Top 5 Places to Visit in Salisbury, England

In 2024, I decided to revisit Stonehenge by staying in Salisbury, England. The last time I went to Stonehenge was in 2019, and I spent almost 5 hours in traffic on a big tour bus from London, which gave me little time to explore.  This time I decided to go stay in Salisbury, England in hopes of having more time.  To see my video footage of this whole trip, scroll to the bottom or click here to watch Top 5 Places to Visit in Salisbury, England and How to Get to Stonehenge Without a Car, on my YouTube Channel linked below.

Top 5 Places to Visit in Salisbury, England

Visiting Stonehenge makes for an excellent trip but its kind of difficult to do without a car. When I decided to go back in 2024, I considered renting a car, and trying to drive on the other side of the road, but I eventually I decided against it. I looked at a map to find that Stonehenge is located about 100 miles from London and the closest town is Salisbury, just 9 miles away. From there I planned my trip and soon everything fell into place.  To recap my trip, I organized it by doing a Top 5 list and more importantly, it can all be done by train and a hop-on hop-off bus service.

No. 5 City Center 

Salisbury dates back to the 13 century when it established itself as wool, ox and poultry marketplace. The structure above dates back to 1302 and they hung poultry on the Poultry Cross.  A block from that is Ox Row, which is also the name of my favorite pub which looks out to this market area and a great place to sit and eat. For hotels, pubs and more, be sure to check out the videos linked below.

The Haunch of Venison is possibly the oldest pub in England and dates back to 1320.  It is also said to be the most haunted place, although I was alone up in the attic room, and didn’t pick up on anything. As the story goes, Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower secretly met here while planning the D-Day invasion.  While sitting up there the place felt timeless and I could imagine William Shakespeare also sitting up here in what was at the time, a 300-year old pub. But this place has another famous story and that is of the Hand.  

On inside, you will wind up an old staircase and find yourself in the room.  In the corner there is a small jail cell built into the room with a severed hand.  As the story goes, there was a card game that went wrong and they cut his hand off, right there in the room! That’s crazy and the hand is still on display.  This is must stop while walking through the Salisbury city center.

No. 4 The Salisbury Cathedral

Next up is the Salisbury Cathedral, which has so much to explore, you will want a few hours to take in the Cathedral, the Magna Carta, and the Close. The Salisbury Cathedral was first located in Big Sarum and then rebuilt in Salisbury in 1220. The Cathedral boasts it has the tallest spire at 404 feet tall.

Once inside you can marvel at the architecture and join a docent-led tour or catch a late afternoon choir practice which you can listen to in my video linked below. The man with the stick is demonstrating how it was built on water and the levels need to be checked daily. The Baptismal Font is also impressive and reflects the stained glass above.

Once inside, you will want to

No 3 The Magna Carta

Housed inside in Cathedral, you can go see the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta is the first document in world history, calling for democratic rule and power to the people.  I should mentioned that the Greeks obviously started democracy back in 600BC, but after the Roman military dictatorship takeover of Julius Caesar, that was the end of that. But now in 1215, the Barrons  and landowners had it with King John and so they issued the Magna Carta and it said that no King or Government is above the law. This was foundation for England’s Constitutional Monarchy, and five hundred years later, the 13 Colonies and later, France, would follow suit.

As a History teacher, I teach the Magna Carta in both Government and U.S. History class, so I was thrilled to see it for myself. It was written in Latin in very small 7 point type and with the Seal of King John on display.

The Cathedral Close is a walled-in courtyard, and located inside the gounds.  This magnificence Close has a giant cedar tree that was planted over a 150 years ago marking the Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne.  I personally can imagine J.R.R. Tolkien sitting here writing Lord of the Rings and thinking of the inspiration of where the Elves home looked like.

No 2 Big Sarum

Big Sarum is an iron-age hill-fort and previous location of the Salisbury Cathedral.  When you by your Stonehenge bus pass, Big Sarum is included along with entry to the Cathedral. For more on how the hop-on hop-off bus works, check out How to Visit Stonehenge without a car video below.

No. 1 Place to Visit in Salisbury: Stonehenge

I love Stonehenge and during my first trip, I took a bus from London (over 100 miles away) and spent most of my time in traffic.  For my second trip last year, I decided to go stay in Salisbury and take a short 20 minute hop-on hop-off bus and have the whole day to explore. 

Stonehenge New Research: 58 People Found Buried

One of the most important recent discoveries at Stonehenge are the cremation remains of 58.  You see, Stonehenge was first built around 3100BC and then around 2600-2400B they redecorated and removed an outer ring of stones.  Evidence of these old stones, and where some of the cremated remains were found, are now called Aubrey Holes. All we know for sure if that thanks to ancient immigration, the legacy of the Stone Age people that were found buried here, no longer exist. The new Europeans that came from abroad during the Bronze Age and Iron Age that followed, completely replaced the Stone Age people which makes the remains found at Stonehenge historic.  We never know the exact intention of the people who built Stonehenge or why it was built, but we do know one thing is true: for 5,000 years, people, myself included, are drawn to Stonehenge. Combine that with the fact the landscape around Stonehenge has hardly changed on the Salisbury plain – and its hard to believe.  There is something very special about this place and I am so happy to have visited again.

Stonehenge Travel tips:

After you park in the visitors lot, you will need to take a bus, or walk, to Stonehenge which is about 1/4 mile away. Tip #1, hit the Parking Lot restrooms before you head out, because there are no restrooms onsite at Stonehenge. Tips #2 go walk over to the Visitor’s Center and grab an audio guide before you go if they didn’t already give you one.  Tip #3 Bring a lunch and a water bottle with you.  It’s a long day and the food options very expensive and not that great. Tip #4 put aside time to check out the Visitor’s Center indoor and outdoor displays and the gift shop before you leave.

Thank You for reading and next up,  I trekked up to the Cotswold district of England and there I found magical stone circle called The Rollright Stones – so stay tuned for more!

Sharon Fitzgerald, MA | Salisbury, England | July 10 2024 |all photos mine unless notes
U. S. History and Government High School Teacher & Former adjunct art history professor, CSULA

Check out all of my YouTube videos on this trip on my YouTube Europe 2024 Playlist

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Sharon Fitzgerald, MA | U.S. History Teacher |Former adjunct art history professor, CSULA | IG: @sharon_la | YouTube @sharonfitzgerald

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