On our recent holiday down south we decided as it was only an hour or so from where we were staying in Dorset, that we would like to take the opportunity to visit Stonehenge. We picked a day and booked our tickets in advance for the Sunday and made our plans. It is run by English Heritage but National Trust members get free entry too (woohoo!) so if you are thinking of going it is worth considering membership of one or the other as tickets to Stonehenge are quite expensive in themselves. Sunday turned out to be a really wet and miserable day unfortunately, but we decided to stick with our plans and head over, hoping for a bit of let up.
When we arrived it wasn’t actually raining, though it was freezing! We had taken waterproofs for the rain but thought it should still be quite warm so hadn’t taken jumpers for hubs or I – big mistake as it was so cold, we ended up buying some rather fetching Stonehenge hoodies from the gift shop. (It’s actually quite amusing that most have my hoodies have been bought from a gift shop for the same reason, incl. one in NY and one in San Francisco, clearly I regularly under-estimate how warm I will be!).
We originally planned on heading straight for lunch, and then going out to see Stonehenge itself afterwards, but as it wasn’t raining we decided to make the most of the let up and head straight up there (thank goodness we did). So we had a ride on the bus with the kiddies and got to Stonehenge itself. There is a path part of the way round and then grass to walk around the rest of the site. You can’t get up close to the stones which is a shame but understandable.
We had great fun taking some silly selfies of us all with Stonehenge in the background (or not, depending how good our aim was!).
It was very bleak though and Monkey was getting a bit moany so we did have to have a good run around to keep him happy – I think a lot of other people there thought we were bonkers but Monkey was happy so that’s all that matters.
It’s a shame the weather was so bad as we really didn’t want to stay there long and after one time round we went back to the bus and back to the visitor centre…. where, would you adam and eve it… there had been a power cut. The first one ever apparently. But this affected all lighting, the toilets, the exhibitions and worst of all the cafe!
After a bit of queueing and wondering what we could actually eat we managed to get literally the last 2 cups of tea they could get out of what hot water they had. We had sandwiches as there was no soup or any other hot food as obviously they had no power. Not good on such a cold day but at least we got hot drinks. By the time we had our food the rain had well and truly returned and the bus loads of people returning from Stonehenge were all soaked to the skin and poor things couldn’t even get a hot drink so I was glad we had come back when we had.
After our light lunch we wandered over to the exhibitions… where nothing was working so there wasn’t a huge amount to see.
Lights off and blank screens, very disappointing!
LM needed some milk so we hung around a bit rather than just leaving and I’m glad we did stay as the power did eventually come back on. If she hadn’t needed a feed I think we may just have come away and we wouldn’t have seen any of it.
With the power working again there is a great display where you stand as if in the middle of the stones and see it through the years and at different seasons. All of the displays and videos were great when they were working too and really interesting.
There are some roundhouses to see outside and we did start to go out to see them but it was so wet that we gave up and just got back in the car to drive back to the cottage.
The joys of british summertime eh? One day gorgeous sunshine, the next absolutely miserable.
This is a place I would love to visit, great photos x
As it happens, I drove past Stonehenge with the kids twice last week; once on the to visit relatives with Somerset in glorious sunshine and on the way back a couple of days later in horrendous rain. What luck to turn up during the one and only power cut! #CountryKids
I love driving past Stonehenge but haven’t taken Monkey yet – I think I may put it on our bucket list for next year – sorry your visit was wet, glad they eventually got the power back on! #CountryKids
We’ve not been there, thought it’s somewhere I’d like to go at some point. Looks amazing, though such a shame the weather and power let you down! x
One thing’s for sure in the UK, you can’t ever guarantee the weather! I’m loving the selfie’s-they made me smile x
It’s such a shame that your visit to Stonehenge wasn’t too brilliant, it’s always annoying when little things like this happen though isn’t it? I’m sure the kids enjoyed the chance to get out and run around the stones for a little while whilst the rain held off. It’s annoying that there was a power cut and you couldn’t explore the visitor center as much as you’d planned, at least you stayed optimistic and managed to see some of the displays before you went. Thanks for linking up with me on Country Kids.
