Stonehenge: At Least They Got Rid of the Wire Fence

During my five-and-a-half week trip to England, our group had several excursions which were planned by the people in charge of our program. Our last organized trip was to Stonehenge and Bath. I was tickled that we could include this in our itinerary because originally we were told that hoof and mouth would keep us from going there. Stonehenge is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world, and I was glad to have the opportunity to see it close up.

I, and many of my comrades, were rather taken aback when we arrived at Stonehenge and were told that we would have less than an hour to explore the premises. An hour! But once we paid our money and went inside, we realized the wisdom of our leaders' decision. There's really not a whole lot to see.

The megaliths are encircled at some distance with a rope fence which does little in the way of obstructing the view but effectively transmits the message that visitors aren't supposed to go any closer. So we couldn't actually walk among the rocks. We could see them at a 20 - 30 foot distance. We heard that this was a vast improvement over previous years, however. Apparently until recently the stones themselves were surrounded by a wire fence that made it extremely difficult to see. We had a nice clear view, and in my pictures you can't even tell that there's a fence anywhere nearby.

Just being at such a famous and ancient spot was well worth the traveling time it took to get there and the fee we paid to get in. If I recall, I think it was around $8. But that was all there was. A big loop around the rock circle and we were back at the gift shop where we could buy any number of Stonehenge-related items. Beyond the parking lot, thousands of sheep grazed serenely in the rolling pastures. And that was Stonehenge. Forty-five minutes was plenty of time for all of us to see what there was to see.

Stonehenge was, of course, very crowded as well. There had been talk of going to a similar site nearby which was much less well-known than Stonehenge, but that never panned out. So Stonehenge is my sole experience to date with the ancient monolithic circles which were used by the druids and whose origins have mystified people for centuries. I'm glad I went, and there definitely was a mysterious aura about the place... But when it comes right down to it, it's just a bunch of rocks.