depends,
do you have a car?
traffic around there in summer can get pretty hairy!
but without traffic, and with a car, know where your going, i reckon you can. sunset there may be pretty cool as well,

Stonehenge is about 1.5 – 2 hours from London. So expect about a 4hour round trip ride. Traffic will depend on the weather and what day of the week you are driving. Mid week would be best.

Its beautiful there!

If you are doing it by public transport, the train to Salisbury should be ok, but I would check out what time the last buses out to Stonehenge depart

we did stonehenge in 2hrs from london but that was by bus and it wasnt in peak time .. we left about ten thirty ..it was a wednesday..
at 4pm u might be lucky to get out b4 traffic hits the snarls
its not my favourite place in the world but u need to go to have an opinion

Didn’t they put a fence around the stones so you can’t actually walk up to them and touch them?

Yes, there is a rope around the stones, which reminds me, Stonehenge could also be closed by the time you get there, but you can still take photos from the fence barrier

Thanks a lot for the valuable input. I am actually planning to travel by train to Salisbury and then get to Stonehenge with the Wilts & Dorset bus service.

But I checked their schedule. The last bus leaves at 4:50 pm. So I am not sure that I will make it to Salisbury by then. Does anyone know of any alternate bus service from Salisbury to Stonehenge?

Looks like you can take the bus directly from Heathrow to Salisbury. http://www.stoneheng…

There’s an 11:50 bus direct from Heathrow that gets to Salisbury at 14:30

The road to Salisbury from London is the M3/A303. This is a peak holiday route and will be busy on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings in summer.

There is nothing at Stonehenge but stones, (appropriately enough)a visitor centre, some washrooms and a cafe. You will need a car to access the place after around 6 PM.

Dusk falls at around 9.15 pm in mid May and 10.00pm in Mid June, dropping back to around 9.00 by the end of July If you are able to make the trip on 20th June (evening), you could stick around for the solstice ceremonies at sunrise on 21st.

There is a good YH in Salisbury and the cathedral is worth a morning if you could spare the time.

The first time I saw Stonehenge was before the fence, but have been there twice since the fence went up; anyone who is interested in Stonehenge and its history would still find a visit worthwhile.
We were able to hitchhike back to Salisbury after that first visit.
There’s Avebury, too.[url=‘http://www.sacredsites.com/europe/england/avebury.html’]Avebury[/url]

Thanks for all the info. I am visiting England in mid May. So I will plan accordingly. I am also planning to visit the cathedral in Salisbury if time permits.

I have half a day and I have to choose between Windsor castle and Stonehenge. Any suggestions?

looking back ..i definitely preferred windsor castle to the stonehenge experience….

stonehenge for me was disappointing because of the rope fence…the headphones..the road being so visible…i couldnt get into the stonehenge magic… if any aussies are reading this,,the site itself kinda reminded me of the area round prospect/blacktown …on the way to wonderland lol…except much much greener!!!

but…to be fair…

i knew very little about it ( did see billy connelly prancing round there on one of his tvroad shows lol)…so i suggest u research the history so that the audiotapes make more sense…

stonehenge is just one of ‘those’ world icons, isnt it? windsor castle is great…and the town of windsor is charming too..but u can see lots of castles in england…
stonehenge is just something a little different…so even tho im not a fan …id still suggest u go there instead of windsor

my mate bought a postcard of stonehenge in winter…covered in snow…now thats something i would consider…it did look awesome!mid may will be cold i reckon… so if ur going late in the day rug up..tis pretty exposed out there!!!!
let us know what u decide

I remember when I lived in London, there was an actual tour that does visit Stonehenge in the evening (leaves London), but I cannot remember anything else, ie who runs this tour, or if it still runs, but if I had to choose between Windsor and Stonehenge, I would have to say Windsor just walking around the Castle, in and out, watching the changing of the guard, though not as exciting as Buckingham Palace, then just wandering through the little shops in Windsor is so much more worthwhile.

Thanks a lot, sparks and Jennifer&Chester.

It seems that Windsor is a much more attractive destination. So my first priority will be visiting Windsor.

If I can figure out a way to travel from Salisbury to Stonehenge in the evening, I would visit Stonehenge as well. I found out online that there are relatively cheap taxi services (9 pounds per person) that make trips from Salisbury to Stonehenge and back. I have to get more info on that.

Also, Jennifer&Chester, I will try to find out if there are evening tours from London to Stonehenge and back.

I know stonehenge is one of those ‘must see’ places, but it is often packed and as has already been mentioned you cant get to the stones any more.

As an alternative the Avebury monument is exquisite, its fully accesible (it actually mingles with the village of Avebury), and is less advertised. Its really stunning if you get time to visit.

Oh I just noticed someone already posted about Avebury, sorry (blushing).

I visited Stonehenge after the rope went up.. and it was raining when I went as well. It really made no difference in how much I loved it. I don’t think you have to touch to appreciate.