Private Taxi tours from Southampton Cruise Ships for up to 4 passengers.
Whether you would like a day trip or you're on the way to the airport and you don't
fancy a coach tour then why not have your very own car to take you where you want to go and stay as long as you want.
Perhaps you would like to visit Stonehenge or you would like a game of golf at Salisbury's championship course.
Itineraries can be tailor made to suit your time on shore.
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a world renowned stone circle
sitting in the rolling chalkland countryside of Salisbury Plain. The surrounding area has archaeological monuments such as
the Cursus, the Avenue, and numerous Barrows or burial mounds.
Stonehenge was declared a World Heritage Site in 1986.
The stones themselves are magnificent and a testament to the engineering prowess of our ancestors. Stonehenge was built
over 4500 years ago and has, over time, become the subject of many myths and legends.
Salisbury Cathedral
The original city of Salisbury - Old Sarum - was situated on an old Iron age hillfort to the north of the city. A cathedral and castle were built on
the hilltop following the Norman Conquest in 1066. Relations between the castle authorities and the clergy were uneasy and
by 1200, the Bishop made the decision to move.
It took another 20 years to obtain permission from both the King and the
Pope to allow a new cathedral to be built. Legend has it that the site was chosen by where an arrow fired from Old Sarum landed
in the meadows below - a distance of some 1 ¾ miles!
Work on the new building started in 1220 and it was consecrated
in 1258. In the early 1300's a spire was added which at 404 feet high is the tallest in England. Salisbury Cathedral is surrounded by the Close and both are set in the picturesque Harnham water meadows. The whole
idyllic setting has inspired artists, most notably, John Constable to paint the scene which can now be seen in the National
Gallery in London.
Inside you'll be able to see one of the
four remaining copies of the Magna Carta signed by King John in 1215,and the oldest working mechanical clock in the world.
The light airy space inside remains one of the most magnificent sights to be found in any cathedral.
Old Sarum
High above Salisbury lies Old Sarum the site of the original town. Originally
an Iron Age hill fort which was then occupied in succession by the Romans, Saxons, and the Normans before being abandoned
in favour of New Sarum, or as we know it today Salisbury. It is a highpoint in the local landscape and was probably used as
a sighting point by the Romans as at least five of their roads converge on it.
Following the Norman invasion in 1066
the hill was further fortified with the creation of a motte (mound) with a deep ditch and the building of a castle upon it.
The castle must have been almost impregnable to a large-scale invasion and the strategic importance of the site continued.
Bishop Osmund, later St Osmund, built a cathedral in the bailey which was completed in 1092. With its already prominent position,
both the castle and the cathedral must have been an awe inspiring sight visible from many miles
When Bishop Poore and the clergy started to relocate
the cathedral in 1220 the rest of the town soon followed. By the mid 1500's there was not one house left standing as most
of the building materials had been taken away for use in Salisbury. There are many examples of carved and decorated stone
from the original cathedral to be seen in the wall of the Close which surrounds Salisbury Cathedral.
There
are the remains of some of the stonework from the castle and the outline of the old cathedral can still be clearly seen. The
ditches remain a splendid sight as are the fine views of Salisbury and its cathedral in the meadows below.
