Amesbury (England)

Amesbury is a town in Wiltshire, England. As the closest town to Stonehenge, it makes an excellent starting point for a visit to the ancient monument by car or on foot.

By car
The A303 trunk road runs past Amesbury. From the east, it's high-speed dual-carriageway all the way from the M3 (junction 8 - 28 miles), but from the west there's a 5-mile stretch of single-carriageway through the village of Winterbourne Stoke and past Stonehenge. The combination of bottleneck and the "rubberneck effect" of the ancient monument means traffic on this section is typically at a crawl, so factor this in to your journey planning.

From Salisbury, the A345 makes for a direct 8-mile drive.

By public transport
The nearest railway station is Salisbury, which is served by trains from towns and cities across southern Britain, including London, Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. See Salisbury#By train for more details.

Salisbury Reds offer bus service from Salisbury on their X4, X5, and activ8 lines. Fares are £4.30 adult single, £6.60 adult return (2021) and can be paid with cash or contactless.

The active8 line also has service from Andover.

Get around
The Amesbury HOPPA Community Bus offers local bus service.

The historic High Street area is very walkable.

Go next

 * Salisbury – the tallest cathedral spire in Britain and the best-preserved copy of the Magna Carta await you in Wiltshire's handsome county town.
 * Stonehenge – it's possible to walk the roughly 3 miles (5 km) from Amesbury to Stonehenge, passing through beautiful countryside and other ancient monuments including Woodhenge and many burial mounds.