Tour of Stonehenge, England | A Walk through 5000 Years of History

hey guys it's sinead with free tours by foot london and today we are going on a little day trip to the salisbury plains and we're going to tour one of england's most famous and busiest heritage sites stonehenge stonehenge is the prehistoric stone monument located 87 miles that's 140 kilometers southwest of london now this is the full experience i will walk you from the car park to the visitor center and museum and then on to the shuttle bus to visit the stones themselves i'll even show you how you can visit for free now i've opted to take an organized bus tour from london that includes tickets to stonehenge but you can also go on your own by train or coach we'll link to a blog post in the description that explains all three options okay then there's a lot to see so let's get started morning guys so we actually made it two hours later we have just arrived in the car park of stonehenge so right now i want to take you through the experience and how you get to the actual stones itself now i opted to take a double tour today with the amazing company that i occasionally work for in london called premium tours so we're doing a trip today with stonehenge and bath and i showed you this morning how you would get their victoria coach station but of course you can always drive here yourself and i want to show you that car park right now i'm in the coach car park and you'll see the shuttle bus right behind me here this is one of the buses that will pick you up the green shuttle bus from stonehenge salisbury train station and they will actually bring you here to the car park area as well and this is if you decide to do it yourself now i chose to go with premium toys and that's the company um i'll show you in a moment their bus that i occasionally work for i do conduct these stonehenge and bath tours so it's an amazing place we're right in the middle of wiltshire and we're going to head up and see the stone so let me introduce you to the area right now i'm in the coach car park so i don't want to confuse you too much but i'm going to show you how to do both options so this is if you arrive as a tourist and where do you go next now follow me i have got what you need and it's absolutely imperative this wristband so this wristband gets you into the visitor center gets you up to the stone circle and gets you on what's the shuttle buses now i'm going to turn you around because i want to show you so this is the coach car park and that's the company i took ladies and gents from london and that's premium tours and they offer very good rates and they do a lot of other town trips actually you can have lunch in the cotswolds you can do windsor stonehenge and bath you can do salzburg cathedral and have a look at their website premium tours and it'll tell you all the different out of town tours they do today i opted to do the stonehenge and bath so it takes two hours on board that coach to get here and this is the main visitor center itself now this is for the coach tours but if you're buying your tickets yourself individually this is not the car park you come to unless of course you take the train to salisbury and then the stonehenge shuttle bus will drop you off here but this is the most important part now let's get the stones out of the way first um my wristband is what's going to get me absolute access to everywhere now of course these are the facilities here and there are loads of facilities in stonehenge so the actual complex itself just to show you you can walk up to the stones along this path now do you see those little brown shuttle buses i'm walking in the direction up they take you to and from the stones up to the actual stone circle itself now if you're deciding to do it yourself you can walk on that path all the way up and that's about 1.5 kilometers no it's one and a half miles i think now there's a big gang of kids coming ahead of me so i'll let them go first it's um very popular with school groups so what i might do is take you over though just to show you the complex itself first before we head up to the actual stone circles if you are traveling by your own vehicle then do note that parking is included for free with the purchase of an entry ticket to stonehenge if you plan on taking advantage of seeing the stones for free a hack which i will explain later then there will be a fee to park at the time of filming that fee is five pounds this is the public car park and we have just come from the organized coach tour ticket prices depend on when you are coming there are off peak standard and peak time slots but the difference in prices are minimal at the time of filming adult tickets cost more or less 20 pounds tickets are distributed in time slots to control the number of people on site during peak times it strongly encouraged to have pre-ordered tickets there are also discounts for children students as well as family packages and while tickets to stonehenge themselves are not included in the various tourist discount passes available in london some of the bus tours like the one i am on today are included we have a blog post and video that explains these city passes and links to both are in the description below just i'm leaving the stones till the last part of my visit so that i can make it as clear as possible for you how it all works here but a very spiritual magical place i'll tell you a little bit more the stones we believe date all the way back to maybe 2 500 years ago but the actual stone circle itself started about 5 000 years ago so this stone circle actually some of them predate the pyramids i'm gonna show you where the chicken boots are [Music] the kitties are all here i might be sharing a bus with them very soon okay so this is your ticket booth right here and nowadays so that's from members and pre-book tickets and group tickets you can buy here as well but i mean if you're coming individually all you need to do is just buy your ticket at this section now if you're not interested in visiting the museum section here is the fabulous little cafe and restaurant they get lovely like hot soups and now it is independently run so it can be that a little bit more expensive than the norm but toilets shuttle boss walk and exhibition let's have a little look around the exhibition now this is pretty cool now the site itself so this gives you an idea of the size of the larger stones which were the sarsons and they're probably having a little guided tour here it's