I would love to visit Stonehenge. Too bad the weather was so uncooperative. We recently visited Old Faithful at Yellowstone Park in the US. The weather was so much colder than we had anticipated that we also had to buy jackets at the gift shop. At least it makes for a memorable story and a good souvenir.
And would you believe it? The day we went there was a full quota of electricity and sunshine. It was about this time of year too. That’s England for you. I loved Stonehenge and am so glad we took the children to see it. But yeah, it can get very windy on Salisbury Plain.
This is really embarrassing but I live in Dorset and have still never been to Stonehenge!! I’d love to visit though so maybe one day soon 🙂 Funny you should say that about hoodies, we have several gift shop hoodies we’ve had to buy over the years when we just didn’t pack for the weather!! xx countrykids
Oh no! It sounds like you picked the worst day EVER to visit Stonehenge. I’ve heard the new visitor centre is fantastic with lots of great displays but of course that all takes power to run. At least you got some good selfies 😉 #countrykids
It’s a common theme….getting rained on at Stonehenge haha!! I visited just before the museum was completed and it it looks like a nice upgrade to what was there previously….as long as the power works 🙂
I Have driven past Stonehenge more times than I care to remember whilst travelling to my Mum’s house but I have never visited. I really should find the time to stop. #MondayEscapes
I remember my visit to the Stonehenge many, many years ago also being rainy and cold! Didn’t get a power cut though! Love the family pictures – very cute!
We used to drive past Stonehenge when I was younger and I have always wanted to visit. Such a shame about the weather and the power cut, I’m glad you all made the most of it and yay for the last cups of tea! I am always the one that forgets to pack a jumper on trips which means I’m always cold!!
Becky-LittleOandme
#Mondayescapes
A shame it was so wet, but at least you had fun for a while outside! O would be the same at running around, he gets bored just wandering around looking at things. I love stone circles and standing stones and Stonehenge has been on my bucket list for a long time! 🙂 x
Tell me about it! That infernal rain! I’ve never actually visited Stongehenge proper, only seen it in the distance – so it’s great to see your photos. I kinda like the dark, moody shots! I think it makes it more interesting. Not so much for you guys in the cold though! x Thanks for linking up with #MondayEscapes
Love the look of the exhibition, glad you got to see it in the end. This summer weather is bleak at the moment isn’t it? Such a shame you couldn’t enjoy it in the sun instead. Thanks for linking up with #TriedTested
I visited Stonehenge years ago, have yet to take the kids! Looks like a fun family adventure, despite the rain!
Have only ever driven past Stonehenge. Looks like you had a great day despite the weather! Love the family pics. #whatevertheweather
I love the sun but often think rainy days out are the best – expectations lowered and British spirit kicks in – looks like a fab day!
I grew up living right near Stonehenge and used to visit as a child, you have just reminded that I so should take the girls for a visit to see this great historical site. Shame you such bad weather, but it still looks like you all made the most of it the best you could with the circumstances. The new visitor centre and videos look great too, when they are working of course.
Such a shame about the weather and power cut, but good to see it though and you will always remember it. Love the family pics! x
I love you went despite the bad weather! A shame there was a power cut, but good that it came back so you could see the displays, I suppose that’s what we get for making all the interactive modern visitor centres nowadays!
Thanks for linking up to #Whatevertheweather 🙂 x
I always wanted to go there. But not in the rain though! Sorry you had a rotten visit, but the gallery looks really interesting. I think I need to invest in National Trust membership too. With kids, I think we will be traveling to a lot of National Trust places for the next few years and Stonehenge will be on the list too. 🙂
#whatevertheweather
This I have always wanted to go see 🙂 Still haven’t gotten to check it off my list. During one of my last visits to London I was thinking about doing a day trip there, but ended up going to Cardiff, Wales instead. Next time…
Oh no what a shame that the power went out. I didn’t realise Stonehenge had exhibitions as well. I’ve driven past so many times and always wanted to visit but thought it was so expensive to just see stones. I feel a bit silly now. It looks like you had fun despite the weather, although I bet you could have done with a nice hot drink to warm up after. Thank you so much for linking this up to #whatevertheweather x
Stonehedge has been in my wish list for a long time. So sad you got bad weather, but at least the electricity came back just in time!
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