Green light for Stonehenge improvements

ENGLISH HERITAGE has been given the go-ahead for improvements at #Stonehenge, Wiltshire, which will bring benefits for tour operators and tour groups arriving by coach. 

The improvements refine and build on the successes of the temporary expansion of the coach park, which has been in place for a year, and will provide a longer term solution to better accommodate the 1.3 million from across the globe who visit the World Heritage site annually, 60% of whom arrive by coach.

Improvements centre on a new coach park which will provide a more efficient welcome for groups, ease parking congestion, and minimize queues with dedicated ticketing, toilet, and shuttle facilities.

Kate Davies, Stonehenge’s general manager says: ‘We are delighted that Wiltshire Council has approved our plans, which are aimed at providing a sustainable permanent solution to give a world class experience for all our visitors, while retaining the integrity of this amazing ancient monument.

‘Once in place, the improvements will allow us to give a better service to operators, tour guides, and group members and to ease the pressure points on the site, which will benefit all visitors. We have no plans to increase visitor numbers to Stonehenge, but rather to get the right balance by meeting the existing demand from visitors around the world in a more efficient and safe way so that they enjoy their time at this World Heritage site to the full.’

Improvement works will be phased to minimize the impact on visitors. English Heritage expects that some of the improvements should be in place ahead of summer 2017.

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Good news for tour groups in planned Stonehenge improvements

ENGLISH HERITAGE has submitted a planning application for a range of permanent improvements to accommodate the 1.3 million visitors each year to #Stonehenge in England. 

Suggested changes include the creation of a new coach park with a more streamlined lay-out and permanent spaces for up to 53 60-seater coaches; a group reception building in a more convenient location, with WC facilities just for group visitors; and a visitor transit shuttle pick-up-point exclusively for groups, so they can go directly from their coach to the stone circle at peak times.

#EnglishHeritage expects to get a decision on its proposals for the World Heritage site from Wiltshire County Council by the end of July.

Kate Davies, Stonehenge’s general manager says: ‘The temporary expanded coach park which has provided extra parking for more than 20 coaches over the past year has made a substantial difference to the efficiency of our operation at Stonehenge, and brought benefits to all our visitors. But permission for this temporary parking expires in 2017. So we are now seeking to introduce a sustainable longer term and permanent solution, which also addresses other pressure points that have impacted negatively on our ability to fully offer world class facilities at this leading UK attraction.’

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Make time for Wiltshire

Gardens … 2016 sees the 300th anniversary of the birth of master landscaper Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. Many of Britain’s great houses owe their pastoral settings to his groundbreaking vision, and his creativity is still inspiring gardeners today. In #Wiltshire, Bowood House, Longleat, Corsham Court, Wilton House, Lacock Abbey, and Old Wardour Castle all have connections with Brown. 

There are many other stunning gardens in Wiltshire including Iford Manor and The Peto Garden, Larmer Tree Gardens, Lydiard House & Park, Abbey House Gardens, Heale Gardens and Arundells. Wiltshire is also home to many National Trust gardens such as Stourhead, Great Chalfield Manor, and Mompesson House.

Stonehenge and Avebury are magical places shrouded in history. If you stand on Salisbury Plain at sunrise or sunset, it’s easy to understand why the ancient Britons believed Stonehenge was special. Its orientation on the rising and setting sun is one of its many outstanding features, but why it was built in this way remains a mystery. 

Wiltshire is home to archaeology collections of outstanding national importance. Salisbury Museum has three major exhibitions planned for 2016, and together with the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, visitors immerse themselves in the full Stonehenge and Avebury story.

There are opportunities to access the expertise of the museum staff who have a detailed understanding of Wiltshire’s archaeology and who care for internationally important finds from these iconic sites. There is a unique opportunity to see Marden Henge – the third super henge in Wiltshire - being excavated as part of an archaeology tour being run by Wiltshire Museum in July.


Market towns & and medieval Salisbury … Wiltshire’s historic towns and villages have something unique to offer. Market towns include Bradford on Avon, Amesbury, Cricklade, Malmesbury, Corsham, Calne, and Marlborough. Quintessentially English villages such as Castle Combe and Lacock are often used as filming locations. Salisbury was one of the top ten cities in the world to visit according to Lonely Planet last year. Home to Salisbury Cathedral and Magna Carta, Salisbury Museum, The Rifles Berkshire & Wiltshire Museum, and Mompesson House … all within a stone’s throw from each other.

Food & drink … Local breweries include Wadworths and Arkells, the latter a family brewer since 1843 with many pubs around the county. Award-winning restaurants in the county include Red Lion Freehouse, East Chisenbury, the Harrow at Little Bedwyn in Marlborough, and the Manor House at Castle Combe.

Wiltshire's visitor economy currently generates an estimated £1.5 billion a year and supports more than 28,000 jobs.
www.visitwiltshire.co.uk 

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/48411817@N04/11327286036">2013 Holiday Train - Midway Station</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license)

Top spots …

• THE Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester has been voted the UK’s top tourist attraction by the British Guild of Travel Writers. Runners up in the UK category were the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London, and the Stonehenge Visitor Centre, Wiltshire.

http://www.leicester.gov.uk/kingrichardiiivisitorcentre/index.html
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on/sam-wanamaker-playhouse
http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/

• The Andreasstrasse Memorial & Education Centre, Erfurt, Germany, took top honours in the European section. The centre commemorates resistance in Thuringia to East Germany’s communist government and the secret police from 1949 to 1989. The government ran a pre-trial detention centre in Erfurt, where more than 5,000 people who had opposed the regime were imprisoned. 

http://www.thuringia-tourism.com/travel-hotel-holiday-tour/index.html

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Back to the Neolithic at Stonehenge

Over the past five months, a 60-strong team of English Heritage volunteers built the houses using authentic local materials – weaving hundreds of hazel rods through the main supporting stakes, thatching the roofs with wheat-straw, and covering the walls with a daub of chalk, hay and water.

The re-created houses are based on the remains of Neolithic houses discovered during excavations in 2006 and 2007 at Durrington Walls, a large ceremonial earthwork enclosure just over a mile to the north-east of Stonehenge. Radio-carbon dating showed that the buildings were built at around the same time as the large sarsen stones were being put up at Stonehenge in, approximately, 2,500 BC.

Pre-booked timed tickets are essential for group visits. Advance booking is also required for individual visitors, who can book online at www.english-heritage.org.uk/stonehenge.

FIVE re-created Neolithic houses have opened at Stonehenge, revealing the type of homes the builders of the ancient monument might have lived in 4,500 years ago.

The houses are the latest phase in the major programme by English Heritage to improve both the setting around the monument and the overall experience of visitors to Stonehenge. They sit alongside the new visitor centre and are furnished with replica Neolithic axes, pottery and other artefacts. 

Stonehenge manager Kate Davies says: ‘The houses help visitors re-connect the ancient stones with the people that lived and worked in the surrounding landscape. They can step through the door of the houses and get a sense of what everyday life might have been like when Stonehenge was built.’





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