England,  Europe,  Travel

Glastonbury Tor, Stonehenge, and Woodhenge | England

Last updated on 8 August 2023

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase with one of these links, I recieve a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read the full Affiliate Policy.

glastonbury-tor-2

On a recent trip to Glastonbury, my family and headed to the Glastonbury Tor, Stonehenge and Woodhenge (yes, there is a place called Woodhenge). One of the things I’m loving about living in England is discovering things I didn’t know existed, like Woodhenge. Obviously Stonhenge is famous, and I knew there were other stonehenges, but Woodhenge? No idea.

Glastonbury Tor

We first went to Glastonbury Tor, which is this tower thing on a hill in Glastonbury (funny that), which is supposedly home to Gwyn ao Nudd, King of the Faeries. In medieval times, there was a monk’s retreat at the top of the hill, and then later it was a chapel (in 1100s) called St Michael de Torre, but that was destroyed in an earthquake in 1275, and rebuilt in the early 1300s…which is the building that’s up there today.

img_8039 img_8033 img_8028 img_8010

img_8080

Apparently, it’s still used for pagan happenings, so there are ribbons and little things hanging from the trees at the bottom of the hill. And there’s a Water Spring down the road, which has pagan stuff hanging out it too. Oh, and there’s an orchard which is ancient, just below the building too.

I like the faeire idea best. Though, I didn’t manage to see any…maybe they only come out night…?

stonehenge-2

Stonehenge

Then we went to Stonehenge, and I don’t need to say much about this really. No one really knows anything really anyway, do they? We are members of National Trust, which means there’s a whole bunch of historical places around Britain that we can get into for free, and Stonehenge is one of them.

We went and showed them our pass, and were given walkie-talkie things that you listen to as you walk around the rocks. It was pretty cool! It was smaller than I thought it would be…I always thought the pictures of it were showing this GIGANTIC structure…but it’s really not that big. Still! Pretty awesome! Though it started raining and got really cold all of a sudden. But it was worth it!

img_8164 img_8195

Now I can say I’ve been to two of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Age (Stone Henge and the Great Wall of China – apparently the rest of them are the Colosseum, Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, Porclean Tower of Nanjing, Hagia Sophia and the Leaning Tower of Pisa)!

woodhenge

Woodhenge

Then as we were driving home, we saw a sign that pointed down a little road saying ‘Woodhenge’. So off we went! And it wasn’t much really. There used to be tall wooden poles coming up from the ground, but as soon as people discovered it 1925, they made identical copes of them in concrete, as to ensure that they were always there for future generations. So even though they’re no longer made of wood, it’s still there, making rings of pillars inside each other.

It was a fun day out though, and if you’re visiting the area then it is worth the visit these various England henges.

Have you been to any of these spots? 

Anjali Kay is an Aotearoa New Zealand-based blogger and book lover sharing travel inspiration, bookish posts, the occasional creative project, and a lot of practical blogging tips here at This Splendid Shambles. Based in Auckland, she's been writing book reviews and travel posts, sharing creative projects and blogging tips since she started her first blog in 2009. When she's not working on her own blog, Anjali also offers blog coaching and support for bloggers who want real guidance from someone who's actually done the work, and is a few chapters ahead of them.

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.