Amesbury is a town in Wiltshire, England. As the closest town to Stonehenge, it makes an excellent starting point for a visit to the ancient monument by car or on foot.
Understand
[edit]
Get in
[edit]By car
[edit]The A303 trunk road runs past Amesbury. From the east, it's high-speed dual-carriageway all the way from the M3 (junction 8 - 28 miles), but from the west there's a 5-mile stretch of single-carriageway through the village of Winterbourne Stoke and past Stonehenge. The combination of bottleneck and the "rubberneck effect" of the ancient monument means traffic on this section is typically at a crawl, so factor this in to your journey planning.
From Salisbury, the A345 makes for a direct 8-mile drive.
By public transport
[edit]The nearest railway station is Salisbury, which is served by trains from towns and cities across southern Britain, including London, Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. See Salisbury#By train for more details.
Salisbury Reds offer bus service from Salisbury on their X4, X5, and activ8 lines. Fares are £4.30 adult single, £6.60 adult return (2021) and can be paid with cash or contactless.
The active8 line also has service from Andover.
Get around
[edit]
The Amesbury HOPPA Community Bus offers local bus service.
The historic High Street area is very walkable.
See
[edit]- 1 Abbey Church of St Mary and St Melor, Church St. The parish church, a grade I listed building whose history goes back centuries.
- 2 Bulford Kiwi, Canberra Drive (not numbered). Kiwis longing for home, might want to do a pilgrimage to the Bulford district, where a 130-m-high image of a Kiwi bird (covering 1½ acres!) was carved in the chalk rock by New Zealand soldiers waiting to return home after the end of World War I. Free.
Do
[edit]
- 1 Bluestone Vineyards, Amesbury Rd, SP4 0EW, ☏ +44 7984709011, [email protected]. A wine estate run by the McConnell family that produces a handful of limited edition wines each vintage with the aim of crafting Wiltshire's finest English fizz. Guided tours around the vineyard are offered with or without a tasting experience.
- 2 Lord's Walk, Countess Road (north of High Street). A peaceful nature trail through the woods along the River Avon and up on the ridge nearby. The path more or less forms a loop – after a half hour or so of walking, it deposits you on the same road you started from. Along the way you might meet people fishing or walking their dogs. Free.
Buy
[edit]Eat
[edit]Drink
[edit]Sleep
[edit]Connect
[edit]Go next
[edit]- Salisbury – the tallest cathedral spire in Britain and the best-preserved copy of the Magna Carta await you in Wiltshire's handsome county town.
- Stonehenge – it's possible to walk the roughly 3 miles (5 km) from Amesbury to the Stone Age site of the megalithic cultures Stonehenge, passing through beautiful countryside and other ancient monuments including Woodhenge and many burial mounds.