Day 2 – London
Sat. July 8, 2017
Tour: Stonehenge at Sunrise; Oxford & Windsor Castle
Some quick points worth noting:
1. The Sofitel added the cost of the private hire to our hotel bill. JQ tipped the driver we think around £10 that morning. (still not clear on when to tip and when not to tip – I’m sure we probably over tipped many times)
2. The phrase “Stonehenge at Sunrise” is a misnomer. With a 5:30am pickup, the sun had risen by the time we arrived at the site.
3. We brought along a few basics:
(and could leave things on the bus since it was assigned for the day)
- Some cash in local currency. Much easier to manage on the fly. We carried about £100.
- A credit card with no foreign transaction fees. (Capital One worked well for us
- waterproof jackets & umbrella (it can rain at will)
- snacks & water (Remember, this was a 9.5 bus tour and the price didn’t include lunch.)
- and of course, rechargeable batteries for the camera
That's it. Now on with the tour
Only the 6 of us are scheduled for pick up at the Millennium. JQ and I were very grateful to a family who shuffled around to free up a pair of seats. Everyone else including Iron Man had exactly 4 single staggered seats to choose from.
We all settle in for a 2+ hr. ride to Stonehenge.
As we start to get close, our guide points out that we are passing the site. Surprise! There was Stonehenge, sitting in the middle of a field that the road literally goes right by.
We're told that this is the most accident prone area by the site, and plans are underway to close it and reroute traffic.
The bus arrives promply at 7:22 am. Gotta love the VIP status as security opens the gate just for you.
Operating hours are from 9-8 so both the visitors center and gift shop were closed.
But the bathrooms are open, to which everyone descends upon at once.
These are the only facilities at the site.
The English Heritage has overseen many changes to protect and preserve this site. Starting with their new visitors center built a mile away on purpose. You cannot see Stonehenge from here, and they strategically manage the foot traffic via free shuttles back and forth to the site.
We were provided a single shuttle bus for our entire group. Only 1 trip up and 1 trip back all together.
(travelling beyond that set of trees in the distance)
Before we exit the shuttle, this gentleman in an authoritative safety jacket steps on to recite the rules for walking among the stones.
- only half the bus will be permitted into the Inner Circle at a time. You will be given equal time split among 2 groups. (I whisper to JQ – “we need to hustle and try to get in the first group”)
- you cannot touch the stones under any circumstances
- don’t try to get fancy and casually tap one with your foot. We’ll catch you.
- don’t try to be clever and slightly brush next to one with any part of your clothing or person. We’ll catch you.
- If we find anyone in this group touching any stone in any way, you’ll all be removed immediately.
- There will be no exceptions.
- So enjoy your visit but remember we’ll be watching you closely at ALL TIMES.
Well that was enough to scare me straight. There goes my big plan to feel the energy with a few stone taps. (thank goodness Orkney doesn’t have these rules - yet!)
But seriously, what was our day like compared to the general public? IMO there’s no comparison, really.
Here’s a video from English Heritage – imagine us as that first group you see, going in and around the stones. Then imagine the
DCL busses as the site opens for the day with everyone roped off away from the inner circle.
continued....................