3 ms·

My mum lived in that area until a few years ago. Definitely worth a visit, yes! The road you speak of got closed, and totally removed, some years back [1]. On

My mum lived in that area until a few years ago. Definitely worth a visit, yes! The road you speak of got closed, and totally removed, some years back [1]. Only the bluestones are believed to come from hundreds of miles away, the sandstone is believed to have been sourced more locally — still an impressive feat: but the bluestones are the smaller stones in the assembly, being less than 1/10th of the weight of the stones that the trilithons are comprised of. [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-23026522 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-23026522

laumars 6y ago
The A344 May have been closed but the A303 still goes pretty close. To be honest I don’t think the Stonehenge is a particularly memorable day out either. I get how it’s an incredible accomplishment given when it was built but it’s a pretty underwhelming experience to visit. Personally I consider it one of those rare occasions where pictures of it actually do it justice (usually you find pictures can barely capture the magnificence of historic or cultural landmarks)
- jimsmart 6y ago
  > The A344 May have been closed but the A303 still goes pretty close. No roads can really be seen from the stones, nor on the approach to them. Sure, you can sometimes hear distant traffic on the A303, if the wind is blowing the right/wrong way. But the previous road was indeed just a few hundred feet away as OP stated, and was busy, with vehicles driving past one stone (the Heel Stone) that was literally on the verge of the road by only a couple of feet.
  - Angostura 6y ago
    That's odd - because I can certainly see the people visiting the stones while I'm stuck on the A303. There is a plan to take the whole road through a tunnel, which I think could make Stonehenge a lot more impressive to visit.
    - rutthenut 6y ago
      Thought much the same - I can see the stones and people around them when driving past on the A303. Easy, given how slow traffic is around there, which is why a tunnel is (still) being talked about, maybe even being planned.
      - jimsmart 6y ago
        Ok, I concede that traffic can be seen, way off in the distance. I suppose the whole point comes down to how 'close' is close? The previous road was a hundred-odd feet away, and literally went right past a big stone, by a couple of feet. That road was indeed close. The A303 by comparison, is not particularly close IMO. It's far enough away that on many days one cannot even hear it. You cannot really see the road, but you can see vehicles (tops of cars, top half of trucks). It's far enough away that if one holds their thumb up, at arms' length, one can easily hide a truck's length completely behind it. Do other folk think that is close then? Seems so. I guess it's relative isn't it. But IMO that's not particularly close - particularly as our initial/primary comparator here was the road that ran right past the monument. I agree that it would be better if the 303 wasn't there / wasn't in a tunnel, of course.
        jimsmart 6y ago
        * /was/ in a tunnel.
- notechback 6y ago
  Maybe you're a bit negative because you've seen it more than once or since you were going. For me the stones were a lot bigger than I had pictured them. Can only recommend it.
  - laumars 6y ago
    No, I’m negative because it’s somewhere you have to drive to and once you’re there you’re surrounded by hundreds of other people as well as busy roads. It’s not somewhere you can spend a lot of time and you can’t even get that close to the stones themselves because it’s cordoned off (that last part i can forgive). There’s thousands of parks and other beauty spots in the U.K. which are far more memorable and to which you can spend hours strolling around, take kids of all ages to, and generally enjoy a day out at. The Stonehenge, while historically significant, is an anticlimactic tourist attraction and an even worse beauty spot. But maybe if/when they build a tunnel for the A303 they might then do more with the available space and so it becomes more of a family attraction rather “just” a monument.

laumars 6y ago

The A344 May have been closed but the A303 still goes pretty close. To be honest I don’t think the Stonehenge is a particularly memorable day out either. I get how it’s an incredible accomplishment given when it was built but it’s a pretty underwhelming experience to visit. Personally I consider it one of those rare occasions where pictures of it actually do it justice (usually you find pictures can barely capture the magnificence of historic or cultural landmarks)

jimsmart 6y ago
> The A344 May have been closed but the A303 still goes pretty close. No roads can really be seen from the stones, nor on the approach to them. Sure, you can sometimes hear distant traffic on the A303, if the wind is blowing the right/wrong way. But the previous road was indeed just a few hundred feet away as OP stated, and was busy, with vehicles driving past one stone (the Heel Stone) that was literally on the verge of the road by only a couple of feet.
- Angostura 6y ago
  That's odd - because I can certainly see the people visiting the stones while I'm stuck on the A303. There is a plan to take the whole road through a tunnel, which I think could make Stonehenge a lot more impressive to visit.
  - rutthenut 6y ago
    Thought much the same - I can see the stones and people around them when driving past on the A303. Easy, given how slow traffic is around there, which is why a tunnel is (still) being talked about, maybe even being planned.
    - jimsmart 6y ago
      Ok, I concede that traffic can be seen, way off in the distance. I suppose the whole point comes down to how 'close' is close? The previous road was a hundred-odd feet away, and literally went right past a big stone, by a couple of feet. That road was indeed close. The A303 by comparison, is not particularly close IMO. It's far enough away that on many days one cannot even hear it. You cannot really see the road, but you can see vehicles (tops of cars, top half of trucks). It's far enough away that if one holds their thumb up, at arms' length, one can easily hide a truck's length completely behind it. Do other folk think that is close then? Seems so. I guess it's relative isn't it. But IMO that's not particularly close - particularly as our initial/primary comparator here was the road that ran right past the monument. I agree that it would be better if the 303 wasn't there / wasn't in a tunnel, of course.
      - jimsmart 6y ago
        * /was/ in a tunnel.
notechback 6y ago
Maybe you're a bit negative because you've seen it more than once or since you were going. For me the stones were a lot bigger than I had pictured them. Can only recommend it.
- laumars 6y ago
  No, I’m negative because it’s somewhere you have to drive to and once you’re there you’re surrounded by hundreds of other people as well as busy roads. It’s not somewhere you can spend a lot of time and you can’t even get that close to the stones themselves because it’s cordoned off (that last part i can forgive). There’s thousands of parks and other beauty spots in the U.K. which are far more memorable and to which you can spend hours strolling around, take kids of all ages to, and generally enjoy a day out at. The Stonehenge, while historically significant, is an anticlimactic tourist attraction and an even worse beauty spot. But maybe if/when they build a tunnel for the A303 they might then do more with the available space and so it becomes more of a family attraction rather “just” a monument.