Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire in the south of England. We used it as a stop off point on our way to our holiday in Cornwall. My boy has learned all about it a few years ago in school and wanted to visit so we surprised him with a visit.
As one of the most famous landmarks in the Uk, Stonehenge is British icon and became a world heritage site in 1986 and is managed by English Heritage.
Stonehenge sits within gorgeous landscape just off the A303 and can clearly see the magnificent stones when traveling along this road. The visitors center is set a a good distance from the stones themselves and can be accessed by foot on a lovely walk through woods and grasslands which can obviously be muddy in wet weather or there is a bus to take you the mile and half to and from the stone. The walk takes you through fields that house the Cursus Barrows which were first investigated in 1723 and human cremations were found. We didn't go and investigate these due to the muddy conditions but they could be clearly seen on our walk upto the circle.
Once at stonehenge you follow a route that circles clockwise around the monument allowing all parts of the site.
Stonehenge has we see it today is actually a ruin, impressive but still a ruin. The area would have looked very different. The construction started around 3000 BC with a circular ditch and bank that was formed of the chalk that underlies the site, which would have been gleaming white. Instead of the massive stones we see today, it is believed the first circle was made of timber and evidence of that remains today in the form of the Aubrey Holes.
The stones arrived in around 2500 BC and marked a radical change in appearance of stonehenge. The stones are arranged in a series of circular and horseshoe shaped structures many of which have now vanished. From reading the guide book that I bought on site the stones, with exception if the huge sarens, were rearranged in different ways, removed completely or destroyed throughout the years. The position of the stones as we see them today reflect the last of these settings that was completed about 2200 BC.
The avenue marks the entrance to the circle and is passed more or less straight away on the clockwise path around the monument and is marked by one of the remaining heel stones.
Stonehenge lies on an alignment that runs north-east to south-west up the Avenue and through enclosure entrance. this was chosen because it reflects the annual movement if the sun. At stonehenge on the summer solstice the sun rises behind the heel stone in the the north-east part of the horizon and its first rays shine into the heart of Stonehenge. It is believed that this alignment is deliberate and matches many other henges that were built in the same period. This also means that it marks midwinter as well as midsummer. As the sun sets in the south-west part of the horizon it casts shadows in the center of circle which is meant to be dramatic.
As we carried on our walk around, I took many photos.
As you continue around the route you get close to the stones although you are no longer aloud into the center of the circle in fear of damaging the remaining underground archeology. Even though the site has been investigated many tie throughout the years no one still know why stonehenge was built and is surrounded in mystery.
It is widely believed to have been built as a temple of some sort, a place of ceremony, of burial and a place of celebration that lead it to be the greatest temple in britain. I am unsure of the purpose of the site but I found it be very magical & mysterious.
We cheated on the way back and got the bus to the visitors center for a well deserved cup tea and a look in the shop. There is also an exhibition center and a replica of a medieval village for you to explore which all adhered to the current covid safety guidelines. The bus was cleaned down after every trip, only certain number of people allowed in the shop, cafe, exhibition and toilets. All in all a very good day out and felt very safe. we were even lucky with the weather.
After visiting the site a few years ago when my boy was a baby I tried to recreate a photo.....
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