Is Stonehenge Worth Visiting?
Stonehenge is one of Britain’s most famous landmarks, but it is also one of those places people seem to have very different opinions about.
Some are fascinated by it. Others arrive, look at the stones and wonder what all the fuss is about.
I have visited Stonehenge three times, and my experiences have been surprisingly different. My first was a wet day out with friends when I did not really know what to expect. The second time, I slowed down, explored the wider site and learnt more about what I was looking at. My third was at the summer solstice, when Stonehenge becomes a rather different place altogether.
Having seen it in three quite different ways, I can understand both reactions. How much you enjoy Stonehenge depends a lot on what you expect, how interested you are in its history and whether you take the time to understand what you are actually looking at.
Is Stonehenge Worth Visiting?
For most visitors, yes. People sometimes dismiss Stonehenge as “just a bunch of rocks”. Well, yes, they are rocks. The Eiffel Tower is technically just a lot of iron. What matters is how they got there, why they were put there and what they may have meant to the people who built Stonehenge thousands of years ago.
The large sarsen stones were raised around 2500 BCE, with some weighing around 30 tonnes. Some were transported considerable distances before being shaped and raised. When you consider that this was achieved thousands of years ago, without modern machinery, the stones become rather more interesting than they might first appear.
There are still plenty of questions about exactly why Stonehenge was built. Its alignment with the summer and winter solstices suggests that the movement of the sun was important, but much about its purpose and the people who used it is still debated. For me, that uncertainty is part of what makes it interesting.
If you enjoy history and take the time to understand what you are looking at, Stonehenge is worth seeing at least once. If you are expecting the stones alone to blow you away, you may leave wondering what all the fuss is about.
What Is It Actually Like to Visit Stonehenge?
Your visit starts at the visitor centre, which is separate from the stone circle itself.
The visitor centre has an exhibition covering the history of Stonehenge and some of the archaeological finds from the surrounding area. Outside are reconstructed Neolithic houses based on evidence from nearby excavations. I actually enjoyed this part more than I expected. You can step inside the houses and get a better idea of how people may have lived when Stonehenge was being built.
There are also some more hands on displays outside. When I visited, you could try pulling on a rope attached to a replica stone to get some idea of the effort involved in moving one. It is a simple activity, but it puts those enormous stones into perspective rather better than another information board does.
From the visitor centre, you then make your way out to Stonehenge itself. There is a shuttle bus, or you can walk across the landscape if you have more time. Once at the monument, you follow the viewing route around the stone circle rather than walking directly among the stones.
It can get busy around the spots where everyone wants the classic Stonehenge photograph, particularly during the summer months. Once you move away from those areas, however, there is considerably more space and you can take your time walking around.
I would recommend downloading the free official audio guide to your phone before you visit. It gives you some context about the stones, the surrounding landscape and what archaeologists have discovered about the site. There is only so much you can get from staring at a very old rock and hoping it explains itself.
Why Do Some People Find Stonehenge Underwhelming?
I can understand why some people leave Stonehenge feeling slightly underwhelmed, because that was pretty much my reaction the first time I visited.
Part of the problem is what people expect to find when they get there. Photographs can make Stonehenge look enormous and completely isolated, whereas the stone circle is smaller than you might imagine and there is a main road nearby. On a standard visit, you also view the stones from a managed path rather than wandering freely among them.
Then there is the cost and effort of getting there. If you have travelled a couple of hours, paid for admission and expected a huge monument you could explore up close, seeing a circle of stones from a distance might not immediately feel worth it.
My opinion changed when I visited again and spent more time learning about the site. Stonehenge is one of those places where knowing the story makes a considerable difference. The stones themselves have not changed much in the last few thousand years, but my expectations certainly did.
How Long Do You Need at Stonehenge?
I would allow around two hours for a visit to Stonehenge. That gives you enough time to look around the visitor centre and Neolithic houses, get out to the stone circle and walk around it without rushing.
You could visit much more quickly if you skipped the exhibition and went straight to the stones, but I do not think that is the best way to experience Stonehenge. You would miss quite a lot of the wider site in the process.
We spent a good few hours there and took our time, particularly on my second visit. If you choose to walk between the visitor centre and the stones rather than taking the shuttle bus, allow a little longer.
