Monday 16 May - Stonehenge

We took the hop on-hop bus tour to Stonehenge today.  This is by far the easiest way.  The bus leaves every hour from the station forecourt, picks up in town then takes us straight to the visitor centre.  The ticket price includes the cost of entry to both Stonehenge and Old Sarum.

The visitor centre is a low building nestled in a depression so that it cannot be seen from Stonehenge itself.  There are shuttle buses taking people to and from the stones.  It was a sunny and bright day with a bit of wind which made us glad we had brought our fleeces. There were a lot of visitors and I hat to think what it would be like in high summer.  Of course I took many more pictures than I really needed but it is an impressive structure both from the point of view of its size and age.

We had a little time at the Visitor Centre to get a sandwich and a drink before the next bus took us to Old Sarum.  This is now a complete ruin as the town was moved many centuries ago to the current site of Salisbury.

A great advantage of the tour bus service is that we could take any Salisbury Reds service back into town.  The first bus through was a Park and Ride which worked well.

The last time I was at Stonehenge was on Tuesday 20 June (http://www.railways.incanada.net/Diary/Diary_1961-06.html)
when I cycled down from Reading to experience the midsummer solstice.  It was an exhausting ride and I remember sleeping in a field nest to the stones.  We wandered freely through the stones - something which is not allowed today.

Click here to see all pictures taken at Stonehenge