Stonehenge: A “National Disgrace”



Stonehenge: A “National Disgrace”?Stonehenge is not currently in the peaceful, untouched landscape it deserves. In fact, the area that surrounds Stonehenge and the treatment of the monument itself was, in 1993, criticised by Parliament's House of Commons Public Accounts Committee as 'a national disgrace'. It is ruined by three main factors:Roads: On one side the busy A303 rushes past, and on the other side the A344 passes very close to the ancient site. This Stonehenge section of the A303 is a major traffic blackspot and its junction with the A344 is hazardous.Visitor Facilities: These are located right next to the monument, but were not built to cope with the nearly 1 million visitors it receives per year. The centre is linked to the monument by a concrete underpass. Interpretation of the site is also not up to the high standards that modern tourists expect - an audio tour and leaflet to guide people around the monument, and three information boards are all that is offered. Car Park: The car park is too small to cope with the number of cars, especially during the summer months. This encourages people to park illegally on the roadside, resulting in serious road safety problems. The car park is also visible from the stones and detracts from the spiritual atmosphere of the monument.For such a celebrated site, Stonehenge has seen a surprising amount of upheaval over recent years. The tense stand-offs between solstice-goers and police have been replaced by a fresh controversy over the alleged mismanagement of the World Heritage site. Hemmed in by busy roads and wire barricades, jammed with visitors throughout the summer, and ruined by roaring traffic, it's a long way from the haven of peace and spiritual tranquillity most visitors expect to find, and was even described by one government department as a 'national disgrace'. Thankfully, plans are afoot to reinvent the Stonehenge experience.Lonely Planet, 2008. StonehengeRoad next to StonehengeVisitor CentreFencing ................
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