I would have posted this for the Solstice yesterday had it not been for the Chronophage. The panorama is at a BBC page since the corporation is one of the few organisations with the weight to gain permission to photograph the stones up close. Unless you’re an archaeologist or an English Heritage official your view is restricted to the path which surrounds the monument, something you can experience via Google Maps. There did used to be exceptions to this. I was fortunate to be at the Stonehenge Festival in 1982 which took place for a few days over Midsummer in one of the fields a short distance away. On Solstice Day the people from English Heritage let everyone—festival-goers and bemused tourists alike—wander inside the circle where a couple of pagan weddings took place. A couple of years later further festivals were prevented with heavy police action so I feel privileged to have been there on that day.
There was more Stonehenge recently at Bldg Blog with a post about Harold Egerton’s stunning photograph of the stones at night. And while we’re on the subject, let’s not forget Woodhenge, Seahenge , Timisoara’s Stonehedge, and the Ballardesque Carhenge.
Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The panoramas archive
A friend of ours is blind and always wanted to visit stonehenge, but obviously the only way he could appreciate the stones would be by touch.
On a recent visit my partner and i asked about the possibilty of him going into the circle, and they told us that if he went at a time when it was quiet they would probably let him in. Otherwise, theres a complicated procedure of applying for special permission and paying a not unsubstantial sum and turning up after they officially close or before they open.
All this is a relic of those wonderful Thatcher years of police repression of anyone who dared to live an alternative lifestyle. I can certainly see why they need to fence them off, but i cant see why occasionally they couldnt allow people in. They belong to all of us, after all.
Incidently, Avebury is much more impressive, and the Rollright Stones more genuinely spooky.
Happy Day !
Yes, it was definitely a Thatcherite policy following her re-election in 1983. Things started to get a lot worse for anyone who wasn’t conforming.
I’ve slept on Glastonbury Tor (!) but still haven’t seen Avebury. I’m obviously missing out.