Stonehenge: Inside The Circle

Ever since I first heard about Stonehenge as a child, I have wanted to see it in person. It took about 60 years, but I finally made it in 2018. I was somewhat surprised to learn that there is much more to Stonehenge than just a circle of rocks. The area consists of a least 10 Neolithic historical sites, consisting of cursus structures (parallel earthwork structures), barrows (tumulus, or burial mounds), and henges (circular shaped bank with an internal ditch). Interestingly, the world’s most famous henge, Stonehenge, is technically not a henge at all since its ditch is outside the earthwork bank instead of inside of it.

We stayed in Bath and booked a day-long tour that took us to Salisbury and many of the historic Neolithic sites that are part of the Stonehenge complex. Our tour was a special “Evening Inner Circle” tour, which allowed us to go inside the stones after the park closed to the general public. If you ever visit Stonehenge, this is the type of tour you need to book. Otherwise, you will have to visit during regular daytime hours, stay behind the ropes about 50 yards from the stones, and be elbow to elbow with hundreds of other visitors.

Stonehenge is located about 90 miles west of London, 10 miles north of Salisbury, and 35 miles southeast of Bath.

The following reference map shows the locations of the major archaeological sites. Photos of the description plaques can be found toward the end of this article. Our tour started at Woodhenge (#9), and we could see the Durrington Walls (#10) from there. We then spent time at the Visitor Center (near #1), and a separate park bus then took us to the Fargo drop off point. Most tourists then continue along the red-dashed path to the Stonehenge monument. However, our tour guide took us into the countryside, passing by the Cursus Barrows (#4) and the Stonehenge Cursus (#3). We then continued eastward though the fields (hiking boots recommended) before turning south to Stonehenge Avenue (#6). “The Avenue” is the route the ancient visitors followed from the River Avon to the stone circle. As a result, we were able to approach the monument in the same manner as the early visitors did, thousands of years ago.

One thing to note is the size (about 1.5 miles long) and placement of the Stonehenge Cursus (#3). Discovery of two large pits within this cursus are positioned to align with the sunset and sunrise during the summer solstice. The winter solstice is suspected of being an all night celebration welcoming the start of longer days.

Woodhenge Photos

I had never heard of Woodhenge prior to booking this trip. It consists of six concentric oval rings and is just a one hour walk from Stonehenge.

Approaching Stonehenge

It was extremely overcast when we started out. Amazingly, the clouds began to part, and the sky became clearer with every step toward Stonehenge, and we had a beautiful clear sky at sunset.

Inside the Stones

We had to sit and wait about 30 minutes until the park closed and all the public visitors all left. Once they were gone, our small group (about 15 people) were let inside. We had Stonehenge all to ourselves until sunset.

Site Description Photos

Credits/References

• All photos by Ron Rowland and/or Patti Rowland taken on 01 Sep 2018 (except the two otherwise indicated).
• Stonehenge at English Heritage
• Stonehenge Glossary by English Heritage
• Woodhenge History at English Heritage
• Lion Tours: Stonehenge Inner Circle Tour, highly recommended tour guide
• Stonehenge Summer Solstice Sunset, a haibun