Where is Stonehenge? A Brief Travel Guide to Stonehenge

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Stonehenge, which is located in Britain and is considered to be the country’s most iconic prehistoric structure, is a Unesco World Heritage Site and receives up to 850,000 tourists annually. This is a brief Stonehenge travel guide.

In spite of its prominence as a tourist destination, the amenities at Stonehenge are a letdown for many tourists. This is especially the case for those who come to the site with the anticipation that they will be able to walk among the stones and touch them.

Stonehenge’s Geographical Location in relation to London

When contemplating a trip to Stonehenge from London, a lot of people inquire, “Where is Stonehenge?” since they are unsure of its location.

Stonehenge is located in the English county of Wiltshire, on the Salisbury Plain, approximately ninety miles west of the centre of London. The closest town is Amesbury, which is located two miles to the east and has the closest public bus station.

Stonehenge is located in the middle of an area that is rich in ancient history, and there are many more interesting monuments in the vicinity.

The distances to Durrington Walls, Woodhenge, and Old Sarum are as follows: five miles to the north-west, three miles to the west, and nine miles to the south, respectively. 23 miles to the north is where you’ll find Avebury.

Other than the Stonehenge Monument, here are the top 12 places to visit in the UK.

From London, What is the Best Way to Get to Stonehenge?

Stonehenge is located 9.5 miles to the south of Salisbury, which is the closest major town and also has the closest rail connection. When travelling by tour bus from the centre of London, the trip should typically take about two hours, taking into account any time spent in traffic along the way.

If you are travelling by car, the A303 is the primary route that runs east to west and will take you within one mile of the stones. From there, you will pull off onto the A360 at the roundabout at Airman’s Corner, which is where the Stonehenge Visitor Center is located.

You can choose to take a guided tour with a bus directly from London, travel independently using public transportation (train from Waterloo and Stonehenge Tour Bus from Salisbury), or travel by car and drive yourself to Stonehenge from London by hiring a car or taking your own car. These are the three primary options that are available to you.

Pricing and Ticket Availability for Stonehenge

There is only one type of entry ticket for Stonehenge, and it grants access to the visitor centre, the shuttle, and Stonehenge itself. Because Stonehenge is such a well-known tourist destination, English Heritage strongly recommends that you reserve your tickets in advance. Stonehenge receives more than one million visitors annually.

Stonehenge admission tickets are scheduled to thirty-minute time periods, and it is during this time that you must check in at the ticket desk located at the entrance to the site.

When you have finished making your online reservation for a timed ticket, you will need to print out a confirmation and carry it with you.

Even if you have a historic card, are a member of the National Trust or English Heritage, and are therefore eligible for free access, you will still need to get tickets in advance, even though they will be free.

Stonehenge Visitor Center Facilities

Stonehenge’s visitor centre can be found about a mile away from the actual stones that make up the monument. In addition, this is where the parking lots for cars and coaches are situated.

If you are not purchasing tickets to enter Stonehenge, there is a fee to park in the car park; however, those who are purchasing tickets will not be charged.

If you would rather not walk down to visit the stones, you can take a shuttle bus there, which is already included in the price of your ticket. They operate on a very regular basis, which means that if you show up, you will never be required to wait for more than a few minutes.

The Stonehenge display, as well as a cafe, gift shop, and restrooms, are all located within the visitor centre. This is the location where you will pick up your tickets and audio guides if you are arriving on your own.

If you are arriving as part of a tour, you will need to form a line in order to proceed around the side of the building. Once you reach the other side, you will be able to board the shuttle bus that will transport you to the stones.

You can give yourself some time, in the end, to come back and see the exhibition if that is something that you are interested in doing.

How Close Will I be Able to Get to the Stones?

During the hours that the museum is open to the public, visitors are not permitted to approach the stones themselves. Because of the low barrier that is surrounding the monument, you will not be able to go any closer than about 10 yards to the stones.

Nevertheless, when Stonehenge is closed to the public, visitors have the opportunity to get quite close to the stones and even walk among them. These kinds of visits are known as Special Access visits.

Only 26 individuals are permitted to enter Stonehenge during each of these sessions, each of which lasts for an hour and allows visitors to go past the boundaries and walk among the stones.

The fact that these Stonehenge Special Access visits take place outside of public opening hours indicates that they take place either in the early morning or late in the day.

It should come as no surprise that the logistics of travelling to Stonehenge can be complicated by the fact that it is located a two-hour journey from London.

Special Access Visits are also quite popular; nevertheless, there is a huge gap between the demand and the supply of these tours, and they frequently sell out months in advance.