okay to go in you guys can i just going around yeah yeah oh great great thank you i just want to make sure it's okay to go head around this area on your visit today you'll get to see the conservation work being carried out on the stones themselves in the 1960s conservators use cement mortar to fill in cracks and fractures on the horizontal stones that sit on top of the huge upright stones and these are the horizontal stones you see on top these are the lintels cement mortar mortar isn't breathable and as it degrades it leaves the stones vulnerable to damage from trapped moisture our conservators will be replacing this with lime water which will keep water out as well as allowing any water that doesn't get in to escape okay we'll have a look at that in a moment the big gang of kids are there right now so just want to take you in around this little museum section this is fascinating i mean leo neolithic man had such a simple existence yet was still skilled masons now this place is amazing look at these hubs you guys now this is one of the busiest english heritage sites in the country so we're gonna have a little look inside here now they tended to be quite short so i am quite tall look at this you guys i mean there would be families of up to 12 people sleeping in here but look at the skill in these roofs and how simplistic you think that how how materialistic we are nowadays when you think of this amazing simplistic life i'm not saying it was an amazing life but alas these are the insides of the prehistoric cuts let's have a look at some of their utensils up here sometimes you think i think that i have the best job in the world i really do you guys look at that i mean the work that went into that so yeah because you live here ladies and gents lying on those hard straw beds so whatever they are it's like a cane wood maybe or slats oh wow little fire here i can't imagine it got too warm that's pretty special but the magnitude of stonehenge we'll see more now when we head up to the actual stone circle itself so uh have a look around here yeah the um the sarson stone is freed up a little bit now [Music] once so we have a little barcode we can scan here as well just scan the code with your phone camera to get started and that will give you a little bit of history as well so i'll take a little screenshot of that and then we'll uh organize that for you as well wow this might have been the king of the community's place it's a little bit big this is the penthouse ladies and gentlemen oh they even have straw beds how much more comfortable was that the penthouse of neolithic man wow so they had their little seating area by the heart of the fire now later on when we go through some of these beautiful country villages on route to bath we'll see some of the gorgeous thatcher of cottages and we believe the term raining cats and dogs came from the fact that when there was no space for any animals to sleep on the floor with the family this would have been bodies everywhere the animals would squeeze themselves in in the middle of the thatcheroos which was the warmest part and of course when it started to rain it would slip through the thatcheries now let's have a look in here and we won't be allowed in that one that's okay right so that gives you an idea of the living quarters of the neolithic community and this is all part of your ticket when you head here to stonehenge now i want to show you this um i want to give you a little bit of background the stones themselves the larger ones are the sarsons the smaller ones are the blue stones now the sarsons came from about 25 miles away in a place called the marlborough downs but the biggest biggest mystery were the blue stones now they are the smaller stones but they still weighed about four ton but they come from 250 miles away so how did man transport them now some suggested they move them on board these man-made planks and there was one experiment called the pressly experiment where they attempted to drag uh one of the stones over that length of um 250 miles with 500 men and it failed miserably that was called the pressly experiment then some suggested they were moved during one of the last ice ice ages and trans through water transport but this one can you move the stone highly unlikely that gives you an idea of the size of the stones here and we'll have a look this is one of the sarsons though now the blue stones get their names because when they're wet or broken they tend to have a blue tinge so this is the exhibition center and it's a glorious day here except always be aware that when you do come here you need extra layers folks you need your hats your umbrella because the weather can change so quickly and let's have a quick look here let's see what it sounds this is an exact replica of the stone 60 one of the upright sarcans of the inner horseshoe the original stone weighs about 28 tons the stone was moved by securing it to a wooden sledge which could be then pulled over rollers over long rails much more eloquently put than me the ropes were probably made from lime bass in her bark spun and twisted together to form strong cords made people build stonehenge it was hard physical work and took many years they might have had to spend time away from their families work alongside strangers who spoke different languages or perhaps the people who built stonehenge were slaves or maybe they give their time and effort willingly to help with this great communal project we don't know how society was structured at this time but there must have been leaders who planned and organized the construction many other people would have also been needed to provide the building materials and equipment and to feed and shelter the workers it is not possible to obtain a real source and stone of this size today so this is a replica you get the idea they even give you a a rope to attempt to pull at it which seems like an exercise in futility really but alas now let's have a look at this the building blocks so these are just little bits of information for you on the sources the larger stones of the monument are sarson it's a very hard type of sandstone it was formed about 26 million years ago from a solidified layer of sand in a prehistoric sea natural star stones are found across southern england so in the marlborough downs as i said about 20 miles away now the blue stones they are a variety of volcanic rock including dolorites and rhyolites they appear gray but when freshly colored wet some do have a dark