Thousands struggle to see the stones

THERE are two ancient mysteries surrounding one of England’s most well-known tourism gems: Stonehenge. The first is what it was built and used for. The second is why the brilliant minds of those charged with looking after it haven’t been able to come up with an acceptable method of allowing people to see it while ensuring the site is protected.

The latest attempt involves English Heritage’s new £27 million visitor centre, from which  Land Rovers haul three carriages containing a total of 45 tourists – many of whom have been waiting in line for 90 minutes  – on a ten-minute drive to the stones. It’s said that the visitor centre has to stop selling tickets when wind and rain – inconveniently coming from the wrong direction – forces staff to close the ticket booths.

And to add insult to injury, the price of adult tickets has risen from £8 to £14.95 … to pay for the £27 million visitor centre. The resulting entirely understandable anger has led to a torrent of complaints on Trip Advisor.

If this is how the system is performing in December and January, what will it be like when half of the planet’s population heads for Stonehenge this summer?

David Kernek – Go Holiday editor