Some experiences are a little too good to be true. That’s how I felt when I took a Stonehenge day trip back at the beginning of the month. I simply could not believe that I was seeing it in-person.
In fact, that day also included stops at the Windsor Castle and Bath. For a girl who always seems to end up in London at least once a year, it was good to explore a bit more of UK this time around.
Where is Stonehenge and how to get there?
Stonehenge isn’t exactly a thriving metropolitan. In fact, it’s more or less in the middle of an open field. If you don’t have your own vehicle, I would recommend going with a tour company You can make a Stonehenge day trip out of it!
We went with City Wonders, a company that does tours all over Europe. We met them in a central location by a tube stop and were transported from place to place in a very comfortable van. I loved this option because I don’t know if I’d trust myself attempting to drive on the opposite side of the road!
First stop: Windsor!
Once our group was all together, we boarded a very comfortable bus/van and headed off the Windsor. This town is where the famous royal residence Windsor Castle is located. We were walked through the town and given the option to either enter the palace or wander around the town. It was freezing cold, there was a line and entrance to the palace wasn’t free, so we opted to get a little bit of breakfast instead.
Did you know that Windsor Castle was built in the year 1110? This was when William the Conqueror took control of the British Isles. However the first ever royal residence was the Tower of London, which you can see from the castle. This was done on purpose so they could send smoke signals to each other.
They think that the castle survived due to it’s long and skinny windows. It was easy to shoot from them but very difficult for their enemies to shoot directly at them.
How do you afford such a big castle? Well for the most recent renovation, the state rooms in Buckingham Palace were opened up to the public. The entrances paid for the renovation of Windsor Castle.
How do you get to Windsor Castle?
If you’re not a part of a day trip like I was, it’s still pretty easy to reach Windsor Castle without a car. In fact, it’s something that would make for a nice half day trip. From the center of London, you can reach Windsor Castle by train in under an hour. You can find train tickets on this website.
If you take the train, you will walk up through this antique train station that’s full of shops.
This is the famous crooked house. It dates all the way back to 1687! It is the oldest teahouse in all of England. Today it’s a jewelry store.
On to Stonehenge!
After spending a few hours in Windsor, we boarded the bus again and headed to Stonehenge. The drive was a few hours, so I totally ended up nodding off on the bus.
Getting to Stonehenge is of course easier with your own car or a private tour group like ours. However if you would like to make the trip by yourself from London, it is doable. You would need to catch the train from London to Salisbury. From Salisbury, you can catch the Stonehenge Tour Bus that takes you right to Stonehenge.
Once we arrived and parked, we took another bus to the actual rocks. You can walk from the vistor’s centre to the actual site or walk. Since it was absolutely freezing when we went, we opted for the bus.
Unfortunately during the day, you cannot walk into the middle of all the stones. It is completely roped off. While I would love to walk within it, I also understand why this happened. I’m sure someone (or many people) ruined it for the rest of us.
If you are really interested in walking through Stonehenge, you can do a special access tour after normal operating hours. You can read all about these inner circle tours here. It’s definitely an idea I’m going to consider if I get the chance to return.
It was cool to just ponder this wonder. How did they get those stones on top of each other before the modern era?
After visiting Stonehenge, we boarded the bus and headed to our third and final stop of the day: Bath!
An afternoon in Bath
Apart from Stonehenge of course, I think visiting Bath was my favorite part of the day. First of all, the architecture in Bath is simply amazing. I just loved wandering around the town. Second of all, it was the place where we were able to just take a nice break and enjoy some food.
The Bath Abbey
First, we stopped inside the beautiful Bath Abbey. Entrance is free, so we figured why not take a look around?
Some soup and buns
After wandering around the abbey for a bit, we decided it was time to eat. We hadn’t really eaten a full lunch, so per the recommendation of our tour guide, we decided to try some of the local food at Sally Lunn’s.
Sally Lunn’s is located in one of the oldest buildings in Bath. Here you can try the famous Sally Lunn bun. I decided to order one with a soup and a coffee (while tea might have been more appropriate for England, I needed caffeine).
Also if you order food at Sally Lunn’s, you get to visit their museum for free. It’s a small space that shows the actual kitchen used by the famous Sally Lunn.
Once we finished eating, the sun had set and it was time to board the bus back to London. Oh, what a day!
We were guests of City Wonders for this tour. All opinions are my own.
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