blue color they come from the presley hills in west wales it's actually a separate country chemical analysis has identified the exact outcrops that the different types of stones came from we do not know why these stones were chosen perhaps the pressley hills had a special meaning for the people who built stonehenge or possibly that thought the stones had magical properties that sounds about right it is definitely a spiritual place ladies and gents so that's the visitor center area there is also an indoor part of this exhibition where hundreds of artifacts found in the area from pottery to tools and even human remains are on display along with multimedia displays that combine to tell you the story of stonehenge now i want to take you up to the actual stone circle so i'm opting today because we have limited time here and this is the great advantage to a coach tour is that you get a lot done in one day and everything's done for you they provide a guide the transportation is taken care of and it can tend to be that little bit more expensive but personally i think it's the way to go however if you decide to do it yourselves you're more than welcome to do that um we're gonna show you if you did arrive here how you could walk to the stone circle for free as well now you won't get as much access as you do by buying a ticket but you can walk around the stone circle and i want to show you where that is i mean our company is all about free tours by foot so we do want to give you the option of that now i don't know how they feel about me filming here but i'm sure it should be okay so there's the gift shop which is all of your requirements your mugs your t-shirts your bags your tote bags i mean your chocolate your whiskey there's even stonehenge beer and wine and passport holders and i mean the usual sheep uh fridge magnets baubles christmas decorations we're gonna head up on the bus let's make our way on the shuttle bus [Music] right here guys so this is where the shuttle bus drops you off now if i wasn't restricted with time today i may come back though and do it again because i possibly will be guiding it i want you to have a look here there is a pathway right beside you see where all those people are walking and you can come through the woods now it is muddy terrain and that's quite um well you're going through the woods essentially so you'd need some good walking gear but you can literally without paying for your ticket just come straight through the woods on the other side and as you'll see there's quite a few people parked up down here and they have their mobile homes in their tents and their camper vans unless they're having some form of festival not that i know of um solstice summer solstice took place and wilson's winter solstice isn't taking place for another well december 21st so that's a while yet but this is the pathway you can take that will also give you a free view of the stones but you see these people here now to give you an idea right along this pathway they're coming through here so you still get an amazing view but you get a free of charge and you can do it this direction i opted today for comfort and also for the simple reason that i myself don't drive so i need to get here and i wanted to go to bath and stonehenge in one day so that's the reason i haven't done it for free but it comes all along here and it brings you on the outer ring so you can still get a great view of the stones so there you have it you guys so come in your car pay for your petrol park up at stonehenge and take the little pathway all along the side here and you can take that little walkway there and connect to that pathway then and that's how you do it for free so it's very very simple it's literally right beside the coach park but we are going to make our way now to the incredible stealth circle now what's it all about why is it here what is it if i knew that i would be worth millions and millions of pounds ladies and gents firstly one of the more important things you can download the audio guide there are no physical audio guides anymore at stonehenge so you download the audio guide when you arrive connect to the english heritage wifi and that way using your own earphones and your own technology it will guide you around the audio guide so this is exploring the stonehenge landscape and stonehenge avenue so this is the free path see where they're coming from that gate there now and they can walk along the stone circle without paying in you guys so it's great if you want to do the walk that's perfect too i did walk up here um i've been here for solstice and it's been an amazing festival you get up to 15 000 hippies and druids because stonehenge was always the site of worship for the druid community and the pagans now some results say some winter solstice this is the perfect natural phenomenon it's when the sun perfectly aligns and rises and sets right through on the opposite side of course summer celsius it sets and rises right through the stone circle so that has begged a lot of people to believe that it was a place of worship but also could have been used as an astrological calendar or an astrological clock possibly also to make farmers aware of when the seasons were taking place hunting did take place around here because we know that because a lot of prehistoric tools using antler picks have been found around here now originally it started out just as a hinge and a hinge in fact well we've only got the one-way system oh i've come on the free path now maybe i haven't i was going to jump the fence there and so this is new i haven't been up here in a while that's okay so originally started out as just an inner just a hinge itself as an inner and outer bank and one of the biggest discoveries here were the aubury pets and there were 56 pits in a circle around the stones themselves now over the years they believed that there were timber posts might have been erected in those pets however more recent years they believe they might have been announced a ring of stones again but what they did find one of the more significant finds was they found fifth evidence of 56 cremations and up to fifty thousand bones so they expect that up to two hundred and fifty to three hundred men women and children were cremationated here and that could also make it one of the most largest neolithic serum cemeteries in the country now the sarsons are the larger stones they come from about 25 miles away and the inner circle of the blue stones the smaller stones are