Stonehenge

Estimated to have been constructed more than 4,000 years ago, Stonehenge has firmly established itself as one of the best-known prehistoric sites in the world and among the UK's top tourist attractions. While it may not have the architectural grandeur of St Paul's Cathedral or the excitement of the London Eye, Stonehenge boasts a fascinating past and offers an insight into the pre-history of Britain.

However, in spite of its importance, the exact nature of Stonehenge largely remains a mystery, with experts divided over whether it was constructed as a site of worship for the sun, as an ancient calendar or even as a place to conduct human sacrifices. What is known is that the massive stones – some of which weigh 45 tonnes - were somehow carried for hundreds of miles over land and sea (legend has it that Merlin brought the stones over from Ireland) to be stood upright within an earlier-constructed circular mound of earth. Also, it has been established that work took place over three distinct stages, with timber structures replaced by the heavy rocks and eventually five-tonne bluestones brought in from South Wales as well as the nearby Marlborough Downs.

What greets visitors today is about half of the original monument, with a number of stones having fallen down or even been taken away by locals to use as building materials over the years. Nevertheless, what remains is sufficient to instil an unparalleled sense of awe into even the most cynical tourist

Stonehenge Location

Located on the Wiltshire Downs, Stonehenge is easily reached from the rest of the UK, particularly from Bristol and London, from where there are regular daytrips. For those tourists without cars, Salisbury station, which offers direct links to London Waterloo, is just under ten miles away, while there are regular buses from the capital's Victoria Coach Station and its major airports.

Why Visit Stonehenge

As one of the first sites in the world to be granted a UNESCO World Heritage status, Stonehenge fully deserves its place among the top visitor attractions for the whole of the UK, offering a fascinating experience for tourists of all ages. While this high popularity has meant that visitors are no longer able to wander among the stones but rather have to admire them from behind a fence, an informative visitor centre more than makes up for this and neatly explains the theories behind the site's significance as well as presenting the findings from archaeological digs past and present.

However interesting Stonehenge is, many visitors like to make it part of a day trip exploring the south-west of England, with the cathedral city of Salisbury, the prehistoric complex at Avebury and Roman Bath all easily accessible.