How Much Does It Cost to Visit Stonehenge?
Stonehenge is not particularly cheap. On my first visit, we simply rocked up, joined the queue in the rain and bought our tickets on the day. On a later visit, we booked in advance, which was cheaper and meant we knew exactly when we were going in.
At the time of writing, an adult ticket bought on the day can cost around £35, while booking in advance can save up to 15%. Prices also vary depending on the day and time of year.
Whether it is worth the price depends on how you visit. If you simply head to the stones, walk around them and leave, it can feel expensive. Spend a couple of hours exploring the visitor centre and Neolithic houses and use the audio guide, and I think you get considerably more for your money.
Prices can change, so check the current admission prices on the official English Heritage website before you visit.
How Close Can You Get to the Stones at Stonehenge?
On a normal visit, you cannot walk right up to Stonehenge or touch the stones. Visitors follow a designated route around the monument, with the distance between you and the stones changing as you walk around.
The distance did not particularly bother me. You can still see Stonehenge clearly and get good photos from the path. It is worth knowing beforehand, though, as someone expecting to stand directly beside the stones might be disappointed.
There are special opportunities to get closer. English Heritage offers a Stone Circle Experience outside normal opening hours where you can enter the stone circle, although places are limited and you still cannot touch the stones.
The summer solstice is a different experience altogether. I was able to get much closer to the stones when I visited for the solstice, but that is not representative of a normal visit.
What Is Stonehenge Like at the Summer Solstice?
Visiting Stonehenge for the summer solstice is completely different from a normal daytime visit. I have done both, and the solstice was easily the most memorable of my three visits.
For the solstice, open access allows thousands of people to gather at Stonehenge and get much closer to the monument than you normally can. Being right beside the stones gives you a completely different sense of their size. It was also my chance to get up close and personal with both the stones and the stoners. There were hippies, modern druids, musicians and people who had simply come to experience sunrise at Stonehenge.
It is busy, noisy and not remotely like visiting on an ordinary day. But watching the sunrise at a monument with such a strong connection to the solstices is a pretty special experience, even if the British weather does not always cooperate.
I would not suggest visiting at the summer solstice if you simply want a quiet look around Stonehenge. If you want to experience the site in a completely different way and do not mind the crowds, it is worth doing at least once.
Is Stonehenge Worth Visiting From London?
Whether Stonehenge is worth visiting from London depends largely on how much time you have. If I only had three days in London, I would stay in the city. There is simply too much to see before I would give up a large part of a day travelling to Stonehenge.
With a longer trip, I think it becomes much easier to justify. The train from London takes you to Salisbury rather than Stonehenge itself, so you then need to continue to the site by bus or another form of transport. Driving also means spending several hours on the road over the course of the day.
You only need around two hours at Stonehenge itself, so travelling from London purely to see it can feel like quite a lot of travelling for a relatively short attraction.
If Stonehenge is somewhere you have always wanted to see, then yes, it is a perfectly reasonable day trip from London. Otherwise, I would see the places you really want to visit in London first and consider Stonehenge once you have more time to spare.
When Is the Best Time to Visit Stonehenge?
I have visited Stonehenge in pouring rain, on a pleasant summer day and at the summer solstice, and the weather makes quite a difference. Most of the site is outdoors and exposed, so unsurprisingly I enjoyed walking around much more when it was dry.
If you are visiting during summer, I would aim for earlier or later in the day if you can. The area where everyone stops for the classic Stonehenge photo can get crowded, although I found there was much more space once we continued around the viewing route.
There is no perfect time to visit, especially where British weather is concerned. Given the choice, I would take a dry morning or later afternoon. And unless you specifically want the unusual experience I described above, I would not choose the summer solstice for your first visit.
So, Is Stonehenge Worth Visiting?
Yes, I think Stonehenge is worth visiting at least once, particularly if you have an interest in British history and prehistory. It is one of those places where realistic expectations make a big difference.
It will not be for everyone. If you have little interest in its history, are short on time or expect to wander freely among the stones, there are probably better ways to spend your day.
After three visits, I have seen Stonehenge in the rain, in the sunshine and surrounded by thousands of people at the summer solstice. I would happily recommend seeing it once. A fourth visit might be pushing it.
