Stonehenge: Signs of the Times

By a correspondent

One of the great opportunities to promote and educate widely about the Stonehenge half of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site has been passed up for 28 years, because unlike at Avebury where entering the World Heritage Site (WHS) is announced to approaching motorists, similar signage wasn’t erected on the A303 at Stonehenge. Most of the millions motoring past the globally famous stones have thereby remained unaware that the entire 3.5 mile stretch of the A303 between Countess Roundabout and Longbarrow Roundabout lies inside the WHS. Few then would readily spot that monuments and settings within the wider Stonehenge WHS landscape would be adversely affected no matter where the entrances of any short tunnel option are located. Only a tunnel in excess of 3.5 miles (5.6km) avoids damaging the WHS, hence English Heritage and the National Trust favouring a shorter tunnel can be compared to the NHS favouring the creation of unnecessary stomas and the dislocation of someone’s limbs whilst offering them a party hat!

Still, if English Heritage and the National Trust get their short tunnel, perhaps there will be a sign at the entrance announcing what travellers will no longer be able to see…!