Stonehenge to Undergo Renovation

Great news for history buffs in England today: A multi-million dollar makeover will adjust road traffic to and around Stonehenge, preserving the peace around the ancient site.

According to the Guardian, the English Heritage project will put grass over the A344, remove fences and force visitors to book a time slot to visit the monument.

English Heritage will be limiting the number of people who can arrive by car or coach via its planned new visitor facilities. In the future, tourists will have to book to be sure of a place in the car park and on the shuttles that will ferry them to the stones.

The most dramatic change will be the closure of the A344, which very nearly clips the heel stone at the northern tip of the site. The road close to the stones will be grassed over, linking Stonehenge with a downland dotted with barrows and ancient paths including the Avenue, which starts on the banks of the river Avon near Amesbury and curves around to Stonehenge. This was the route that ancient people used to arrive at the stones and the closure of the A344, together with the removal of two fences, means people will once again be able to walk along the Avenue and up to the circle.

The view is one of the best, with the stones gradually emerging out of the landscape. But visitors will still not be able to get right up to the stones; they will be intercepted by staff and asked to pay the admission fee

The project will take two years to complete.