Plans have been announced to restore Stonehenge – once dubbed a national disgrace – into a “jewel of conservation”.
According to a report in The Times, plans are afoot to turn the legendary stone circle and 5,000 acres of surrounding countryside into a massive open-air attraction that will entice visitors to stay for an average of three and a half hours.
The newspaper reports that, under the plans, almost all signs of the 21st century will be removed, with a new visitor centre being constructed more than a mile away. Visitors would then walk to the ancient monument or be transported by an environmentally-friendly “land train”.
The Times reports that currently, 800,000 people a year visit Stonehenge, each staying for an average of 45 minutes. The plan is to increase that figure to a million, with the average visit increasing to around three and a half hours.
Sir Neil Cussons, chairman of English Heritage, is quoted as saying: “None of us knows exactly how the landscape looked 4,000 years ago but we can restore something of the spirituality and the tranquillity. This is as close as we can get to what out ancestors saw.
“Stonehenge is the best-known archaeological site in Britain and is internationally recognised, yet visitors are often disappointed by what they see.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd
