STONEHENGE was closed to the public in 1978 because of the pressure of visitor numbers on the site. Vandalism was another reason for the closure, and you can still see evidence of that today.

On four of the large stones in the outer circle, it is easy to discern the letters L, I, V and E. It was thought hippies may have been responsible says Andrew Lawson, our guide. "But it could also have been a fan of a football club in the northwest who was interrupted."

It would be unfair to blame Liverpool fans for the closure of Stonehenge - I'm old enough to remember scrambling over the stones myself as a child. Everyone did. And there is a long tradition of vandals at Stonehenge said Andrew, pointing out a Bronze Age dagger and axe etched on the stones 4,000 years ago. "In the 19th century, visitors were given a hammer to chip a piece off the stones," he added cheerfully.

It was still before 7am as he continued to illuminate and illustrate the history of the stones to us, a rapt group of 12 all feeliing ridiculously priviledged to be inside Stonehenge. Anyone can apply to visit outside normal hours, but you really need a guide to bring the stones alive.

Which is why Andrew was such a bonus. The former director of Wessex Archaeology for 20 years, he is now an independent consultant and, by a happy co-incidence, was married to Annabel who runs the tour company, Andante, that arranges the Stonehenge visits. Lucky us.

The stones of Stonehenge were erected around 2950BC and is one of 25 major archaeological sites in the vicinity, which include the stone rings at Avebury, the unexplained conical Silbury Hill and the burial chambers of West Kennet Long Barrow.

The small stones came from Wales but the larger, 7.5 metre high stones from the local area. The last stone to fall was in 1963, pounded by south-westerly winds for 5,000 years, after which the government decided to restore those stones that had fallen since records began in 1747. Only nine of the stones are still standing as they were erected - the others are all now set in concrete.

"There is no other structure like it elsewhere from that period, or after, until the Romans got to work. It's almost as if they said 'that was too much work - we're not doing that again,'" beamed Andrew, pointing out the way the one-ton stones were cut to interlock before being hoisted into position as lintels.

We walked from the stones to the nearest of 465 barrows around Stonehenge, which yielded gold, breastplates and daggers when excavated in the 19th century, and from there across fields to a ridge from where the original road led to Stonehenge.

Andrew bounded ahead as we walked back to Stonehenge, which sits proud on a mound and is out of sight until you get nearer. It was a tingly moment. And the routing is very deliberate, aligning the sun's rays to shine through the entrance stone to a larger stone at the back.

On Sunday afternoon, we visited an excavation at Durrington Walls, three kilometres from Stonehenge, which has unearthed a village which, it is surmised, housed the builders of Stonehenge. Six houses so far uncovered had wooden walls, clay floors and hearths. They walked - or went by river.

The weekend was like that: one big jigsaw, with lots of bits missing. Avebury was fascinating, a picture postcard village - which was half built out of prehistoric stones smashed centuries ago. Those remaining were only re-erected when marmalade millionaire Alexander Keiller bought the village in 1935.

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