seeing Stonehenge

Has anyone traveled to Stonehenge from London? There are of course coach tours ($$) or you can take the train to Salisbury, take a look at the Magna Carta there, then bus it to Stonehenge, and bus/train back again. Option # 2 looks adventurous but exhausting. 2 of us are well -traveled adults, 1 is a semi-feral 14 year old. Thoughts?

No advice, just an observation that I was 12 and my sister was 15 when we went and we loved it.  Obviously our experience won't be the same as every teen, but there is hope that the 14 year old mentioned above will enjoy it also. 

I like Cathedrals so Salisbury was a great added addition to the Stonehenge trip. I believe, if you go on Wednesdays, the Lord Mayor of Salisbury offers tea to visitors to the city.

You may know there are other antiquities besides Stonehenge. They are not as dramatic but are fun.

For a 14 y.o,, definitely, the Tower of London. But find out how to get passes for the Ceremony of the Keys. I can't imagine a kid not getting a kick out of that. Also, when you get to Victoria Station, and also in hotel lobbies, there are London Walking Tours. Londonwalkingtour.uk

Definitely get the kid on the Jack the Ripper tour.

Saturdays, the two open markets are fun for kids.... watch for pickpockets. There is also the museum of surgery. A kid should like that.

Stonehenge is impressive. You don't get a sense of how big it is unless you're actually there and for some it really has a spiritual vibe to it that your 14 year old could possibly connect to.

If you're going to visit the Tower of London, I might suggest getting a ticket which also includes The London Dungeon, right across the river. Your 14 year old will love it.

Many years ago my husband and I took a bus tour to Stonehenge from Salisbury. I think we left our luggage in lockers at the train station. Then we spent some time in Bath. It was all very adventurous and wonderful! 

Times and beliefs have changed.  Forty years ago the guides there were saying the stones were laid by a people called the beaker people.  They were only about 3 feet tall and lived about 30 years.  The estimates were it took 3 of their generations to build.  The design came from a Greek sea man who was was washed over board.  No telling what the beliefs are now.

we did a bus tour as well ( it also stopped at Bath, I believe). It was a nice tour and mostly self- paced at the stops. It wasn't a "follow the group everywhere" kind of thing, more just convenient transportation. I thought both Stonehenge and the stop in Bath were fantastic and well worth the day.

If you're into stone rings, go to Avebury, where the village sits inside a stone ring.  A couple of miles outside of Avebury there are more prehistoric structures--a white horse carved into the side of a hill, a manmade stone hill, and an ancient burial barrow.  It's easiest to get to if you have a car.

With a semi-feral 14yo (I know your pain), I would do the more expensive bus tour.  Teen can zone out on the bus between stops and will be slightly more pleasant than navigating bus/train timetables.  

conandrob240 said:

we did a bus tour as well ( it also stopped at Bath, I believe). It was a nice tour and mostly self- paced at the stops. It wasn't a "follow the group everywhere" kind of thing, more just convenient transportation. I thought both Stonehenge and the stop in Bath were fantastic and well worth the day.

We did the same type of bus tour, a format that worked well for us. Our usual travel style is to skip tours, and navigate around via public transportation.  Somehow this enabled us to pack in more than we might have been able to do on our own.  We had plenty of time at both Bath and Stonehenge, yet not too much, and didn't have to curtail our visits to meet a train schedule.  Whichever you choose, have a great time.