Stonehenge is a healthy 2 hours and maybe slightly more from London, which means a mininum of 4 hours in a vehicle even if you onlyspend one millisecond at Stonehenge. That’s a tough pill to swallow when every minute in a foreign city is as precious as gold.
I’ve been in your shoes, friend! Each time I start to plan a trip, I find myself trying to find some balance between a LOT of things on my bucket list and NOT a lot of time to accomplish them.
On one hand, if your schedule is overpacked, you risk losing out on the ability to truly be present – because you’re always rushing somewhere. On the other hand, some people (*raises hand*) like to keep a quick pace.
When I plan a trip, I plan it as if I’ll never be back to that location – because I probably won’t. There are just too many other places to see! Between my need-for-speed and the knowledge that I’ll never be back, I tend to pack a lot in. You should know that about me before you finish this post. 🙂
Without further ado, the answer you were looking for…
Stonehenge is a solid 2 hours from London, is it worth seeing?
My initial, gut-reaction is some combination of these responses:
I’ll explain why but before we get to that, there are admittedly other considerations that you should ruminate on.
What sacrifice would have to be made to make it work?
When trying to squeeze an itinerary together, this is the most important question. At some point, you have to balance the equation of time and activities. If x = time and A, B, C, and D are excursions then A+B+C+D<=x. (Finally, the math I learned in middle school is proving useful).
If your visit to Stonehenge means a little less sleep, or that your itinerary is just a bit more crowded but doesn’t require you to give up something that is at the top of your must-see list, then I think it is definitely worth it. It is a long trek, but you can catch up on sleep on the bus ride, take a laptop and get some work done, read a book, or make use of that time in various otehr ways.
If the visit means that you have to scratch something else that you really want to see, then that makes the decision a little more difficult and only one that you can make, given that no one else’s interests will perfectly align with yours.
For example, I would visit Stonehenge over Harrods or Kensington palace (Will and Kate, if you’re reading this – I mean no disrespect. You have a beautiful home. Plz share this blog. Thx.) My taste in sight-seeing tends to lend itself more to adventure, outdoorsy activities and history. Both Kensington palace and Stonehenge have a lot of history but there’s something so mysterious about Stonehenge that appeals to me. I know plenty of people that would disagree with my ranking of Stonehenge over Kensington and they wouldn’t be wrong. Neither am I. It’s just personal preference and priorities.
This leads me to my next question.
If you don’t see it now, will you have another opportunity?
If you don’t see Stonehenge now, will you have another opportunity? If you have to choose between Stonehenge and something else on your list, would one be more accessible for a future trip than the other? Because of Stonehenge’s location, a London-based attraction may be easier to work into a future itinerary, meaning it may make more sense to squeeze Stonehenge in now if you think you may be back in the area to visit other London attractions in a future trip.
Is Stonehenge really worth seeing?
Stonehenge is totally worth the visit, in my opinion, if I haven’t already made that crystal clear. Stonehenge, like many other European attractions, has so much to offer in the way of history and mystery (cheesy rhyme unintended). Some lists cite Stonehenge as one of the 7 Wonders of the Medieval World (while others debate whether such a list is even a thing).
The reason I recommend Stonehenge so highly is because, like many other World Heritage Sites and Wonders of the World, it has a way of creating perspective. You find yourself standing – so small – beside something so massive. And not only is it just towering over you but you can’t help but wonder how could something of this stature have been built before modern tools and machinery? The tallest stone is ~22ft high, which is almost exactly 4 times my height. Not only are they massive… but they’re stacked – and they’ve stood the test of time. Truth be told, this rock formation that has been here for ages will likely continue to be here for ages long after I’m gone. That, combined with the mystery surrounding Stonehenge’s build, is a little bit mindblowing. Few places in this world can create that kind of wonder.
So, yes, go see the rocks. 😉