How to Visit Stonehenge and Salisbury in One Day (on Public Transit!)
The stones have been a mystery for centuries.
There they stand, in the middle of nowhere: these enormous stones, somehow brought from miles away and arranged in concentric circles for reasons we don’t totally understand.
I’m speaking, of course, of Stonehenge — perhaps Britain’s best-known tourist site and one of the world’s most intriguing mysteries. Each day, people flock to Stonehenge from all over the world.
But if you ask me, Stonehenge’s closest city — Salisbury — is equally worthy of a visit. That’s primarily because of the magnificent Salisbury Cathedral, the tallest church in England, which absolutely knocked me over the first time I saw it.
Thankfully, it’s totally possible — easy, even — to visit both Stonehenge and Salisbury in one day from London, even without renting a car and driving yourself. It’s a journey I’ve done twice, and I would recommend it to almost anyone who’s looking for a great day trip from London.
This is how to use public transit to visit Stonehenge and Salisbury in one day.
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Train to Salisbury
Your journey begins with a train from London to Salisbury.
Trains to Salisbury depart from Waterloo Station. You can purchase your ticket in advance or when you arrive at the station.
The train ride takes about 1.5 hours.
Bus to Stonehenge
Near the exit of Salisbury’s train station, look for signs pointing toward the Stonehenge bus. Outside the train station, there is a green bus that leaves for Stonehenge approximately once an hour.
You can buy tickets for this bus in advance or on board the bus (I’ve done it both ways).
There are three bus ticket options:
- Just a round-trip bus journey to and from Stonehenge.
- A round-trip bus journey to and from Stonehenge, plus entrance to Stonehenge and Old Sarum (another historic landmark in the area).
- A round-trip bus journey to and from Stonehenge, plus entrance to Stonehenge and Old Sarum, plus entrance to Salisbury Cathedral.
The prices of each of these options vary depending on the day and time you plan to visit. As a result, I can’t outright recommend that you buy either just the bus ticket or instead spring for the combination ticket — it will simply depend how much the ticket costs on the day you intend to go.
So: you’ll need to check bus prices here and Stonehenge ticket prices here, then calculate for yourself whether it would be cheaper to buy your tickets separately or with the combination ticket.
TIP: If you have some time to kill before the next bus leaves for Stonehenge, as I did on my most recent visit, heads up that there is a Sainsbury’s supermarket a short walk from the train station. This is a great place to grab some lunch to go, especially because of the UK’s excellent meal deals — where grocery stores offer a sandwich, bag of chips, and a drink (or some other similar combination) for just a few pounds. On my last visit to Salisbury, I bought one of these meal deals for £4 and ate it on the bus to Stonehenge.
The bus to Stonehenge takes 30 to 45 minutes, depending on traffic conditions. There is narration along the way, providing information about Stonehenge and the surrounding area.
Exploring Stonehenge
When the bus arrives at Stonehenge, walk to the visitors’ center. In addition to ticketing, the visitors’ center has restrooms, a cafe, some exhibits about Stonehenge and how the stones might have been transported to the site, and a gift shop.
Tickets to Stonehenge
If you haven’t already purchased tickets in advance, join the queue to buy tickets at the visitors’ center.
If you already have a ticket, you do not need to wait in the long ticketing line. Simply show your ticket to an employee and they should let you through.
Note that you can save some money by purchasing your Stonehenge tickets in advance, whether or not you get the combination ticket with the bus trip. However, if you purchase your ticket in advance, you need to select an entrance time. This creates some risk in the event that your train or bus runs late, so think carefully before committing to a ticket.
Reaching the Stones
The actual Stonehenge site is about 1.5 miles from the visitors’ center.
There are two ways you can get there: walk, or take a free shuttle bus.
The walk to the stones takes 30-40 minutes through grassy fields.
Exploring the Stonehenge Site
When you reach the stones, you can walk around them for as long as you like. Helpfully, there are some signs giving you information about the placement of the stones and the history of the site.
Note that unless you are visiting during solstice or another special access event, the stones are roped off and you are not permitted to walk amongst them.
Returning to Salisbury
On my last visit to Stonehenge, I walked to the stones, spent about 30 minutes there, returned via shuttle bus, looked at some of the exhibits on the site, and browsed in the gift shop. In total, this all took about 2 hours.
When you are done exploring the stones, return to the visitors’ center (either by walking or by shuttle bus) and then to the same bus stop where you were dropped off.
The bus will stop at Old Sarum on the way back to Salisbury. If you have the time and the interest, this is your opportunity to get off the bus and explore Old Sarum.
Otherwise, simply remain on the bus and return to Salisbury. The bus will make a stop in the city center before it returns to the train station; I recommend getting off at the city center stop because it’s closer to the cathedral.
Visiting Salisbury Cathedral
From the bus stop, walk to Salisbury Cathedral.
This cathedral absolutely bowled me over the first time I saw it. I’ll never forget coming around the corner, looking up, and seeing this massive building and its record-setting spire in the middle of an open, green space.
So many of the large cathedrals I’ve visited are either located in large cities — and so their size feels less impressive — or closely surrounded by plenty of other buildings. But Salisbury Cathedral, which is located in a quiet place in a small city, has quite a different feeling.
The interior of the cathedral is just as impressive, with towering arches and walls filled with stained-glass windows.
And that’s before you get to what Salisbury Cathedral is most famous for: it has the best-preserved original copy of the Magna Carta, a seminal 13th century legal document that acknowledged that no one, not even the king, is above the law.
During my most recent visit, the cathedral was also displaying an incredible, 42-foot piece of embroidery documenting the complete Wikipedia page for the Magna Carta. Several hundred people contributed to the embroidering of the work, often choosing to stitch words with particular meaning for them — for example, many prisoners who worked on the piece opted to embroider the word “freedom.”
After visiting the cathedral, if you have time before your train back to London, walk around Salisbury a bit — there are some charming streets with cute shops and colorful flags fluttering above.
Returning to London
To return to London, simply walk back to Salisbury’s train station and take the next train to Waterloo Station.
More Information About England
COSTS | Here’s how much I spent for a week in London.
LONDON | Read about what to do and where to stay during your first trip to London.
NOTTING HILL | How to spend one day in my favorite part of London, Notting Hill.
RYE | Visit the charming town of Rye on a day trip from London.
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Really useful guide, especially the timing advice.
I’m trying to plan a similar day trip and was wondering what the best time of day is to visit Stonehenge if you want to avoid the crowds. Does early morning or later afternoon tend to be quieter?
I’m also looking at the Salisbury to Stonehenge route and trying to figure out how much travel time to allow so the day does not feel rushed.
Good question! I wish I had a more definitive answer, but both of my visits to Stonehenge have been mid-day, so I don’t have any personal experience with early morning or late afternoon visits to relay.
That said, in my experience, at major tourist destinations, early morning is usually the best way to avoid crowds, so that’s what I’d try here as well. It’s just a guess, though, so no promises!