They should never have allowed the building of Stonehenge that close to the A303 in the first place.
Top tier comment section
As much as I like getting a glimpse of Stonehenge every time I drive past, I support these plans.
Currently, the road goes from dual carriageway to oncoming traffic, with a limit of 50mph.
Once the traffic gets busy, all it takes is a few people rubbernecking to cause a large slowdown. And the merge at the end of the Amesbury Bypass can take 20 minutes on a bad day.
Adding extra lanes on the surface is unthinkable, and any route around would end up being a silly length.If I’m reading the plans correctly, this also duals the road past Winterbourne Stoke. So possibly removing the chaos that can be Lonwbarrow Roundabout.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper and more effective to just plant some trees? I would rather the money was spent elsewhere. This is a shocking waste.
I’m not sure what you mean?
It’s a two-part problem, the road going from dual carriageway to single, and people wanting to grab a look on the way past.
Stonehenge is a unesco site on a plain, so widening the existing road, or planting a huge row of trees, is not going to go down well with the druids.Getting the road out of site (by either tunnel or diversion) will go a long way to de-modernising the surroundings. (And a fun fact: Half of stonehenge was underpinned with concrete in the last century! So any ways to make it more natural are a plus.)
I don’t object to a road being built. I object to £2.3b being spent on it. If the view is so much of a problem then spent a lot less and block it. Add a mound, put some trees there, even a wall would be cheaper.
If de-modernising is such a good thing can we all have it? OFC not because it would be bloody stupid, much like this hair-brained scheme is.
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Years ago, I was there for the summer solstice. Back then, you could get right up to the stones. Between the music and atmosphere it was one of the few truly spiritual experiences I’ve ever had.
While it was likely nothing like the original use of Stonehenge, it was likely FAR closer than the sterile viewing we can do now. It’s the difference between experiencing a music festival, and looking at a map of it.
Do enough drugs in an Asda car park and you can have a spiritual experience
Not in the same way. It plays on the deeper phyche. The level of sheer ‘connection’ is something I’ve not experienced before nore since. It akin to the difference between an expensive meal, by a highly skill chef and a Tesco value ready meal. Calorically they might look the same, but the experience is something completely different.
Shitty clickbait title though
How the area around Stonehenge will look, not Stonehenge itself
Stonehenge, by it’s nature, can’t be viewed outside of it’s context. To view Stonehenge is to view it in its environment. It’s appeal comes from being part of the landscape, rather than just placed in it.
