JULY 2019
In my history class I heard about the mystery that is Stonehenge. As it is still a mystery what the exact function of Stonehenge is, I did not learn that much about Stonehenge in school, so I decided to bring a short visit to this famous landmark.
How to visit
You can book your Stonehenge tickets online, they cost £ 19 per person and you book a specific time slot. They also have family tickets available, which could be an interesting deal. Because of the given time slots, you don’t have to wait too long to go inside. Booking online also saves you about 10% in price. There is a parking fee for the parking lot right next to Stonehenge, however if you indicate that you will visit Stonehenge you do not have to pay it. I don’t think this entrance fee is paid ever, as I don’t know what else you would visit from the parking lot. The entrance ticket also gives you entry into the visitor center, with some explanations regarding Stonehenge and the shuttle buses, that drive from the entrance to the monument itself. If you don’t want to take the shuttle bus, you can also walk through the ancient landscapes of Stonehenge, this takes about 30 minutes one way.
Was it worth it?
To be honest I did not love my visit to Stonehenge. I visited on a gloomy day and even experienced a heavy rain shower when we were waiting on the shuttle bus back to the visitor center. This probably did not help my experience. I do have to admit that because of the time slot it does not get super crowded and it is pretty easy to take a good picture of Stonehenge without hundreds of other tourists in it. I can imagine that Stonehenge is very special to historians and archaeologists, as it is a mystery how the stones ever were engineered as the current monument. I can imagine the research to be very interesting. However, I just was not captured by Stonehenge the way I hoped to be. What was extra disappointing was that you get good views of Stonehenge from the highway nearby as well and I later discovered that there are some opportunities to visit Stonehenge for free (just try google). The entrance fee was too steep for the quality of the visit and the short amount of time you need to visit the monument.