STONEHENGE: A magical day trip for autistic kids and their families
- sunshinelayla
- Oct 2
- 7 min read
Despite the crowds our autistic children loved visiting Stonehenge - the stones sparkled in the sunshine and there was a hint of magic in the air.
STONEHENGE STONE CIRCLE
Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England
We visited Stonehenge with our two autistic boy on a gorgeous English summer day in the August holidays. The skies were blue and the sun was shining, we couldn't have asked for better weather. Having visited as part of a work trip two years previously, I knew what to expect from our visit to the site and had a plan in place. I was so was excited to share the Stonehenge experience with the boys.
Owned and run by English Heritage, Stonehenge is a prehistoric megalith structure famous around the world. Older than the pyramids, the stones and the landscape surrounding it (including Avebury, Silbury HIll and West Kennett Long barrow) were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
At around 80 miles from London, Stonehenge is doable as a day trip, albeit a long one from London.
There is much more to do at Stonehenge than you would think, read on to discover how we spent the day and the activities our autistic kids liked the best!
Our Favourite Activities for Autistic Children at Stonehenge
Walking to the Stonehenge stones
The stone circle itself is around a mile from the car park. If you are short on time or mobility is an issue than you can travel to the stones on the courtesy buses provided by English Heritage.
Alternatively you can do what we did and walk their through the fields that run alongside the road. It is an easy, non-strenous walk that takes you across the plain and through a small section of wooded land. Throughout the mile there are options to extend the walk and make it longer, but mindful of the boys legs and energy reserves we kept to the most direct route, which was signposted and easy to follow. There were quite a few people doing this walk in both directions, as the other option is to get the bus down and walk back, or of course, walk both ways!
It was reassuring have the others visitors around you, we were confident we wouldn't get lost, but there was so much space you felt able to relax and engage with the landscape in your own way.
If you can manage it, I would highly recommend the walk between the visitor centre and Stonehenge itself. There is something so elemental about moving through the ancient landscape on foot, it was very moving experience to walk the same paths as the people who built Stonehenge did over 4000 years ago, like stepping back in time.
Relaxing with a picnic
We had worked out our timings so that we would arrive at the Stonehenge circle at lunchtime. Feeling tired from the day's early start and walk across the fields, the boys were more than ready to lay out the picnic rug and settle down for a picnic on the grass.
I think it is great that visitors are allowed to spend as much time in the area around the stones as they like, and there are a number of benches scattered around to encourage people to sit and linger. There was something very special about eating our picnic while gazing at the stone circle, and as we relaxed in the sun with the grass tickling our bare feet it was as if time stood still.
Despite the ever busy A303 with its queue of cars crawling along bumper to bumper, I was surprised to discover that couldn't actually hear the traffic. In fact, as we sat by the stones I was struck by just how quiet, even peaceful it was.
Walking around Stonehenge
As one of England's most famous landmarks, you can expect to encounter crowds at Stonehenge whenever you visit, yet somehow the vastness of the site seems to just swallow them up. If you are patient and prepared to wait a little, there will be small breaks in the flow of people, when the crowds thin and it is easier to get those perfect photos.
On arrival at the stones people are gently encouraged to walk around in an anti-clockwise direction, though there is no reason you cant go the other way. The whole site is both bigger and smaller than I had expected, which sounds weird I know. The circle's circumference is larger than I had realised and the stones are quite spread out, but they were not as tall or as big as I had imagined.
What I most remember is the incredible energy that seemed to emanate from the stones, even the sheep grazing in the nearby fields seemed particularly zen!
Exploring the neolithic village
The village is an interesting addition to the Stonehenge site and offers kids a great way of stepping back in time and walking in the footsteps of their neolithic ancestors. Most of the houses are open and you can go inside, lie down on the beds and sit around the campfire pits. It was good fun and worth making some time for if your kids are interested in history or architecture.
Visit the museum and test your strength!
The museums was pretty good, and we did have a quick look round. It had lots of visuals, screens and displays charting the history of the stone circle and the wider neolithic site.
CART PULL
A bit of a classic, but fun nevertheless - and the boys liked having a go at tugging on the ropes! This exhibit demonstrated how big the stones were and the possible method of transportation. I watched a BBC documentary on Stonehenge quite recently and a current theory is that the stones were brought all the way from Wales to this site, which given their huge size is an impressive achievement!
Archaeology experience tent
The boys had a great time in this tent. There was a short wait (we just managed it!) for the current session to finish and then the boys were invited in. Along with the other kids they were given a very brief introduction to fossil hunting before being invited to choose from a range of tools in an archaeologist's toolkit. They could then have a go at unearthing fossils and artefacts in the sand boxes provided and sharing their finds with the group.
It was actually very low key and really good fun, with lots of space for kids to spread out and not be in each others' spaces. I am guessing this is a seasonal activity for the summer holidays as I have visited the Stonehenge outside of school holidays and not seen anything available. If this is something your kids would like - best check the website for current events.
Were the staff friendly and welcoming to us and our autistic children?
Stonehenge is huge attraction and always busy. It is about getting the hordes of tourists in and out - however I did feel that the staff and volunteers were friendly, and had we needed any additional support or information I would have felt comfortable asking for help.
Was Stonehenge accessible for autistic children and carers?
English Heritage have put considerable effort into ensuring that Stonehenge is a physically accessible site across the areas of sight, hearing and mobility. However there is little consideration or specific effort put into addressing the needs of neurodivergent individuals (autistic / adhd). This was a little disappointing - but the site is so large and so open to the countryside that we and our autistic children were able to manage pretty well.
More information about accessibility for older visitors / mobility can be found on the Stonehenge Access page.
What were the facilities at Stonehenge like (especially for people with hidden disabilities)?
The facilities at Stonehenge included disabled toilets, a cafe, shop and a courtesy bus service to the stones from the visitor centre. We found everything to be clean and well organised. Just very busy.
Did we have to queue for things during our visit to Stonehenge? Was it busy?
ARRIVAL / TICKETS
On arrival there are two queues, one for people with a pre-booked online ticket and one for people buying tickets on the day.
The prebooked ticket queue was significantly shorted and did move pretty quickly.
It does make sense to pre-book as it will be 15% cheaper, this is possible until 8:45am on the day of arrival.
However I understand that sometimes our autistic children can be unpredictable and if you are not a member with free access then it is not always best to commit, particularly when tickets are non-refundable. In this situation you should expect to queue for entry. However there is no reason why a member of your family cannot stand in the queue while another person waits in the car or someone quiet with your child, you don't have to enter immediately - so it is possible for them to come and get you when they have the ticket.
COURTESY BUS
We chose to walk up to the stones so no waiting around. However we did have to wait in a shortish queue to board a bus to come back. It was manageable and did not cause any distress.
Does Stonehenge offer a concessionary or carers' entrance ticket?
Entry to Stonehenge is free to both English Heritage AND National Trust members.
They also offer free carer / essential companion tickets.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Stonehenge attraction is a great family day trip. Its open site offers plenty of space for autistic children to explore, move or be on their own. It is a great way to start a conversation with kids about Britain's neolithic past if your autistic child has a special passion for history - and there is something truly magical about standing in such an ancient landscape. We all loved it and would definitely go back for a repeat visit.
For more information on the whole site attraction the English Heritage Stonehenge website.
