Stonehenge Landscape

Explorer Tom Stonehenge stands on Salisbury Plain like somebody set a very large puzzle and then hid the box. Tom has several ridiculous theories involving giants and a missed delivery, but the real work is astonishing enough. People moved, shaped and raised these stones thousands of years before cranes, engines or even the wheel arrived here. The first monument was a circular bank and ditch made around 3000 BC, with burials and a ring of posts or stones. The great stone settings came around 2500 BC. Massive sarsens were probably brought from the Marlborough Downs, while smaller bluestones came from the Preseli Hills in Wales. Builders shaped joints on the uprights and lintels like woodworking connections, then hauled stones into place with simple tools and formidable organisation. Each stage changed the site; what you see is the survivor of a long sequence, not a single afternoon's miracle. Notice the Heel Stone and the alignment towards the solstice sunrise. The surrounding landscape matters too: burial mounds, the Avenue and other earthworks show that the famous circle was part of a much larger ceremonial world. Tom would like to ask its builders exactly what every stone meant. Archaeologists can describe the construction far better than they can recover every intention, and that mystery is part of the encounter. English Heritage runs a visitor centre and shuttle to the stones, with admission tickets for the main visit. The usual path circles the monument rather than taking visitors among the stones; special access is separate. The route and shuttle have wheelchair provision, subject to ground conditions. Book ahead and check opening arrangements. Give the stones a slow circuit: the view changes with each step, and the questions grow more interesting as you go.