h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You'll get a reasonably accurate description of your experience of visiting SH here (i.e. describes the tarmac path, perim.fence, multi-lingual tape-recording etc.

The closest you can get toi the stones is about 30 feet.

oops

http://travel.ciao.co.uk/Stonehenge_England__Review_5354952

I've got some photos of Stonehenge I took in March 1981. I don't remember there being a fence that was that far away at the time. We could lean over one and touch a stone - the rest we couldn't reach, but they certainly weren't that far away. I wonder if I could find those old pictures?

Well, as I say in post 81, the closest you can get to the stones is about 30 feet

I remember that when we were in England about three years ago, we were considering going to Stonehenge but the fact that you couldn't get close at all made us decide against it.

So there was a fence some distance away from the monument at that time.

It's odd, because you can't get that far away from it, as it's surrounded by roads...

The fence has never been that far away from it when I've been there. HEre's a photo of some random bloke I found - http://digilander.libero.it/luigipizzi/stonehenge.jpg

That looks like it has changed since last I got out of the dcar and visited (1994), but it's still not that far. You can get round behind it too, by the looks of it, although the fence has moved back from when I first saw it in the early 80s. Wish I could remember where those photos are!

There was certainly no fence there when our family visited in the early 60s. I have a photo of me sat on a stone and my sister stood next to me, with her arms out. I was about 8, she was 5.

Thanks for all the input everyone, changes made, links added, typos fixed, I think I got everything from the backlog

Added you all as contributing researchers (co-authors) if anyone doesn't want crediting it's easy enough to remove yourself.

Thanks again

It won't save my changes!

"Cannot be displayed"

I'll have to do it all again tomorrow.

OK I've done it all again, would those who recommended changes please skim the bits they said (in the updated entry) and make sure I got them all? Thanks very much.

I'm a bit and need some

G'night all.

I'll try to read it now. Goodnight Annie

Traveller in Time reading an new entry
"Lots of changes again most of it seems good reading material.

After the header
>The Three Phases of Stonehenge

The sentences go a little bare, Just keep in mind 'what did they do in this phase', try to leave out things that mask the activities of early periods.

Keep the time in the sentences right
>Current dating methods
is under the header 3100 BC.

The paragraph on
>The Importance of the Summer Solstice
should have a link to something like
< A526673 > 'Why the Earth has Seasons'

Special after the very brief phases this is a big block of text.

Where is any reference to the remarkable fitting method used on the 'trilithons'. I have seen many stone age constructions but this one is nearly unique.

Is the Guided tour free ? There are prices (5p) for the entrance. "

<<How Much Does It Cost?
In 2005:
Adult: £5.50
Children: £2.80.
Concession: £4.10.
English Heritage Members: Free.
Family ticket (2 adults + 3 children): £13.80.
National Trust Members: Free.
>>

Is that what you mean by "Is the Guided tour free? There are prices (5p) for the entrance"



Gnomon, would you like to comment on TiT's other points about the phrasing? Thanks very much.

I've linked to the "Seasons" entry

Looking through, I see what I added in the section "What is Stonehenge made of" didn't survive. I'll have to try and remember what I wrote. Is there anything else I've missed?

"Special after the very brief phases this is a big block of text" - could you be a bit more specific? I don't understand what you mean, sorry.

Traveller in Time on top
"Somewhere in the top the structure is sold on the condition the fee should not exceed 5p.

As well as the Guided Tour is free you can and can not make advance bookings for it.

Disappointed about the construction detail 'like LEGO' vanished. You do not read or find anything about it in most information sources, though I found it as impressive as the size. "

Annie, please take me off the researchers list. My main contribution was just say how the stones have been moved since Constables picture, which is well-known. And to say that as the alignment is not ancient (due to recent movings and setting in concrete), why are pagans so attached to it?!

Kaz,

You can take yourself of the author list - just click on "Remove my name" when you are looking at the entry.

The alignment of Stonhenge _is_ ancient, having been set up in 3100 BC. Virtually all megaliths are aligned with the sun. There are more than 1,200 megalithic tombs in Ireland and most of them are aligned.

The alignment of the stones today is different to the alignment shown in Constables picture. Maybe the original alignment was ancient, but it has been changed since then. I thought more people knew of this, I guess its something you all know if you have lived in the west country but isn't widely known outside of it.

The only alignment is that if you stand at the centre of the circle, the sun rises behind the heel stone on the summer solstice. The heel stone hasn't been moved, and the centre of the circle hasn't been moved. All the rest of the stones are not involved in the alignment.

Fair enough Gnomon. I guess I being a pagan who is bored of always being asked about visiting them, I am a bit miffed at the continued pagan worship of them, and a bit ready to slag them off in response.

Thanks for the tip on how to remove my name.

There are some things which I updated which didn't survive the update, I did elaborate on the "What is Stonehenge made of" and I am sure I mentioned Kaz's comment about the Constable picture.

I'll have to go through the thread again and try and spot what is missing.

I may be some time...

many of the astrological alignments --> many of the astronomical alignments