Wessex

Attractions

Must-see attractions for your itinerary

  • December 28, 2014: Interior of Salisbury Cathedral.

    Salisbury Cathedral

    Salisbury

    England is endowed with countless stunning churches, but few can hold a candle to the grandeur and sheer spectacle of 13th-century Salisbury Cathedral…

  • Corfe Castle

    Corfe Castle

    Dorset

    The massive, shattered ruins of Corfe Castle loom so dramatically from the landscape it's like blundering into a film set. The defensive fragments tower…

  • Sunrise behind Durdle Door, on the Jurassic Coast.

    Durdle Door

    Dorset

    Durdle Door is the poster child of Dorset's Jurassic Coast. This immense, sea-fringed, 150-million-year-old Portland stone arch was created by a…

  • Magna Carta in Salisbury Cathedral, England. It is a charter agreed by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury to make peace between the unpopular King and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. It influenced the early American colonists in the Thirteen Colonies and the formation of the American Constitution in 1789, which became the supreme law of the land in the new republic of the United States.

    Magna Carta

    Salisbury

    Magna Carta on display in Salisbury Cathedral's Chapter House is one of only four surviving original copies. A historic agreement made in 1215 between…

  • Blue skies over Stonehenge historic site

    Stonehenge

    Stonehenge

    An ultramodern makeover at ancient Stonehenge has brought an impressive visitor centre and the closure of an intrusive road (now restored to grassland)…

  • Sun shining on the exterior of Winchester Cathedral.

    Winchester Cathedral

    Winchester

    One of southern England's most awe-inspiring buildings, 11th-century Winchester Cathedral boasts a fine Gothic facade, one of the longest medieval naves…

  • The West Kennet Long Barrow is part of the Avebury Neolithic complex in Wiltshire.

    Avebury Stone Circle

    Wiltshire

    With a diameter of 348m, Avebury is the largest stone circle in the world. It's also one of the oldest, dating from 2500 to 2200 BC. Today, more than 30…

  • KINGSTON LACY, UK - SEPTEMBER 29, 2012: A view toward the country house at Kingston Lacy with landscaped gardens in Summer; Shutterstock ID 1033498075; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Kingston Lacy

    Dorset

    Dorset's must-see stately home looks every inch the setting for a period drama. It overflows with rich decor, most famously in the Spanish Room, which is…

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Wide view of stones at Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England and consists of a ring of standing stones. Beautiful Stonehenge wish blue sky.

Archaeology

Stonehenge: get to know England's most mysterious monument

Feb 7, 2022 • 6 min read

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