Stonehenge Map — A Guide to the Site & Surrounding Area

Understanding the layout of Stonehenge before you arrive transforms a sightseeing trip into something far more meaningful. The site is bigger and richer than most visitors expect.

The Stone Circle

At the heart of the monument is the outer sarsen circle, built from large sandstone blocks quarried in Wiltshire. Inside sits the inner bluestone horseshoe, brought all the way from the Preseli Hills in Wales — over 200 miles away. The iconic trilithons (two upright stones capped by a lintel) form a horseshoe within the sarsen ring. At the centre lies the Altar Stone, a flat block of green sandstone whose original purpose remains debated.

The Heel Stone and Slaughter Stone

Standing just outside the main circle along the Avenue is the Heel Stone, a single unworked sarsen boulder. On the summer solstice, the sun rises almost directly above it when viewed from the centre of the circle. Nearby, the Slaughter Stone sounds ominous, but its name is misleading — it was likely one of two entrance stones, not a sacrificial platform.

The Aubrey Holes and the Avenue

Encircling the monument are 56 shallow pits known as Aubrey Holes, thought to have held timber or stone posts and possibly used as an early calendar or astronomical marker. Leading northeast from the circle, the Avenue is a ceremonial processional way that aligns with the solstice sunrise and stretches roughly 3km to the River Avon.

The Surrounding Prehistoric Landscape

Stonehenge does not stand alone. Within a few miles you’ll find Durrington Walls (a vast Neolithic settlement), Woodhenge, the King Barrows (Bronze Age burial mounds), and the Cursus (a Neolithic earthwork of unknown purpose). Together they make up one of the densest prehistoric landscapes in Europe.

Visitor Centre and Getting Around

The Visitor Centre sits 1.5km from the stones, connected by a free shuttle bus. A 20-minute walk along the old Avenue route is also possible on clear days. From the perimeter path around the stones you can see all the major features — bring binoculars for the best views of the carvings and individual stones.

A Full Landscape Map: Durrington Walls, Woodhenge and the Cursus

To fully appreciate the Stonehenge landscape, you need to look beyond the stone circle itself. Durrington Walls, located 2 miles northeast of Stonehenge, is the largest known Neolithic henge enclosure in Britain, measuring 500 metres in diameter. Excavations led by the Stonehenge Riverside Project revealed the remains of hundreds of houses, suggesting it was a seasonal settlement housing thousands of people during the winter solstice feasts. The Southern Circle at Durrington — a timber-built circular structure — is particularly significant: it aligns with the midwinter sunrise, complementing Stonehenge’s alignment with the midwinter sunset. Walkers can access Durrington Walls via the footpath from the Stonehenge car park, though the site itself is on private farmland with seasonal access restrictions.

Woodhenge, just a few hundred metres south of Durrington Walls, was discovered via aerial photography in 1925. It consisted of six concentric rings of wooden posts surrounded by a bank and ditch, and its entrance aligns with the summer solstice sunrise. Concrete markers now indicate where the original posts stood, and the site is free to visit — a short detour from the main Stonehenge road. Woodhenge’s layout is eerily similar to Stonehenge’s in plan, suggesting the two monuments were designed as a matching pair: one in timber, one in stone.

The Cursus (the Greater Cursus) is a massive Neolithic earthwork stretching 2.8 kilometres east-west across the landscape, just north of Stonehenge. Built around 3500 BC — roughly 500 years before the first stones were erected — its purpose remains entirely unknown. The name “Cursus” was given by 18th-century antiquarian William Stukeley, who mistook it for a Roman chariot-racing track. Modern archaeologists believe it may have been a processional route or a ceremonial boundary separating the domain of the living (to the south) from that of the dead (to the north, where Neolithic long barrows are concentrated). Walkers can access a public footpath that runs alongside the Cursus, offering excellent views of Stonehenge in the distance — a perspective few tourists experience.

Practical Navigation Tips

The Stonehenge landscape walking route is approximately 1.5 miles round trip if you walk the Avenue path instead of taking the shuttle. Allow an extra 30 minutes to explore the perimeter path completely. If you plan to visit Durrington Walls and Woodhenge on the same trip, you will need your own transport — there is no shuttle between these sites. A self-drive tour covering Stonehenge, Woodhenge, Durrington Walls, and the Cursus can comfortably be done in a half-day, starting at Stonehenge’s first entry slot, then heading northeast. The Ordnance Survey Explorer map 130 (Salisbury & Stonehenge) is highly recommended for independent walkers who want to explore the full landscape.