Stonehenge (England)

Advantages: World Heritage site. Opens debates. Makes you think.
Disadvantages: Expensive day out. Disgraceful "Visitor Centre". Poor presentation of information.

...on site. Having visited Stonehenge as recently as last Sunday (17th July, 2005) I decided that now was the ideal time to put fingers to keyboard and share a few of my personal thoughts with you on this "mystical" place. Before opening the debate, a brief history of my personal experiences here may just be in order. I have visited Stonehenge on four occasions during the last 20 years, each time in some capacity escorting foreign visitors there. ...
...for the West Country. Stonehenge was therefore a familiar, albeit not personally visited, attraction. Then in the summer of 1985 I found myself planning a day out for an Italian friend and her sister. I thought it would be a good idea to show them the delights of Bath (Italian's, ancient ROMAN city!), they wanted to see Stonehenge. What a bit of luck, a good scenic route from Brighton to Bath falls into place via Stonehenge and Salisbury Plain. ... Read review

Advantages: The monument and associated landscape; Good audio tour; Well stocked shop
Disadvantages: Expensive if you are not an English Heritage/National Trust member; Poor visitor facilities

...other expectant travellers flock to Stonehenge in the hope of witnessing what is rumoured to be mystical sight. If the morning is clear, they will hope to see the midsummer sun rise between two of the great sarsen uprights, in line with the monolith of the heel stone at the far side of the circle. At this moment there will be much singing and rejoicing amongst the visitors, much wringing of hands amongst the custodians that all this frivolity doesn't ...
...first chroniclers mentioned the site, Stonehenge has been a giant peg on which different myths and (mis)interpretations have been hung. It has been variously a monument to a battle between Saxons and Britons that was brought magically to the Salisbury Plain by Merlin; a trick built by the devil; a Mycenaean temple made by Greek colonists; a temple constructed by Druids, and a landing platform for use by aliens. I suppose it all comes back to the ... Read review

Advantages: Mystical site
Disadvantages: English Heritage are intending to exploit it too much

...for the familiar sight of Stonehenge where we would be having our next stop. The way home from Devon was always far more anticipated as the drive would be during the evening and it would seem interminable with nothing to look forward to except returning to our home and school. We used to always stop at the parking layby next to Stonehenge, and while my father was heating up a kettle on the butane gas ring by the roadside, we used to dash over to ...
...nation. The name of Stonehenge is Anglo Saxon, and henge means gibbet or hanging - this furthers the view that it was a sacrificial site, even before the excavations of skeletons. Stonehenge is built on a slope on Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire. The stones used are of differing heights to keep the top line straight, so that needed some planning in advance! Most of the stones, ie, the larger ones called Sarsen stones, came from Marlborough 19 miles ... Read review

Advantages: A significantly important part of our heritage that must be seen
Disadvantages: The cost

...were harvesting their crops. Stonehenge sits between the A303 (which leads to Salisbury) and the A360 (leading to Devizes), atop a hill on the Salisbury Plain. The site has been surrounded by a high fence, so you can either walk the perimeter or pay to enter. Prices are as follows: Car parking £2 (refundable on paying to enter Stonehenge) Entrance fees £5 per adult, £2 per child, £3.80 Concessions, free to National Trust members Whilst it ...
...when you pay to enter Stonehenge you have the option of the free audio tour. We wondered why people were wandering around with mobile phones glued to their ears. Having paid the entrance fee, we realised that the mobile phones were in fact “radios”, programmed with a variety of different languages and attuned to give you historical facts and figures according to your position at the monument. Suffice to say, with a 21-month old who was ... Read review

Advantages: Fascinating part of English history
Disadvantages: Cost, location

...got the chance to visit Stonehenge just before Christmas. It was somewhere I was determined to go before moving to the US, so I dragged a friend of mine down to Salisbury for the weekend, and we went to Stonehenge on the way back to the Midlands. Let me start by saying that it was a freezing Sunday in December, so being on top of a hill in the middle of nowhere was probably not the best ideas, and did indeed dampen the atmos a little, but I shall ...
...All these aerial views of Stonehenge we see seem to leave out that minor geographical detail. Nevertheless, off we went to park and queue. English Heritage sure know how to get their money's worth out of you by helpfully providing steaming hot beverages and sandwiches for those feeling the freezing temperatures. It cost us 5.20 to get in, a little steep I thought, considering I've paid less to get into historic buildings with a lot more to see than ... Read review