Stonehenge

moneysavingyvonne

I was wondering if anyone can help.

I am planning a trip for me and my partner in late September 2009. I am not a member of English Heritage or National Trust, so would need to pay full price for entry.

Does any one know of any offers / vouchers out there that i can use - i know i am planning well in advance, but don't want to miss out if there is anything.

Also, does anyone know how long i will be there for and if there is anything else of interest in the surrounding area.

Many thanks in advance.

Yvonne

Sooler

Woodhenge
http://www.stone-circles.org.uk/stone/woodhenge.htm

Salisbury cathedral

lostinrates

moneysavingyvonne wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone can help.

I am planning a trip for me and my partner in late September 2009. I am not a member of English Heritage or National Trust, so would need to pay full price for entry.

Does any one know of any offers / vouchers out there that i can use - i know i am planning well in advance, but don't want to miss out if there is anything.

Also, does anyone know how long i will be there for and if there is anything else of interest in the surrounding area.

Many thanks in advance.

Yvonne

YES, just a little further down the A303 there is Longleat, expensive but wonderful IMO, and then a wee bit further still Stourhead; the NTs most visited house I think. If you want to do a lot of NT things -there are a few houses in this area, check their website- it MIGHT be worth joining...you can often get deals that make it cheaper than paying entry tickets for more than a couple of houses.

Salisbury, Bath...both withing what I call long range local...I live in the area and go to both regularly.

How big is the area you want to explore? There is lots to do.

vikingaero

You can join EH with Tesco Clubcard Deals voichers/points. Well worth it IMHO.

aloiseb

I did this last year - join Quidco first, then you can claim £20 back for joining National Trust, which makes it about £25-ish I think.

Either English Heritage or National trust membership will get you into Stonehenge free. (English Heritage doesn't have any cashbacks, afaik, but you can get it with Clubcard points which may work out cheaper)

Stonehenge is about an hour's visit, I reckon - you walk around the outside of the stones with an audio guide, which is well worth it as it explains a lot of background, theories etc.

Longer if you have children and a kite as we did.....

kittb

I know that Stonehenge is a must, it was for me at the first opportunity I had to go :-) But we're members of EH. You can get an audio tour once you're there, I think its included but you'd have to check. Even with that I doubt you'd be there more than an hour. They're planning a big upgrade of facilities to get a visitors centre etc at some point but at the moment its a carpark, shop and the stones themselves .....
For a bit more atmosphere you could try Avebury if you're in the area. You'd have ot pay to park in the NT carpark but you can walk around the stones to your hearts content for free. There is a NT museum if you wanted to pay.

There is loads to do in this area with your NT/ EH membership so you're staying long enough to make it worth while and or have the tesco points for membership anyway it would be a good way to get your moneys worth.
Kittb

GhostDog_2

I would never join the NT again now I have discovered (through this brilliant website) that I can enjoy all the benefits of NT properties through joining;

http://www.historic.org.nz/aboutus/aboutthetrust_index.html

For a quicker view;

http://www.historic.org.nz/join/memberbenefits.html

The cost is less than half!
We received a very fast response to an online application and have never been refused entry anywhere as yet. :j

kim85

The bath and bristol inviatation book has a two for one on stonehenge if anyone has one you could have - i've given my away unfortunately all ready - but if you have friends in the area they may well have one

WolfSong2000

Avebury is actually a better bet than Stonehenge, IMO...you can actually go up and touch the stones at Avery, it's generally quieter than Stonehenge and from memory there's an interesting museum in the village...plus there's West Kennett Longbarrow, nearby which is absolutely gorgeous and well worth a visit.

I'm a history student at university and studied archaeology at A-Level, which included a lot of prehistoric study, which I loved as it's one of my favourite periods...as such, if you're interested in the history, I reckon Avebury has more to offer...gives you a better sense of the "ritual landscape" of the area. If you have any questions about the history or theories behind the monuments, I'm happy to share...West Kennett Longbarrow, especially, is fascinating...basically a big burial tomb .

Stonehenge for me has been somewhat ruined because the vandalism means that you're limited in terms of how close you can get, plus it's been (wrongly!) adopted by the modern day so-called Druids (who bear no relation whatsoever to the ancient Druids...they never worshiped at Stonehenge for one thing!), but that's more of a pet peeve .

Anyhow, like I said - any questions, I'll do my best to answer - just PM me .