Ange's "aunt" Grazyna from Calgary was visiting this past weekend. Grazyna emigrated from Poland to Canada many, many years ago and married a Brit. But in all her travels to Europe, she had never stepped outside of Heathrow. With only a couple of days, we needed to maximise sight-seeing. So, with Stonehenge so close and--arguably--a wonder of the world, we went off to see the 5000 year old rock arrangement. Does that make it a "rockery?" I'm sure Monty Python would have an opinion.
To Anna, they're merely rocks. Big rocks, in fairness, but still rocks. Anna was more interested in running up and down the paths. So, Anna ran her socks off while Grazyna and Ange took in the audio tour. It is truly fantastic. But, on some level, Stonehenge is somewhat unremarkable to the casual observer. For instance, at first glance, the rocks aren't really that big in the scale of 20th century architecture. This, of course, is not appreciating that stone-age people somehow managed to move these rocks from south Wales... about 250 miles. Some of the rocks are over 4 tonnes. Then there is the stunning alignment of the rocks and how it coincides with the seasons. It's crazy. However, the site itself sits between a Y in the road. While the main road draws off to the southwest, another small road pulls northwest. These two roads meet just a couple of hundred meters from Stonehenge. So, you can see all of Stonehenge from the road. There's only a chain-link fence keeping you out, meaning that anyone can grab a quick photo and, from a bit of distance, walk around two thirds of it.
You're paying for the audio tour, to get a little closer, and to have access to the gift shop. Or, for us loyal English Heritage supporters, you're giving money to the upkeep of heritage sites around the country (since sites like Stonehenge subsidize the hundreds of free sites that aren't nearly as popular).
Yet, as Anna and I walked into the site, I was distressed to hear a North American couple lamenting the money they had spent to see it. There was a gentleman in is late 50s/early 60s, dressed in North Face jacket suitable for an Everest expedition. The jacket was proudly hitched up on one side to display his Blackberry, which was attached to his trousers with a giant plastic clip. He walked with his wife/partner, who had also come from North America prepared for the English winter in uber-expensive, arctic expedition trecking gear. He had noticed a mural on the wall of the access tunnel to Stonehenge and commented to his wife, "Ahhhhhhh! That is what it is meant to look like!" She responded, "Yeah, that was disappointing. I don't know what the big deal is. Half of it is missing."
I smiled. So did Anna. But for different reasons. They had smiled at Anna and she is friendly. Clearly nice people. But I was at pains not to ask: "What were you expecting?"
You can clearly see everything there is to offer from other side of the fence (that neither tries nor succeeds in blocking anyone's view of the site)! You can see it as you drive up, you see it as you walk by. What could possibly change by paying $12, apart from getting an audio tour (which, by the way, is excellent!)?!? Of course, the other question that lingers is the expectation of the completeness of a monument that is over 5000 years old. I should have warned them off of Greece. And Turkey. And Rome (the Italians have let all sorts of things, like the Collesium, deteriorate!). And most castles in Europe. And, of course--should they ever visit Alberta--Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump.
Anna enjoying the path in front of Stonehenge (which, by the way, I would argue is more enjoyable than Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump on a number of levels):
Grazyna and Ange enjoying the audio experience in front of the henge (which, doesn't really get a whole lot bigger or more exciting than this picture):
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