They are a disparate bunch. Archaeologists, environmentalists, historians, transport experts, countryside campaigners and druids.
But they will come together in the Strand in central London on Tuesday with a common purpose: to stop the bulldozers from, in their mind, wreaking havoc at one of the UK’s most iconic sites.
They will try to convince the high court over three days that the government’s plan to build a two-mile road tunnel close to the great circle of Stonehenge will permanently disfigure a unique and globally important landscape.
“It’s David and Goliath stuff,” said John Adams, the chair of the Stonehenge Alliance, which has fought against the tunnel and other road projects around the stones for more than 20 years. Though lots of disciplines are represented, they lack the heft of the government machine. “We’re up against the might of the Department for Transport, National Highways and so on. We’re a small organisation – mostly retired people. But the court case is critical. It’s the only thing keeping the earth diggers away,” he said.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
They will try to convince the high court over three days that the government’s plan to build a two-mile road tunnel close to the great circle of Stonehenge will permanently disfigure a unique and globally important landscape.
Champions of the tunnel argue it will ease congestion on the A303, a major route from the south-east of England to the south-west, and claim the experience of visiting the stones will be more pleasant because the sight and sound of the traffic will vanish.
The SSWHS lawyers are seeking a judicial review, arguing the plan should go back before the inspectors and claim that it is irrational for the government not to give more weight to concerns from Unesco about the tunnel.
Lois Lloyd, an archdruid who speaks on behalf of Female Druids United and Open Access To Stonehenge, said a tunnel would lead to the loss of one of Britain’s great sights – the view of the circle from the A303.
“A lot of people don’t realise that, after the tunnel finishes, you will not see the stones as a distant view and you’ll have to pay to see them unless you are fit enough to be able to walk or cycle or horse ride down the footpaths,” she said.
“Whether they’re stuck in a groove or obduracy or it’s electoral considerations, I just don’t know, but a tunnel will inflict unspeakable damage on Britain’s most significant prehistoric landscape,” he added.
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