Stonehenge Winter Solstice Open Access Arrangements

English Heritage will once again welcome people to Stonehenge to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Sunrise is just after 8am on Wednesday 21st December and visitors will be able to access the monument as soon as it is light enough to do so safely. Please read the information below before planning your visit.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION:

DATE AND TIMINGSWEDNESDAY 22nd DECEMBER 2017
MONUMENT FIELD OPENS: 07.45am (approximately, depending on light levels)
MONUMENT FIELD CLOSES: 10am

Please note, access to Stonehenge for Winter Solstice is free. Parking charges apply.

Blue Badge Parking – Blue badge parking is in the visitor centre car park and permits must be booked in advance. There is accessible transport to the monument field from the visitor centre beginning at approximately 6.30am. Permits available from Solstice.Stonehenge@english-heritage.org.uk

Parking and parking charges Limited parking is available in the winter solstice car parks, which will open at 5.30am on the 22nd December.

As you approach Stonehenge, there will be signs to direct you to the car park – please ensure that you follow these. Please do not arrive early as there is no waiting on the roads in the area and you will be moved on.

Parking may involve a shuttle journey to the visitor centre and wherever you park there may be a 30 minute walk.

• Cars, private hire minibuses and live-in vehicles £5
• Motorbikes £2
• Commercial coaches £50

The car parking charge is designed to encourage people to car share and will help the charity offset  the costs of providing additional staffing and lighting in the car parks.

Please note, car parking charges apply to all users of the Winter Solstice car parks, including Blue Badge holders, and members of English Heritage and National Trust.

Motorists have access to a park and ride shuttle from the off-site solstice car parking to the visitor centre. A shuttle will also be provided between the visitor centre and Stonehenge, however visitors are asked to note that disabled people have priority on this bus and should therefore be prepared for a 30 minute walk, in low light, from parking areas to the monument.

We cannot guarantee entry to the car parks and recommend coming by public transport as cars will be turned away when the car parks are full.

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

Access to Stonehenge for solstice is subject to the Conditions of Entry – please read these before deciding whether to attend.

COME PREPARED

Stonehenge is in a field on Salisbury Plain and the weather in December will be cold and may be wet and windy. Even if it isn’t raining, the ground will be wet from the dew. There may also be frost.

Please be prepared for a 30 minute walk (in low light or darkness), from the bus drop off and from parking areas to the monument. You are strongly advised to wear warm and waterproof clothing and footwear and bring a torch with you.

Toilets at the Monument Field will only be available once the access period begins. There are no catering facilities in the monument field, however the café at the visitor centre is open for hot drinks and breakfast rolls from 6am.

Please note that there are no other amenities or facilities available to visitors until the Monument Field opens.

Please visit the official English Heritage website for full details.

Stonehenge Guided Tours are offering their usual small group Winter Solstice guided tour from London and Bath, ideal if you do not have your own transport and want to learn more about the history and  mystery of Stonehenge and the surrounding landscape. Visit their website to book.

The Stonehenge Tourist Guide

The grave of the Amesbury Archer found near Stonehenge is one of the most important discoveries in Europe.

The Amesbury Archer. Late Neolithic, 2400–2200BC

Found near Stonehenge, the burial is over 4000 years old. It is one of the earliest bell beaker graves in Britain. The archer was 35–45 years old when he died and placed in a wooden chamber beneath a low mound. His left kneecap was missing which would have caused him to have a bad limp. Isotope analyses of his teeth show that he grew up outside Britain, probably near the Alps

His grave contained an unusually large number and variety of objects. They include five beaker pots, 18 arrowheads, two bracers (archer’s wristguards), four boars’ tusks, 122 flint tools, three copper knives, a pair of gold hair ornaments, and a cushion stone. The gold and copper metal objects are currently the oldest found in Britain. 

Many of the other finds have strong continental links. Although he was buried with archery equipment the presence of the cushion stone suggests he was a metalworker.

Metalworking was a new skill and he may have brought this technique with him to Britain. This knowledge could have made him a powerful man explaining his wealthy burial. In continental Europe metalworkers’ burials were often very elaborate.

If you are visting Stonehenge make sure you take time to visit nearby Salisbury Museum

Guided tours of Stonehenge and Salisbury can be booked here

The Stonehenge Tourist Guide

Boost in Stonehenge visitor numbers

More people than ever before are visiting Stonehenge it seems - making it one of the country's biggest tourist attractions.

1,381,855 people visited our stone circle during 2016, which is up 1.1% on the previous year.
That makes it the 7th most visited paid for attraction in the UK, with more tourists than places like London Zoo, the Eden Project and the Houses of Parliament.

The rundown's been released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions and Visit Britain.
When taking all the free of charge places into account as well, Stonehenge is ranked 22nd on the list.

Read the full story at Spire FM

Visit Stonehenge this summer for a great day out!

The Stonehenge Tourist Guide