The lesser-known tourist attraction that Brits say is much better than Stonehenge
BRITS have raved about a lesser-known UK tourist attraction that he claims is better than Stonehenge and has amazed people from other countries.
The prehistoric monument in Wiltshire is one of the most visited sites in the country, but some people say there is a better ancient monument just a few miles away.
Responding to a question on public Q&A website Quora, Nicholas Priest said that he had amazed his American girlfriend with a trip to Avebury.
Someone had asked: “What are the biggest tourist attractions in the UK that are outside of London?”
Nicholas was very forthcoming with his opinion and replied: “I had an American girlfriend who, when she came to visit, requested a visit to Stonehenge.
“I told her we’ll drive past Stonehenge and she can see it from the road and take pictures as we go past, but we’ll drive to a bigger, and in my opinion, much more impressive ancient site.
“I took her to a place about 25 miles from Stonehenge. The place totally amazed her.
“Unlike Stonehenge, this place was free to visit. Unlike Stonehenge (unless you are a Druid or a hairy soap dodging crusty during the winter and summer solstices), you can actually touch the artefacts.
“Unlike Stonehenge, there was a pub or two and tea rooms very close by. The place is called Avebury, in the county of Wiltshire. Look it up on Google.”
Avebury henge and stone circles is an English Heritage site and are described online as “one of the greatest marvels of prehistoric Britain”.
The henge contains the largest stone circle in Britain, which also has two smaller stone circles enclosed within it.
English Heritage claim that Avebury is “part of an extraordinary set of Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial sites that seemingly formed a vast sacred landscape”.
Other people agreed that Stonehenge is far less impressive than Avebury, recommending it as the better tourist attraction.
One wrote: “It just amazes me how few people have heard of Avebury and that includes British people.
“In many respects it is far more impressive than Stonehenge and the Red Lion is a great pub.”
Another said: “Avebury is lovely. You can walk among the stones that the sheep think belong to them and then you can sit with a beer outside the pub and look at them.”
A third added: “Stonehenge is disappointing. Avebury is amazing! Walking around it on a sunny day is surreal.”
Avebury isn’t the only lesser-known stone tourist attraction in the country, with a strange one in Scotland thought to be as old as the Egyptian pyramids.
The Ravenswood Avenue ‘standing stone’ can be found on an unassuming street in the Scottish capital, protected by iron fencing.
While the big lump of rock may not look that impressive, the fact that it’s around 5,000 years old might change a few minds.
The 1.85m monument was believed to have been first erected 4,000 years ago.
Meanwhile, these tourist attractions around the world are actually fake.
And these are the 10 worst tourist attractions for queues.