It was possible for us to visit Stonehenge this time in UK, because of The Stonehenge Tour. Most of the tours going out from London leave in the morning as a full day tour usually also covering Windsor Castle and Bath. But as we had to reach London from Hull, it was not possible to reach London early in the morning. We decided to take this tour from Salisbury.
We faced the toughest part in London (which is usually so easy to move around) because of a metro strike. We reached London - King's Cross Station. Here we deposited our luggage in the cloak room at 8 pounds per suitcase, there were four pieces. Then we took a taxi to Waterloo station @22pounds.
On reaching there we bought our tickets from the counter as the ticketing machine was not accepting our credit cards. The ticket to Salisbury which the machine was selling us was costing us 88pounds for a family of four, where as at the window we got it for 55pounds because of discount for the family. This option is not available in the machine. If you are traveling as a family preferably buy at the ticketing window you will get at a discounted rate.
On reaching Salisbury the bus was standing just outside the station and left exactly on time. Salisbury is a quaint town, most famous for its cathedral but we were did not get down to see the cathedral. Inside the bus there was a recorded commentary about all the sights we crossed.
At Stonehenge we got down and had ample time to explore at our own pace. The audio guides provide a wealth of information. It was quite windy over there. We sat down on the grass and enjoyed a snack as well. In the summers there is a bus almost every half an hour back to the station. It has a stop at Old Sarum, where one can get down and then again catch another bus back. The tour is well organized and punctual and we enjoyed ourselves on this trip.
8 Comments:
Stonehenge! Would have liked to have more written about it from your experience. I have never been there. Good maps, directions and good tips for saving money! Ah, the Metro strike, happened to me too on one trip to London and had to hitch a ride from a friend who was relatively close by. Cabs are so expensive aren't they?
Namita, this is so funny. I just posted a comment and almost immediately I got a tweet from archaeology today about something called the "Blue Stonehenge" which is supposed to be near Stonehenge. Here is the article: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/10/07/blue-stonehenge.html
@Anup It was an interesting article - Blue Stonehenge. Stonehenge is really the least understood and best loved monument in England.
The metro strike was a nightmare. But one thing we discovered was the almost limitless capacity of the London cabs. We could not believe our eyes the way all our luggage fitted into one cab.
Least understood and best loved indeed. Yes, London cabs are voluminous indeed although they don't look so from the outside.
Hectic yet must have been so memorable to all of you. Never been there till date but I really like all the pictures of the monument that I get to see.
@Anup they do not look voluminous from outside at all. In fact cabs in Singapore have great boot space for luggage.
@Mridula it was a memorable trip, it is a picturesque landmark.
simply beautifully captured shot & nice reading your journey!
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