An Incredible Visit to the Historic Stonehenge
WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
Stonehenge is something that has always seemed so distant to me. It is a place that you always hear about but never really envision seeing. After talking to many people that have visited London, most of them said the same thing, "I have never been there." In talking to a lot of the locals that live in London, many of them had never even visited the site. That made me want to go even more!
I knew that it was on my list but I didn't know the logistics of how I would get there. I did some research and noticed that a lot of companies offered tours out there but they also visited Bath or Oxford or made some other stops along the way. Some companies offered exclusive tours where you could actually get close to the stones - wait, you can't get close to the stones when you visit? Come to find out, if you attend a normal tour or just show up during operating hours and buy the ticket, that will get you access to the area but there is a rope around the stones that keeps you at a minimum of 25 yards away. I knew then that I needed to get a hold of this special access.
I looked everywhere to try and find one of these tours but none of them were offered on the day that I wanted to go. Also knowing that I never settle for run-of-the-mill tours, I decided to take things into my own hands and rent a car (which is a whole other adventure story for another day). I wanted to see it at sunrise and I wanted to see it during the day and I wanted to see it in the middle of the night. The only way this was possible was to get there on my own. I took the 2-hour or so drive out to Stonehenge which traveled through some beautiful English countryside. I was traveling down this two lane road when all of the sudden I come over a hill and around a corner and there is stood, a few hundred yards off the road in the middle of a field, a bunch of rocks. It was a weird feeling seeing it in the field just off the road like that. I always imagined it in a giant field inside of an even bigger museum somewhere. Nope, here it stood and here I stood.
When I went to purchase my ticket, I asked about this special access and was told that there are two one-hour tours in the morning and two in the evening. With a purchase of this special access you get to go inside of the ropes with a small, limited size group. This also gave you access to the stones during the day - it was a no-brainer, I needed this in my life! I asked about it, however, nobody knew how to ring it up. The employees that worked there, though, were absolutely amazing, doing everything that they could to get me a ticket. Luckily, after a call to the headquarters, there was one slot left for the 8:00PM tour that day and sunset was around 8:45 so I was ecstatic and gave them my credit card.
I took the bus out to the site and it happened to be a beautiful day (It hadn't been sunny much of my European trip up to that point). I took so many photos as I made my way around the circle. I still had quite a bit of time before my tour so I took off through the fields to explore the grounds. FYI - there is a lot to see on the site and I would budget a full day if you want to try and see it all. Some of my favorite pictures from my trip came from visiting the fields around Stonehenge, including of all of the sheep that were wondering around the fields.
Finally, it was time for my tour and I was the first one back at the site so I was able to take photos with nobody there. The colors of the sky were amazing as the sun started to set. I, again, took way to many photos and in the end had a hard time down-selecting so accept my apologies now for the abundance of photos below. There were a couple of groups of people that had bought tickets and were dressed in gypsy outfits to do some sort of ceremony, it was very interesting. I was able to talk to the guard (there is one at the stones 24/7/365) quite a bit about the stones and their history and learned that on the winter and summer solstice, they open up the grounds to anyone that wants to come and you are able to access the inner circle all day on those days for free. People picnic and just sit there amongst the stones on these special days. I also found out that these are the times that are most damaging to the stones. It made me wonder why they restrict access so much throughout the rest of the year and allow free reign on those two days. In the end, I asked the guard where I could access in the middle of the night to take star photos. He was very nice and informative, showing me the boundaries and I let him know that I see him later.
I had dinner and contemplated getting a hotel room but since I would be out most of the night taking star photos and then back early in the morning for sunrise, decided on car-camping on one of the dirt roads that runs through the site (many people seem to have the same idea but you are limited a max of two consecutive nights). Around midnight I headed back out to the fence line to take photos as the Milky Way started to rise. There was a lot more light pollution than I expected but was still very happy with the photos. I ended up meeting two other photographers that were out doing the same thing and swapped stories on astrophotography. I wrapped up sometime around 3:00AM (it was freezing cold and my lens kept fogging up) and decided to get a couple hours sleep before sunrise around 5:00AM.
The morning brought exactly what I had hoped for, fog! There was fog everywhere but I was so sleepy. I got out of the car and it was freezing cold, literally! I took a couple pictures around the car of the sheep in the field but couldn't brave the walk through the cold, wet grass in flip flops (my tennis shoes were soaking wet from the night before) up to the stones. I traveled all this way and conditions were perfect and I talked myself out of getting the perfect shot that I had wanted with Stonehenge mystically surrounded by fog. I NEVER give up on getting a shot that I want but I think it was a combination of fatigue, cold and the fact that the fog was burning off fast, really fast. I decided to start my drive back a little early and stop along the way at some places that I had seen on the way out.
Stonehenge, I think, is a must see for anyone that is even remotely close to the area. I am not going to go into what people think it is or why they think it is there (you can look that up online) but you should visit and hear the stories that the locals tell or even that the guards that spend 24/7/365 with it have to tell. Until then, I hope you enjoy the pictures and that they inspire you to visit.
