Historic Sites in Salisbury
- Erinn Monroe
- Jul 16
- 4 min read
Updated: 21 hours ago
It's common to hear people dismiss Stonehenge as just a pile of rocks, but I couldn't disagree more! Our recent adventure exploring Stonehenge and the historic sites in the greater Salisbury area was nothing short of amazing.
Salisbury Cathedral and Magna Carta
We arrived in Salisbury completely famished so we grabbed a tasty bite to eat at a friendly cafe called Charlie's. Then we kicked off our journey at the magnificent Salisbury Cathedral, which boasts the tallest spire in Britain.
Construction of this architectural marvel began way back in 1220, and it holds the distinction of housing the best-preserved copy of the Magna Carta, one of the most important documents in history. We had reservations to visit at a 2:30 but it wasn't too crowded when we got there so I'm not totally sure if it's necessary to purchase in advance. It probably depends on the day. It is not permitted to take photos of the document, so you'll have to trust me. It's really cool to see this document, but don't expect to be able to read it! The script and language are pretty unfamiliar to untrained readers.
After viewing the Magna Carta we wandered through the cathedral which is also home to what some believe to be the oldest working modern clock in the world. You can see the mechanism inside the nave.
The nave itself is amazing. There are tons of interesting tombs including one that is potentially from a poisoning victim. The sheer beauty and history of the cathedral truly left us in awe!
Historic Center
After working up an appetite (again, we're constantly hungry), we headed to Salisbury's, highly walkable medieval pedestrian zone. We stopped at a place called Roly's Fudge Pantry for a sweet treat right as we passed through the High Street Gate.
The city centre (or "center" for the Americans out there) is easily explored on foot, allowing visitors to safely navigate between historic architecture, shopping areas, and the famous Cathedral. High Street offers lots of cafes and shopping. We took note of the Cornish Bakery as a potential breakfast stop for the next morning. We also found this amazing little park where we encountered some curious swans.
Old Sarum
After soaking in the splendor of the cathedral and its beautiful grounds, we hopped in the car for a short drive—just about ten minutes—to Old Sarum. This fascinating place is where the earliest settlement of Salisbury was established. Here, you can explore an Iron Age hill fort that was later transformed by the Normans into a royal castle, along with the first Salisbury Cathedral.
As we turned off the main road, we ventured up a steep and narrow path— if you chose do do the same, don't worry, it feels like a one-way farm lane but it's definitely the entrance to the site! There's a cute little admissions center with a friendly staff where we decided to purchase tickets and even opted for an annual pass since we had plans to visit several other English Heritage sites. My son was thrilled to find a delightful wooden sword in the gift shop (see below for a demonstration of his sword skills on display when we visited Stonehenge).
As we roamed the site, he swung it around, pretending to be a brave knight. Walking among the ruins, I couldn't help but imagine all the incredible history that unfolded here through the ages. I think what I really loved most was that this seems like a place where the locals can go for a peaceful, contemplative walk. There were even off leash (and very well behaved) dogs there for a game of fetch with their owners. This site was way cooler than I expected and a great unexpected highlight to our Salisbury trip.
Stonehenge
After our time at Old Sarum, we drove another fifteen minutes north to the iconic Stonehenge. Although we arrived a bit late and missed the interpretive center, we were eager to get up close to the stones. We parked on the gravel road off A303 that runs along side of the site. Because we were arriving later in the day most people were packing up and leaving. There were a bunch of campers and vans parked along the road, they looked to be camped out for the long-term (good for those hippies, I'm jealous, truly). There's indeed a public pedestrian path that runs alongside the site, but since we had our English Heritage Annual Pass, we were able to enter through the main entrance and take the paid walking path. The timing turned out to be perfect—we arrived about a half hour before closing and there were hardly any visitors around!
We strolled past a few French students and an elderly couple, but for the most part, we had the entire area to ourselves. The sun was beginning to set, casting beautiful orange, pink, and blue hues across the sky, creating an incredible backdrop for our Stonehenge photos. It was a magical moment, and I felt so fortunate to experience such a historic site in such a serene atmosphere.
We stayed at The Riverside hotel which was the perfect, cozy place and check out the view out the back.
All I can say is that Salisbury way exceeded my expectations and has become one of my happy places! Whenever I feel stressed I can close my eyes and imagine I'm there wandering around aimlessly and stumbling across fascinating sites!
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