Why I Regret My Stonehenge and Oxford Tour from London (An Honest Review)

Is a Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford Tour Worth It? An Honest Review

When you are planning a whirlwind trip to London, certain monuments feel completely non-negotiable. You see photos of ancient stones and historic universities on every travel blog, and you think to yourself: “I’m already there, I have to go see it.”

That is exactly how I ended up booking a full-day coach bus excursion out of the city. Because Justin had already toured this area on a past business trip, I had his full blessing to embark on this one solo. I boarded a massive tour bus expecting an epic journey through British history.

Instead, I got a grueling, ten-hour day that left me wishing I had just stayed in central London. If you are debating booking a Stonehenge and Oxford tour, here is a look at what the day actually looks like—and why it might be an excursion you want to pass up.

In this post:

Stop 1: A Quick Peak at Windsor Castle

Our morning began by heading west out of London under classic, quintessentially British skies—heavy, dull, and entirely overcast. Our first taste of the English countryside was a stop outside the massive stone walls of Windsor Castle.

Seeing the iconic Round Tower rising above the perfectly manicured green lawns was beautiful, even if the gray weather made everything feel a bit stark.

I managed to catch a glimpse of a Royal Guard standing watch in his winter grey overcoat and iconic bearskin hat outside the stone arches. But because this was a multi-stop coach itinerary, there wasn’t time for a deep dive inside, which I would have really liked to do. Before I knew it, we were piling back onto the bus for the long drive out to the Salisbury Plain.

Stop 2: Standing in the Biting Wind at Stonehenge

By the time the bus pulled into the Wiltshire countryside for Stonehenge, the steady motion of the ride and the gloomy weather had me feeling pretty tired. The moment I stepped off the bus, a brutal, freezing wind hit me, adding an incredibly chilly atmosphere to the wide-open landscape.

Like everyone else on the tour, I made a direct path down the trail to the ancient monoliths. This is where reality diverged a bit from expectation. To preserve the ancient monument from the million-plus people who visit each year, a permanent rope barrier loops entirely around the site. You cannot walk directly between the stones or get up close to touch them, which I appreciated.

While keeping a respectful distance is incredibly practical and necessary to protect the history, it does change the visitor experience. I spent maybe 20 to 30 minutes walking the loop trail, fighting the biting wind, and snapping photographs from various angles. But honestly? Once you’ve seen the main angle, the excitement wears off. Because the tour was completely self-guided, there was no guide on hand to inject life into the landscape with dramatic storytelling.

I ended up spending the rest of my free time wandering through the indoor visitor center museum looking at the replica Neolithic huts and the giant stone transport display just to escape the elements before we climbed back onto the bus.

Stop 3: Bicycles and Gothic Spires in Oxford

Our final stop of the day was the historic university city of Oxford. The bus dropped us off, and we spent our limited time walking through parts of the historic college grounds.

The architecture here is undeniably stunning. Walking into the courtyards surrounded by towering Gothic spires and intricate stone carvings makes you feel like you’ve stepped backward in time.

The most impressive architectural feat was turning the corner to see the Radcliffe Camera—the massive, circular dome building that serves as a working library for the university.

The most surprising part of the neighborhood, though? The sheer volume of bicycles. There were massive rows of student bikes locked to every single available railing near the colleges, lining the cobblestone streets against a backdrop of colorful, historic storefronts.

While Oxford was charming, rushing through it at the tail end of a long day meant I couldn’t truly appreciate it. I was exhausted, cold, and ready for the long drive back to London.

From England to Nebraska and Alabama: A Quirky “Henge” Showdown

As I stood there looking at those ancient British monoliths through the biting wind, my mind kept drifting back to a completely different, wildly unique monument I had seen years earlier in the United States: Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska! UPDATED: And funny enough, it isn’t the only replica I’ve tracked down —I’ve also made the trek out to the woods of Alabama to witness the gloriously offbeat Bamahenge in 2025.

It sounds hilarious, but when you look at the three of them side-by-side, the similarities and differences are absolutely fascinating. While the UK original is a solemn, ancient engineering mystery, the American counterparts are brilliant, whimsical slices of pure roadside imagination.

Feature	Stonehenge (Wiltshire, UK)	Carhenge (Alliance, Nebraska)	Bamahenge (Elberta, Alabama)
Primary Material	Ancient sarsen and bluestone megaliths	39 vintage American automobiles sprayed gray	Giant, hollow fiberglass pillars painted to look like stone
Age & Origin	Erected roughly 4,000–5,000 years ago	Built in 1987 by artist Jim Reinders as a quirky family memorial	Created in 2012 by eccentric artist Mark Cline for a billionaire’s marina
The Visitor Vibe	Historic, heavily touristed, strict barrier ropes	Quirky, nostalgic, delightfully offbeat Americana	Mysterious and magical; it’s hidden entirely in a forest clearing
Proximity to Site	Viewed from a distance across an open, windy field	You can walk right up to, touch, and explore the cars	Completely interactive; you can wander directly between the pillars
Fun Astrological Fact	Aligns with the midsummer sunrise on the summer solstice	Aligns with the cosmic spirit of great road trips	Unbelievably, the artist aligned the fiberglass structures so the solstice sun hits the exact same spots as the real UK monument!

Whether it’s fighting the real elements out on the Salisbury Plain, admiring vintage cars spray-painted gray in Nebraska, or hunting for giant fiberglass pillars hidden past a trail of roadside dinosaurs in the Alabama woods, my time at Stonehenge really highlighted how much the right context matters.

The Verdict: Why You Can Probably Skip This Tour

In hindsight, this is a tour I easily could have passed up. It was an incredibly long, draining day with the drive alone being over 5 hours, and neither location got me particularly excited. There are so many spectacular world-class museums, historic neighborhoods, and hidden gems to explore right inside London that don’t require spending hours staring out a bus window.

We are often told that Stonehenge is something that “everyone needs to see” at least once. They don’t.

If you do plan to make the trek out to the original English stones, I highly recommend avoiding the rushed, multi-stop coach tours. Instead, book a dedicated trip that includes a live, storytelling guide—or upgrade to an inner-circle evening access tour where you are actually allowed past the ropes. Without that extra layer of human storytelling, you may not get everything you need out of standing there.