I've been to England twice. The first time was great, but I think the second time was better, namely because I got out more. On my second go I made it to Scotland and Wales, which were far more fantastic than I could have dreamed. The major disappointment was Nottingham, which is unfortunately not quite so quaint as I was expecting. I always tend to skip over the whole 'industrial revolution' bit of English history, though that can't be too much a surprise because I don't really care for history once you get into the high middle ages. Skip on and get to the Renaissance, chop off Charlie's head, pass through Cromwell, and get to Mad King George already, I haven't got all day. By the time we do that though my interest has waned and I'm already nostalgic for the Danes a thousand years before.
One thing I did do twice was hit Stonehenge. I'll probably do it a third time when I go back to concentrate on getting to Hadrian's Wall and the legendary Tintagel, because the really old stuff is where I like it. Go on to Liverpool and take your Beatles tour because The Beatles, like, totally revolutionized music (by dumbing it down from the heyday of Neoclassicism...?), I'm going to go see the Temple of Mithras, which is the oldest existing foundation in London, which is one of the oldest cities in the world. "Yeah... I don't see nothing but a bunch of rocks" you might say. Sure it's just a bunch of rocks in the ground, but that's not the point. The point is that they were arranged. By people. Two thousand years ago. For some reason beyond my own knowledge someone said, "You know what I think would be super cool? It would be super cool to worship this Persian god in this very non-Persian place by us Romans, who are neither Persian nor even from around these parts. Let's build a temple!" And that is how you link two seemingly unrelated cultures in a world where there is no apparent communication between continents let alone countries. Globalization totally happened before the internet, you guys. I promise.
Back to Stonehenge, which is older than Mithras and more impressive to you lot, I'm sure, because you know it. You've heard of it. It's this weirdly mysterious, ethereal place out in the middle of nowhere that was once frequented by aliens, and nobody knows how it got there. Actually, recent excavations have given us clues as to what it was all about and how it really isn't all that mysterious, but I know you're hoping to go there one day to get your solstice on. Well here is how you can do it on a budget.
First, we're going to assume that you're in London, trying to keep to a budget because things are insanely expensive and you're not but a foolish college student selling your soul to the bank to even be here. Oh well, future you can pay after the economy goes bad, you can't find a job, and you realize that you're now an adult with adult problems, right? Right. So first of all, actually, we should go over what you should NOT do.
DO NOT take a bus tour from London. Yes, you might get to go to Bath and Windsor as well as Stonehenge, but if you don't care about those places, or perhaps if you care too much about them (only an hour to ponder the steaming green waters of the old Roman bathhouse?! Puhlease.), remember that you will be stuck for most of the time on a bus with a nice Scottish tour guide, and a lot of old people. My god man, pull yourself together and use your bloody legs! You have two of them, and England isn't exactly a hike. Bus tours are for old people who've forgotten what it's like to be adventurous. Besides that, sixty pounds to race through three audio tours and hang out with said old people is not worth it. This was my first trip.
DO get a student rail pass. STA Travel isn't always the best way to go on air fare, but they do offer deals on rail passes. I think I got one for three hundred US dollars, and it gave me ten days of rail travel anywhere in the UK. I could go anytime as long as all the days were used within a two or three month period. This is the most expensive cost for getting to Stonehenge.
The night before you leave, you'll want to stop at a Tesco Express to pick up a lunch. Grab a £2.50 sandwich, and a £1 bag of rosemary chicken crisps (the English have come up with some fantastic flavors, it's like eating a whole chicken and mashed potato dinner. Willy Wonka really does exist! Further proof? Ham and Dijon flavor. Tastes like vomit. DO NOT EAT THE HAM AND DIJON!!!). If you are really stupid enough to pack a carbonated beverage on a backpacking excursion, take a Fanta. The English know how to do Fanta. However, this is not recommended. Please pack yourself water and stay hydrated!
The next step is to take a train from London to Salisbury. I don't remember what station I left from, but I'm willing to bet it was King's Cross. King's Cross is by no means the only train station to travel out of, but it's one of the more exciting ones. I mean, that's where Platform 9 3/4 is, and I spent a good five minutes trying to run through the blasted barrier to get through. Stupid Yank.
Once you get to Salisbury, you have to find the bus station. It's not near the train station, sorry, so you'll have to walk. In fact I don't remember at all where it was, but I do remember running into Salisbury cathedral. If you aren't sick of cathedrals yet, take a gander, because this one is super special. Just like all the other ones are also super special. Even I get cathedral'd out, and I am the one who gets excited about the semiotics of arch types.
Once you find the bus station, go in and ask the stodgy looking clerk for a ticket to Amesbury. KNOW THIS BEFOREHAND! If you so much as mention Stonehenge, he will look at you like a stupid tourist and try to sell you a thirty pound (about sixty US dollars) tour bus trip. We've discussed tour buses. DO NOT WANT. If you forget the name 'Amesbury', don't. Just don't. Seriously. If you say "I'd like to get to Stonehenge at the cheapest rate; how much to the closest town," he will respond in his nasally accent that the closest you can get to Stonehenge is Cairo, and that you might as well go the pyramids. Whatever, stodgy bus man, I'm a bleeding American. While your great great great grandpa was moping about with his sheep in the rain, mine was fighting off natives and growing crops in a freaking desert with salt water. I'm a freaking survivalist, and I KNOW how to play thrifty! (So you shouldn't say this because you're a cocky American, and everyone hates cocky Americans.)
Stodgy bus man will eventually cave to your request and admit that Amesbury is the closest you can get to Stonehenge. Then he'll tell you that it's ten miles walking from there (lies, it's two and a half), and that you have to brave a highway. Knowing that in your feeble American mind, you're thinking of wide lanes with careless sports cars and semi trucks, he will smirk at you as you contemplate the potentially lethal crossing. Then when you ask if there's a walk way over or under the highway, he'll start selling the bus tour again. Scowl at him and demand the £5.00 round trip bus fare to Amesbury. The bus leaves every half hour.
Thirty minutes later, you'll arrive in Amesbury and everything will be closed, though this may be because you've gone on a Sunday. I don't quite remember. There are, blessedly, signs that will guide you to Stonehenge. The walk is pleasant, and the view is gorgeous. There are farm animals to say hello to, because you don't typically see sheep in suburbia, so take it in. This is what England is all about, after all, right?
Then comes the highway. There are semi trucks and lots of cars, but who are we kidding? This isn't LA and everyone knows that European cars are wimpy little clown mobiles. You'll survive. Just scream as you run across the four lanes. It makes it all the more exciting. There is an island in the middle where the road that runs by Stonehenge turns off the highway, so it's more like taking two lanes at a time.
Congratulations! You have made it! The henge is right there on the other side of the fence. If you REALLY want to walk around it, then pay the £7.50 to go walk around it with an audio tour, but this is not necessary. You can get just as close to Stonehenge as the fools who pay, the only difference is that they get about two feet closer and are inside the chain link fence. You can't walk up to it, and really, it's a circle of rocks in a symmetrical formation. What you see on one side is what you see on the other, and you've already done enough research on it because you're an Anglophilic history buff. Take your pictures, eat your lunch, and run back across the highway. Hop the bus back to Salisbury and the train back to London. You've just done Stonehenge in the most exciting way possible.
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