On our trip to England, we opted for the Stonehenge Stone Circle Experience. Stonehenge is one of the most well-known places in England and even the world. Thousands of people visit each day, so you may have heard that there’s a bit of crowd control and typical visitors aren’t allowed past the barriers which are several meters away from the stone circle.

One of the most popular responses I got to my posts from my UK trip were, “You got to go up close to Stonehenge??” Yes – because we booked the stone circle experience. It’s an experience after hours where you can go up to and inside the stone circle with a guide.

You can book your experience here and read more about how ours went below.

Some History on Stonehenge

Part of what makes Stonehenge so famous is that it’s a bit of a mystery. The circle itself dates from about 3000-2500 BC and was built over several hundred years, but the area had been in use since about 8500 BC. Just like we don’t know why people put so much effort into Stonehenge, we don’t know what importance the spot held. It was probably used as a type of temple and the land had some sort of sacredness.

There are lots of similar stone circles in Britain but Stonehenge is particularly remarkable because of its size and unique engineering. A lot of people are aware that the stones come from England, Wales, and Scotland. Even just looking at the photos, you can imagine how difficult that must have been and thus how determined these people were.

Like we see Stonehenge today, people across millennia saw it in passing or stopped there. Old drawings show it may have been in much better shape during the medieval ages but it fell into worse shape over time and with more people visiting. It was given to England in 1918 and today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Stone Circle Experience

I didn’t really understand the lure of Stonehenge but my mom wanted to visit because it’s iconic and a big bucket list item. I started to understand when we drove past it on the highway and saw this seemingly gigantic structure in the middle of huge field. And it’s been like that for millennia, and countless people have seen it as such.

We actually chose the Stone Circle Experience because we were unable to visit during normal visiting hours with last admission at 4:00pm. The Experience runs before and after the complex opens so it’s a great option to avoid the crowds. It was also nice to fit it into the evening as something more to do. The sunset was a nice touch.

The experience starts after Stonehenge closes so the visitor center, shop, etc. won’t be open (but the restrooms are still available). You are able to go inside the visitor’s center when it is open but it might close a few hours before your tour starts.

When it’s time for the tour, they’ll put you on a shuttle and it’s less than a 5 minute ride from the visitor center to the stone circle. During the ride, the guide will give you some rules, including not to leave human remains or ashes at the circle. I guess Stonehenge might still be of importance to certain pagans. There’s a story behind every rule….

(There’s also no Stone Circle Experience in October or November, which also has me wondering…)

One cool thing we got to do is take off our shoes, I guess another gesture of how Stonehenge is still spiritually important. I personally love being able to feel the earth but my mom thought it was weird. There are two groups of 26 people per time slot so only 52 people total. We were split up and our first session was inside the stone circle.

The guide will tell you about Stonehenge and the stone circle itself. Inside, they’ll show you the different stones you’re looking at, what makes them interesting, and how the circle may have been built.

I think it was a lot cooler and more educational to visit inside the circle itself because you can actually see what the guide is talking. You get to stand next to the stones so you’ll know just how big and impressive the stones are. It is always more difficult to really tell when you’re standing back a bit. There is a spot where typical visitors can get a bit closer but it’s still a few meters away.

And then there’s also the things that are virtually impossible to see unless you’re inside the circle. For starters, there’s some ancient graffiti that you can only see inside the circle – and even then, it’s difficult to see because the relief is quite low. But it’s interesting as the graffiti, which is of weapons, is so old and still understood. Was it an ancient ritual? Bored teenagers? We may never know.

There’s also some graffiti by the famous architecture Christopher Wren, who grew up near Stonehenge (photo above – can you make it out?). He was probably young at the time but it’s quite coincidental that some of the only graffiti in the stone circle is from someone who ended up being really famous. What are the odds?

Additionally you get to see the altar stone, which is pretty much flat within the earth so you won’t be able to see it on a typical visit. The altar stone is pretty important as, you can guess from its name, it served as the altar for Stonehenge. It’s also a different type of stone that has recently been attributed to Scotland, so there’s a big importance of its presence at the temple. Why did the Neolithic people bring the stone all the way here – and how? Why did it need to be that specific stone? Lots of questions and no answers, but plenty of intrigue.

There’s also a smooth part of stone that you can see at the base of one of the pillars. Again, the stone is too far away to be seen on a typical visit but you can see it during the Stone Circle Experience. It’s probably what the whole structure had been like at some time.

There’s more to Stonehenge than just inside the stone circle. The other half of your tour is spent outside the circle where you get to look at the heel stone, the slaughter stone, the Aubrey holes and the circular ditch that encases the temple. There’s a beautiful illustration of it all here on Brittanica. The guide will help you visualise the temple complex and tell you a bit how it was made over time and what each stone may have meant. It’s actually more fascinating to me that the topography of this land survived for millennia than it is the stones.

It’s a little over an hour to go on the tour and get back to the visitor’s center.

As someone who was a bit skeptical of Stonehenge, I have to say it was pretty cool. There are numerous stone circles in Britain (we saw several in Cornwall), plus Avebury is said to be larger. But honestly the ones we saw paled in comparison. I haven’t been to Avebury so maybe it isn’t fair for me to say it looks less exciting. But now I don’t really think Stonehenge is overrated after all. I think it’s a unique place that’s held many secrets for thousands of years.

It really resonated with me during my visit just how important this site was to people about 4500 years ago and the extraordinary effort they put in to make it. It really felt like I was visiting a piece of history.

And I have to say, I don’t think I’d have felt that if I hadn’t been barefoot in the middle of circle watching the sunset with only 50 other people (as opposed to like, 500). The Stone Circle Experience was so worth it for both me and my mom. There’s just so much more that you can see when you’re actually inside the circle and on the ground rather than from a few meters away behind a rope. And it felt like we were actually being a part of history rather than just looking at it. It’s that time of interaction with a historic site that really makes it special. I wish more places had that type of experience.

The Stone Circle Experience costs a bit extra at £70 compared to the general admission of £24.65 (at the time of writing). I thought it was decently priced considering how much traffic Stonehenge gets in a day.

You also get to visit the exhibition at the visitor’s center before your tour. Unfortunately we came later so we weren’t able to do that, but it is something to keep in mind. I do wish we’d had the schedule to fit in the visitor’s center and the recreation Neolithic homes to really get into the mindset of what the area was like at the time Stonehenge was built.

There’s also the Stonehenge Explorer Tour which is more private and comprehensive than the Stone Circle Experience, but it’s currently priced at £295 which is more than we were willing to pay.

If the Stone Circle Experience sounds compelling and you want to visit, you can book your tickets here. Thanks for reading & I hope this helped you plan your trip!

Book Your Stay near Stonehenge

Book an Organised Tour (Different from Stone Circle Experience)

Need a Book on Stonehenge?

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