Stonehenge Summer Solstice 2016 Open Access

24 04 2016

English Heritage is pleased to welcome people to Stonehenge to celebrate this year’s Summer Solstice. This is the 17th year that English Heritage has provided access to the stones and are looking forward to a peaceful celebration.

MONDAY 20th JUNE
Access to monument field – 7pm
Sunset – 9:26pm
TUESDAY 21st JUNE
Sunrise – 4:52am
Monument field closes – 8am
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The Solstice Car Park opens at 7pm on 20th June with last admissions at 6am (or when full, if earlier) on 21st June. The car park will close at 12 noon on 21st June.Alcohol is not permitted in the monument field during Summer Solstice.Admission to the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge is free of charge, however please note that parking fees in the official car park apply – cars: £15, commercial coaches and minibuses: £50, motorcycles: £5.

Conditions of Entry
 Amplified music is not permitted in or around the monument field.
 No alcohol is allowed within the monument or the monument field. Alcohol will be
confiscated or individuals in possession of alcohol will be asked to leave.
 Drunken, disorderly and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated and anybody
considered to be behaving in this way will be asked to leave by security staff and/or
the police and will not be allowed back in.
 Illegal drugs are illegal at Stonehenge as they are anywhere else. The police will be
on site and will take action against anyone breaking the law.
 Please don’t bring any glass in to the monument field. Many people walk barefoot
and livestock and wildlife also graze in the area. Any glass items will be confiscated.
 Please do not climb or stand on any of the stones – this includes the stones that
have fallen. This is for your own safety and also to protect this special site and
respect those around you.
 Please be aware that in order to keep everybody safe, random searching may be
undertaken. Any items found that might be used in an illegal or offensive manner will
be confiscated.
 Camping equipment, fires, Chinese lanterns, fireworks, candles, tea-lights or BBQs
are not permitted at Stonehenge, in the Solstice Car Park, or anywhere in the
surrounding National Trust land.
 In the interests of safety, sleeping bags or duvets are not allowed on site. Sleeping
on the ground creates a trip hazard and can interfere with the work of emergency
services and hinder their ability to help people. Small ground sheets and blankets are
permitted for people to sit on but please do not bring chairs etc (unless used as a
recognised disability aid). Shooting-sticks are not permitted.
 To help us reduce the amount of litter on site, leafleting or flyering is not allowed.
 Drones or any type of remote-controlled flying devices are not permitted at
Stonehenge or in any of the Solstice Car Parks.

Admission to Stonehenge

• Admission to the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge is free of charge.
• There is a charge for parking – cars: £15, commercial coaches and minibuses: £50,
motorcycles: £5.
• Public transport is available from Salisbury.
• Access to the car park will start at 7pm
• Children under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Please remember that you will not be allowed access to the Monument with the following
items:
– Alcohol
– Drugs
– Large bags or rucksacks (or similar items)
– Sleeping bags or duvets
– Flaming torches, Chinese lanterns, fireworks or candles etc.
– Dogs (with the exception of registered assistance dogs), pets or other creatures
– Camping equipment, including foldaway chairs, garden furniture, shooting-sticks
– BBQs or gas cylinders
– Glass bottles or other glass objects
– Trolleys, wheel barrows or any other form of porterage
– Pushchairs or buggies that are not exclusively used for a child
– Large “golf-style” umbrellas, gazebos
– Drones or any kind of remote control aircraft

From :http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/plan-your-visit/summer-solstice/

“We strongly advise anyone planning to come to Stonehenge for solstice to leave their cars at home and travel by public transport. Salisbury is easily accessible by train and the local Salisbury Reds bus company will be running a special service from Salisbury to Stonehenge through Saturday night and into the next day. Solstice Events are offering their usual transport from Bath and Stonehenge guided tours are offering their small group tour from London.

Follow  @St0nehenge @EH_Stonehenge @HighwaysEngland and @Wiltshirepolice for #summersolstice updates on the night.

If you are unable to visit Stonehenge on the Solstice you can watch our LIVE PERISCOPE BROADCAST

 

The Stonehenge News Blog




18th April is the @ICOMOSUK International Day of Monuments and Sites #WHS30 @UNESCO @WorldHeritageUK #WorldHeritageDay

18 04 2016

8th April is ICOMOS International Day for Monuments and Sites but unofficially known as World Heritage Day.

This year Stonehenge and Avebury are celebrating 30 years of being a World Heritage SiteICOMOS along with six other sites, the first sites to be designated World Heritage Sites in the UK.

UNESCO established 18 April as the International Day for Monuments and Sites in 1983. It aims to raise public awareness about the diversity and vulnerability of the world’s built monuments and heritage sites and the efforts required to protect and conserve them.

The Stonehenge News Blog

 





Views of Stonehenge as it might have been go on show in Pewsey

12 04 2016

AN EXHIBITION of the history of Stonehenge will be taking place at the McNeill Gallery in Pewsey.

Archaeological artist Peter Dunn will be exhibiting his Reconstruction Paintings of the Stonehenge Complex at the McNeill Gallery in Pewsey over the summer.

Mr Dunn’s series of reconstruction paintings of the historic landmark were produced from the findings of the Stonehenge Riverside Project between 2009 and 2013.

Beverley McNeill, owner of the gallery, said: “I opened the gallery late November last year and Peter came along. I told him to pop in and talk about an exhibition, I loved the concept of the Stonehenge artwork. The exhibition will have original sketches of the site and findings from the architectural dig he took part in.”

The exhibition will be a first for the gallery, with Mrs McNeill believing it will give an insight into the history of the area.

“I am excited about the exhibition, I thought it would be interesting as it is a historical insight into the area and for Wiltshire as a whole. Of course, in July we are hoping to catch tourists as well as people from the local area,” added Mrs McNeill.

Mr Dunn worked as an illustrator and artist with English Heritage from 1985 to 2007, and has been involved in interpretive projects throughout England as well as abroad, also working on a couple of programmes on the BBC.

A History of Stonehenge in Paintings will be taking place at McNeill Gallery in Market Place, Pewsey, from July 21st- August 6st 2016

Article bt By Patrick McLean, Devizes reporter (This is Wiltshire)

 

The Stonehenge News Blog

 





Alcohol to be banned from Stonehenge celebrations

12 04 2016

Alcohol will be banned from summer solstice celebrations at Stonehenge this June – and there will also be a £15 fee to park at the stones.

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Stonehenge attracts thousands of people every year Credit: ITV

English Heritage say the new rules will encourage more people to car share or use public transport. Forty thousand people attended two years ago and the stones were vandalised. Money raised will go towards maintenance.

Article source: ITV NEWS

The Stonehenge News Blog

 





How the Magpie Musicians came to stand for free Stonehenge

6 04 2016

Mike Pitts – Digging Deeper

Magpie Minstrels JFuller.jpgFour years ago (time, even immemorial, flies) I was working on an exhibition about Stonehenge for English Heritage, and I wrote a blog about a frequently reproduced photo of the stones. The image shows a crowd of people, bicycles and carts and horses, and had been commonly said to show a protest in 1901 against an admission charge. In fact the photo was taken in 1896 (along with at least one similar shot), on the occasion of a visit from a travelling musical troupe called the Magpie Musicians.

To my delight Jim Fuller recently got in touch with me through this blog, and supplied information and photos that tie up the story of these remarkable images. He sent me several photos, which he has kindly allowed me to publish here. One of the two prints I described, at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre (WSHC), is stamped “T.L. Fuller, Press…

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