Visited Stonehenge today via the new Visitors Centre at Airman’s Corner. The Exhibition Room was excellent, the gift shop was what it was, and the cafe was probably the best it could be catering for hundreds of visitors a day (don’t expect anything more than the most basic of light-lunch-type-food). I was looking forward to the land-train but instead travelled on a small bus which used the remains of the A344 as access to Stonehenge. It’s still a bit of a mess up by the site of the old carpark and I was disappointed to find the wire fence still in place around the ancient monument. To view the Stones from the Avenue you have to go around into the adjacent field. However, Stonehenge was wonderful today with a far wider circumference to walk around than previously. The English Heritage staff were friendly and helpful but I was still left with the feeling of being ‘delivered’, ‘processed’ and ‘dispatched’ with exit through the gift shop. Next time I’m going to try and walk up the by-way from Larkhill to fully take in the barrows and magnificent sweep of the landscape.
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Great stuff June, you've beaten me to a first day out of the year, hopefully you had the blue skies that we've been gazing out of the office window at today.
Bit disappointing feeling you got, I think your next plan sounds ideal though - that's how I'd go (if I ever get round to it).
Stonehenge wasn't disappointing - just the fencing still in place (there is obviously work still going on along the A344 area). I noticed a signpost saying Larkhill one and quarter miles away and it was just visible from the by-way. Should be walkable without going any where near the Visitor's Centre but at present there is no wandering up to the stones, not without climbing over barbed wire fencing and/or confronting EH staff who seem to be everywhere.
Is the (eventual) plan that you will be able to walk right up to the stones, then? If so I'll probably try the walk, too. To be honest Stonehenge left me cold until I undertook a couple of out of hours visits and actually experienced how utterly overwhelmingly massive the sarsens are. I reckon you really have to get up close to have a sense of the engineering achievement.