the ones that came from the pressly hills and that is the biggest mystery how did they get here over the years archaeologists have mused about this now it is most likely it came through water transport but i mean how would men in antiquity move these four ton stones over 250 miles so i briefly mentioned there the pressly experiment took place in the 1980s where over 500 men attempted to drag these stones to the stone circle at using leather ropes that wasn't successful failed miserably then they attempted to use rafts which sank underwater so in recent years people are beginning to believe that it actually um just came kind of naturally through water transported to the last ice age look it's a mystery we have no idea and the first mention of stonehenge in texas was jeffrey jeffrey of monmouth i think it was in the 12th century he suggested that stonehenge was brought here by the wizard merlon from a stone circle in ireland so this fame and myth but whatever it is it attracts a massive crowd on summer solstice and winter solstice and it's when the sun rises directly through the stone circle and in the reverse for winter the sun sets and it is spectacular here now the one thing you cannot deny about the place it is very spiritual and very calming so here's a dramatic entrance you were standing close to the original entrance to stonehenge looking at the most impressive and best preserved part of the outer stone circle you see it right there the northeast side has the most regular star sergeant stones which were carefully shaped and smoothed now you see that's what i mentioned actually already they did not arrive in the original state they were actually expertly carved down very skilled stone masons and smoothed down the stones into not their original form but into the form you see there today so this area it says the professional processional route to the monument was built in about 2300 bc so they actually believe the huge underwear on on work sources standing nearby this is the heal stone ladies and gents and this weighs 40 tons and the fallen stone in front of us is the slaughter stone one of two of the three upright stones that once stood in the line across the entrance causeway so this is the heel stone the crows are even chilling out here at stonehenge and i was coming back to that yeah so it attracts hippies and druids and tourists it's free of charge during summer solstice and winter solstice and then you get the druids will arrive in their amazing long red robes now i had some amazing photographs from my last time here and i will get the guys to edit them into the video but you'll see them arriving hugging the stones and kissing the stones and then singing beautiful praising mother earth songs and the choir arrives out and it just goes all into the night i came the night before but they're all here for sunrise and it attracts massive people smelling a lot of smells of funny cigarettes a bit of drinking going on but never any trouble very peaceful and a lot of bongo drums hippies uh tourists locals and it's for you to march and it's probably one of the best festivals in the world i it's one of the best experiences i ever had anyway so this is where mid-winter sunset will come directly through the stones here and that's what people come to see provided it's a clear day of course depends on how clear a day it is let's have a little walk around again now i'm a bit conscious of how windy the audio may be so i'm holding on to it here folks i hope it's not too bad but people all over the world know about stonehenge and that's what's amazing it just gives you this wonderful energy here it really does feel great to be here [Music] at the circle so the route they allow you to take is just directly around the stone circle and it gives you a little bit of information along the way now i didn't download the audio guide today but you guys can the minute you get here so when you get into the car park you will get a connection to see what i mean about being exposed english heritage wi-fi and that's where by you will download the audio guide so you can uh be guided away uh the whole way around now we are gonna speed up just a bit and pick back up closer to the stones right now this is the proper viewing point so this is kind of like the icing on the cake at the end of the trip [Music] well i hope you're enjoying this my other town tours you guys please say yes because i want to do some more for you more to come today of course we're going to take some great footage um across the salisbury plains we'll show you some of the lovely sleepy country villages along the way now that's pretty cool that visual is pretty special so you do get quite close to you guys look at that [Music] now on solstice and winter celsius you're allowed to sit in the middle of the stones and i was sitting right in the middle of the stones listening to all the chanting and the choirs singing to mother earth and thanking mother earth for me for everything for the stones and samples so again i'll send some footage that can be edited in i've got some great videos of them singing and their costumes because it wasn't that long ago you want to be a druid on the day of course i don't know [Music] yes the teachers are asking the kids we can't figure out whether and why it's here and she's asking them to tell her most immediately why it's here right you guys so i'm under pressure a little bit for time so i'm sure yourself if you come you won't have them issues just to let you know when you're taking the audio guides around they give you numbers around the way so you just um on your own uh smartphone it just gives you this is stop number eight this is top number seven this is stop number six and this is our glass glimpse of the most the busiest heritage site in the country ladies and gentlemen the incredible stonehenge [Music]

Channel: Free Tours by Foot - London

Views: 55,332

Keywords: stonehenge tour, stonehenge tour from london, stonehenge, stonehenge day trip, visiting stonehenge, stonehenge tour virtual, stonehenge tour guide, stonehenge tour highlights, london stonehenge tour, stonehenge england, stonehenge history, visiting stonehenge from london, visit stonehenge, how to get to stonehenge from london, stonehenge travel tips, stonehenge virtual tour, london to stonehenge, stonehenge from london, stonehenge walking tour, stonehenge walking tour 2021

Id: qCFuw0o3tNY

Length: 32min 55sec (1975 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 15 2021