Ancient astronauts have docked here
This claim gained popularity thanks to Erich von Däniken’s 1968 book Chariots of the Gods?, which claimed numerous monuments, including Stonehenge, may have been built by extraterrestrials. His hypothesis is based upon “interpretations” of Mayan iconography and mysterious landmarks around the world such as the Nazca Lines. The association of monoliths and stone circles with extra-terrestrial life persists in popular culture, from the enigmatic monolith in Stanley Kubrick’s film of Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, to the mid-70s childrens’ TV serial, Children of the Stones, in which the stone circle of Milbury – filmed in and based on Stonehenge’s sister site of Avebury – turns out to be a conduit for sinister alien intelligences from beyond a black hole.
Pop musicians love the name
Richie Havens called his 1970 album Stonehenge and featured the standing stones on the cover. Stonedhenge is the second studio album of English blues rockers Ten Years After; reviewing the disc, one critic said it “seemed to be an attempt at tuning in to cosmic vibrations”. A progressive metal band formed in 1992 in Hungary was called, Stonehenge. Spoof-rockers Spinal Tap’s song Stonehenge – performed with hoods and dry ice – contains the lyric, “Stonehenge! ’Tis a magic place/Where the moon doth rise with a dragon’s face/Stonehenge! Where the virgins lie/And the prayers of devils fill the midnight sky”.
Public transport
Green Traveller has made a video on getting to Stonehenge without using a car, including by bike. See greentraveller.co.uk/blog/travel-avebury-and-stonehenge-without-car
Bus
The Stonehenge Tour (01202 338420; thestonehengetour.info) leaves from Salisbury, 10 miles/15km to the south, which has a mainline railway station. Bus-only costs £19.50 for adults, £13 for children aged 5-15 or £51.50 families (up to two adults and three children) and including entry to Stonehenge and the hilltop site of Old Sarum, it is £38.50, £25.50 or £115. You can pay extra to add Salisbury Cathedral entry. In summer (April-September), the first bus leaves Salisbury railway station at 10am and the last one leaves Stonehenge at 7pm.
Vehicle
The visitor centre and car park (free for ticketholders) sit to the north of the A303, where the A360 and B3086 meet at Airman’s Corner. In summer traffic can back up to the Countess Roundabout on the A303 in both directions: it may be worth taking the back route via the B3086 and the Packway south to Airman’s Corner.
Tour or no tour?
Interpretation and signage at the visitor centre are excellent. Audio guides for adults are no longer available on site, but you can download them free onto your device from the App Store or Play Store. Headphones for Android phones can be purchased at admissions and in the gift shop for £2.
For an in-depth guide to the stones and their broader context, Blue Badge Tourist Guides (britainsbestguides.org) can be booked from approximately £336 per day.
Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/how-to-visit-stonehenge-getting-there-tickets-tours/
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Publish date : 2024-06-20 11:00:00
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