Stonehenge!

My first visit to the UK was Christmas, 1991 - and before we left, Gareth told me to make a list of things I wanted to see and do.

At the top of that list was Stonehenge.

We saw and did a lot of things on that trip, but seeing Stonehenge was not one of them. Nor did we make our way out there in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, or 2006.

I guess twelve time's the charm.

Getting There

Stonehenge is about an hour's drive from London, so there are a LOT of different bus tour packages available, as evidenced from this Google search.

Many of these tours include stops in Windsor and Bath, so it's possible to pack a lot of sightseeing into one day.

We traveled from our home base in Cardiff, so took a different route. I was struck by how we'd gone miles and miles with nothing to gaze at but green pastures, and wham! We turned, and the iconic rock structure seemed to magically appear -- right next to the highway.

Parking at the makeshift visitors' center is across the road. Right now, it's just a couple of bungalows housing offices, toilets, a gift shop and food stand, but there are plans to build something more substantial. I guess that's what your entrance fee is paying for (that, and upkeep).

You enter the area via subway under the highway and can walk all the way around the stone circle. As you can see from the photo above, you can't walk among the stones. That's as close as we were allowed to get. That makes sense, as Stonehenge attracts some 800,000 visitors per year (and it would be a shame if any of them did any damage to the structure).

Admission fees are:

Adults: £6.90
Children (5-15): £3.50 (Free admission for children under 5)

You can also purchase a family ticket (for two adults and up to four children) for £17.30.

English Heritage - the organization that maintains the site and manages its visitors - also offers a 14-day Family Pass for Overseas Visitors. This allows a family of two adults and up to four children under the age of 19 to visit as many of their sites as time allows. The cost for this is £51, and since we knew we'd be visiting at least one other English Heritage attraction (with our three nephews), we decided to purchase one of these. It turned out to be a good value, as we ended up saving money in the end.

See more pictures of Stonehenge and Southern England from my Flickr stream, here.