appear to be a good reflection of the nationalities present on the day. To get to the stones you have to go through an underpass that lies beneath the road above. Adorned with murals dedicated to the building process all those thousands of years ago, the route to the stones is fairly innocuous even if the paintings are nicely done. Emerging on the other side of the road, the monument itself is ringed by a low fence with signs imploring visitors not to walk on the grass. Whilst you could actually walk amongst the stones in the past, this isn’t allowed these days apart from by special arrangement in advance.

Stonehenge is a World Heritage site as it’s probably the most significant site of its kind in the British Isles. Thought to have been built around 3100BC, Stonehenge was built in 3 phases. The circular ditch and bank (henge) that surrounds the stones was probably constructed c.3050BC. In the centre would have been a wooden structure built around 2600BC whilst the actual stone monument dates from c.2500 – 1500BC. The larger stones are Sarsen stones from the nearby Marlborough Downs whilst the more mysterious, smaller Bluestones come from the Preseli Mountains in Wales some 240 miles (385km) away. It’s this long distance that makes the site so fascinating as to have dragged them such a distance and formed the construction itself would be a huge feat of engineering today never mind thousands of years ago. From the roadside (Stonehenge is flanked on 2 sides by major A-roads), the monument looks smaller than you would imagine but closer up it still cuts an impressive sight. The larger stones make an imposing spectacle whilst the visitor can only imagine how the lintels were placed on top of the stones. A note of caution when walking around the site is that with the location being Salisbury Plain then the area is very exposed. Whilst it was a relatively mild Spring day for our visit, the wind was sufficient to bring water to my eyes and made it feel much colder with the wind chill factor than it looked. I’d strongly recommend wrapping up well unless it’s a blazing hot Summer’s day. It doesn’t take long to walk around the circular path whilst taking in the stones of particular note. The free information leaflet does mention the features to look out for including the Horseshoe of Sarsen Trilithons, the Station Stone (located outside the ring and close to the henge), the Slaughter Stone and the Heel Stone to name but a few. As a visitor, one can’t help but ponder on the attraction of the monument and its apparent significance to ancient rituals featuring the worship of the sun and moon. I found myself looking around wondering how many visitors were either Druids or Pagans and started to reminisce over a recent book I read called “Stonehenge” written by Bernard Cornwell. The renowned author had managed to capture the look and feel of the ancient monument conjuring images of ancient tribal lore and pre-historic worship of long-forgotten deities. Traversing the circular path may take anything from just a few minutes to as long as you like depending on how long you want to stay and there are plenty of opportunities to take pictures, which we duly did. Needless to say that there was the obligatory gift shop at the exit selling the kind of bric-a-brac that you might expect e.g. small, plastic models of Stonehenge, T-shirts, posters and the like as well as a tiny café peddling food and drinks. With nowhere particularly comfortable to sit and eat or drink, the café is badly situated and reflects how poor the whole Visitor Centre experience is.

***The Future***
The good news is that it appears that English Heritage is aware of Stonehenge’s shortcomings and there are plans over the next decade to make the site more visitor-friendly. The Stonehenge Project together with the National Trust and The Highways Agency are all working towards concealing the A303 and closing part of the A344 so that the site will not be affected by busy roads close by. The current car park with its Visitor Centre and toilets will be grassed over and a new Visitor Centre built approximately 2 miles (3km) away from the monument. With an exhibition, café, shop, educational facilities and, of course, parking for cars and coaches, this world-famous institution will finally have a support structure to be proud of. There will even be a train to take visitors to the stones in a touch of Americana that our British archaeological sites nearly always lack in their perpetually understated way.

***Summary***
We should be proud of sites like this both in this country and the world over; they are an invaluable link to the past and our ancestors. Stonehenge is not just for history buffs but for everyone and suitable for all ages. I would suggest that it will only take up a couple of hours of most people’s time at the most but there are plenty of surrounding sites of interest to make a day of it. These include the Stone Circles at nearby Avebury and the Woodhenge site at Amesbury, literally a short drive from Stonehenge. I’d strongly recommend checking out the accompanying web site at www.stonehenge.co.uk, as it is nicely set up to plan your visit in advance. I went to Stonehenge expecting to be underwhelmed (but hoping not to be for the family's sake) and came away pleasantly surprised having had an interesting time. Do go if you get the opportunity!

***Prices and admission times***
Adult £5.90/Child (5 - 15) £3.00/Concession (student, pensioner) £4.40/Family Ticket (2 adults + up to 3 children) £14.80

Opening times: Spring 16 Mar to 31 May 09.30 - 18.00/Summer 1 Jun to 31 Aug 09.00 - 19.00/Autumn 1 Sept to 15 Oct 09.30 - 18.00/Winter 16 Oct to 15 Mar 09.30 - 16.00/Boxing Day and New Year's Day 10.00 - 16.00

Thanks for reading

Marandina

Linked sites: www.stonehenge.co.uk
www.thetrainline.com www.nationalexpress.com www.wdbus.co.uk/

Summary: Review of Stonehenge