A signboard near to the Heel Stone informs that we were standing near to the original entrance to the henge.

You are standing close to the original entrance to Stonehenge, looking at the most impressive and best-preserved part of the outer stone circle.

This north-east side has the most regular sarsen stones, which were carefully shaped and smoothed. This would have made a spectacular impression on those approaching along the Avenue, the processional route to the monument built in about 2300 BC.

This area, where the Avenue meets the earthwork enclosure, was the focus of intense prehistoric activity, with various wooden posts and stones being erected, moved and removed over time. These restricted the movement of people into Stonehenge and may have been markers for astronomical events.

The huge unworked sarsen standing nearby is the Heel Stone. It weighs about 40 tons. The fallen stone in front of you is the Slaughter Stone, on of two or three upright stones that once stood in a line across the entrance causeway. These replaced lines of small wooden stakes.