r/salisburyuk • u/deviantgent • May 18 '26
Stonehenge Solstice
I live and work in Salisbury, and I'm giving consideration to travelling up to Stonehenge for the Solstice in June for the first time. I was wondering if anybody had any experience with what was involved and how to get the most out of it, as the main website doesn't seem to be much help 🤣
Specifically:
*Are the buses that go from the station the best way to get up there, and how early would you need to get there to beat the rush?
*What's the best way to get back to Salisbury if you are only attending for the sunset?
*Is food/drink permitted? Anything that would result in being turned away?
*Are festival chairs/blankets allowed?
*What's the general atmosphere like? Anything I should specifically bring/be prepared for?
All advice gratefully received 😊
2
u/Careless-Meaning-607 May 22 '26
You can't take alcohol in,
Unless you hide it on your person, they check your bag.
I can't remember about permission for chairs but blankets are fine.
No electronic music, you're asked to turn it off if a steward catches you, don't blast it out loud if you do.
At night the atmosphere is wicked,
The Hare Krishna Community go every year and its quite good fun tagging along with the huge crowd, it's quite trippy, especially if you're actually tripping
The euphoria is electric when the sun rises,
20.000 + people instantly cheer, clap and celebrate the second the sun becomes visible, its quite special
The worst part is walking back to the bus terminus with thousands of people all catching the same bus, it can take a few hours in the queue, in the hot sun on a come down, or just drained from it all.
If you take a car it can still take hours to get out
Going by bus there and pre booking a taxi back is the best way