Travel

Wiltshire's Winning Ways

Stonehenge’s visitor facilities have been given a refreshing facelift, but Norman Wright discovers there’s much more to Wiltshire than just the celebrated stone circle 

It was a grey, overcast morning on Salisbury Plain and patchy rain drifted across the rolling landscape, but the moody day only heightened the mysterious shapes of Stonehenge.

I’d not been to see the stones for a few years and was keen to see the new visitor centre and visitor access to this true wonder of the world.

English Heritage has done a great job of re-presenting a monument that attracts 1.25 million visitors a year. Instead of being greeted by wooden buildings and a pedestrian tunnel under the road to get to the stones, there’s a new visitor centre with exhibitions, restaurant and shop away from the famous skyline. You are then taken up to Stonehenge in land trains towed by Land Rovers. There’s a walking path, too.

A pathway allows you to circle around the prehistoric monument and get surprisingly close at points. Set on a high point of the plain within sight of several ancient burial mounds or barrows, it gives you a real sense of its lonely placement.

Only traffic on the nearby A303 reminds you of which century you occupy, and that may be gone soon if plans to divert it out of sight through a tunnel are completed. After taking my
time to stroll around the stones, it was back on board the land train to the visitor centre and a look around the exhibition. I should, of course, have done that first because it gives an insight into Stonehenge and the theories about why it exists and how it was constructed. 

To Continue Reading the Full article Click Here

Have you visited Stonehenge recently? Want more travel news? 

Let us know what you think and share your experiences with us and others,, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and YouTube

Other stories in Travel

Where to holiday and avoid the crowds
A year in cottages
Around the World in 101 nights
Talk a Norfolk walk and enjoy a pint
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines now open for 2025
Fair Stood the Train for France
Emerald Cruises
Solos Holiday Breaks
Take to the water this Autumn
Enjoy an Autumn brunch in London
Discover the charms of Knightsbridge
Last-minute savings on European yacht sailings
Visit this Summer’s Blockbuster Locations
Steam Dreams
Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours
Birdwatching
Bambi in the Blenheim Bluebells
Adventure Play at Blenheim Palace
Eclipse All Aboard for Cruise Adventures
Camping out at Bert’s Kitchen Garden
Second Guest Sails Free with Emerald Cruises
Dogs at the Palace
London's River Uber
Spend a night with Dennis The Menace
Taking a break at Old Dairy Cottage
Wild Isles with cottage comfort
Summer in the Swiss Alpes
Garden Museum London
Discover Paris
What women travellers want
Florida
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
Canterbury's tale
Discovering Wales - Places of Worship
Ayers Rock
Discover Ireland
The Dos and Don’ts of Travelling With Leukaemia
Sicily revisited
The road to the Highlands
Amazing Arizona Part 1
Over the Bridge to Skye
Buxton: Gateway to the Peaks
Walking Series: Folkestone
Hills and thrills in the Italian Lakes
Travel News: October
Corsica: Coast and culture
A capital time in London
Happy to be on the Florida Keys
Cruise Special: Around Britain by Boat
The good life in North Wales
Have a capital time in London
Polynesian Paradise
Gardens in the sun
A taste of paradise in Puglia
Music in the mountains
Cruising by coach
A Lakes gem for all seasons
Canada: by seaplane and skytram
Cruising on the crest of a wave
Riding the Rocky Mountaineer
48 hours in Bethlehem
Goa, the go-to destination...
Roaming the Rhone
Doing The Strand
Sheffield: Forging a bright new future
Setting sail for the fjords
Taking it easy on the shores of Lake Garda
Be the best Brit abroad
What's on your British bucket list?
Passage to India
Isle of Wight: Singing the praises of quirky cottages
Zell am See: Alpine Wonderland
Turning back time in Guernsey
Glam under the stars in surprising Staffordshire
Red Square Revisited
Fine dining and a walk on the wild side
Detroit: Dancing in the streets again
Terror and Tourism- are you covered?
Islands in the Sun
Cornwall by Coach
Making Waves on the Med
Tramway Treasury
Sunrise on the Summit
Homage to Catalonia
Pembrokeshire Panorama
The Magic of Amsterdam
Born to be wild on Route 66
Somerset's Seasonal Delights
A topping time in Tirol
England Rooftop Route Part 1
Besieged Bosnia: Back in Business
Cruising The Danube
Quest for a Lost Queen
We'd rather be in Colorado
Taking it easy in Norfolk
Luscious Lucerne
Arizona: Get Your Kicks on Route 66
Discoveries: Epic Adventure
Northern Ireland: Transformed from the Troubles
Kingston: Town of kings
Extraordinary Israel
Avalon's Avian Haven
Station Vacation