Bloody English Heritage.

[TiggyD]

They find a slightly interesting heap of rocks in a field somewhere. To "protect" it (Mow the grass twice a year) they fence it off and install a little hut for somebody to take your money from and to sell loads of tourist crap from. They install toilets and a car park and loads of information boards. They then start charging £4.50 for you to see the slightly interesting heap of rocks.You think it's going to be fascinating because it costs £4.50 but realise too late that it's just a slightly interesting heap of rocks that really just needs one notice board and a mow twice a year costing 10 pence but has £4.40 worth of unnecessary amenities and security to make sure you don't avoid paying £4.50 for a 5 minute look!

Bastards.

You mean that magnificent basalt feature, with all the wonderful folklore and geology to investigate catgirl? [bugrin]

Worth seeing but not worth going to see :)

English Heritage have done a great job preserving a fabulous house and gardens near me, i was bit peeved that they now charge £5.80 to get into the grounds of somewhere we used to play around in in our teens 30yrs ago but yes, when you see the mess we made scratching our names into 400yr old walls i'm glad they're protecting it now.

Nothing we build today will be around in 2300

I'm used to free lumps of rock. West Kennet Longbarrow, Wayland's Smithy, Avebury, and various big white horses.

You can arrange private access to Stonehenge, at dawn, or sunset. It is wonderful then (it still costs, but you get up close & personal with the stones). Yes you still have to pay, but whenever I've been there have been only a few other madpeople who like getting up at the crack of dawn to see some 'rocks'.

It is quite spectacular when you go then, and you can often get a chance to be in the middle of the circle alone.

The way to go for free, would be during the summer Soltice. Not a time I'd want to go far too many people for my liking I like it when it's quiet and peaceful

TiggyD Yes, and the Merry Maidens in Cornwall

I love Stonehenge, I get goosebumps and shivers down my spine. I'm aware that others think it's just a boring pile of rocks, but each to their own [bugrin]

There still are lots of non ET-d places Tiggy - the ones you mentioned, all sorts of hill forts and barrows which are protected from abuse by virtue of needing to walk to them. I think there's a reasonable balance - except (as I said very recently on another thread) shame about Stonehenge. I'm old enough to have been able to roam around and touch the stones.

The last ET place we visited was Piel Castle - free in every sense (unaccompanied kids roaming happily around).

So, where was it got you all riled, Tiggy?

I got married in Pendennis Helenagrace :)

What I don't like about EH is the sanitisation and tidiness of their sites. Old Sarum hill fort is the latest I've been to and the grass is clipped, the stones are arranged neatly and safely and the info boards are immaculate. The only thing missing was the 'feel' of the place. They'd set up marquees in the middle for wine and chutney tasting so it was hard to imagine what it was like originally. (Although the Celtic mead was delicious and we ended up buying a bottle!)

Old Sarum. Nice hill fort rather spoiled due to heavily guarded camp in the centre. It was about £3.20. I couldn't help but think of it as 1 1/2 pasties worth to have a look at a few walls in a hill. The outside free bit was lovely.

There are other EH sites that are free like Donnington Castle where the children can climb all over pretending to be Royalists and Roundheads.

For me Stonehenge was much more impressive when approached from Larkhill up the Avenue something virtually no visitors do - as this is how it was designed to be approached it leaves me [buconfused].

I love EH and NT, we have life membership to both so we don't have to worry about the extortionate fees.

I'm in the National Trust. A house and gardens are more to look at than a pile of stones.

Stonehenge is shit. But most people don't get it's a whole landscape that's massive and important. Te standing stones are just a tiny bit of it

But in fairness EH have been trying to
Improve it forever but haven't got any money

And now their budgets have been decimated, staff made redundant, projects put indefinitely on hold etc.

National Trust yeah Tigs?

Safe innit?

The National Trust massive in da house.

Rievaulx Abbey is wonderful.
It's a lot of old stones, not just a few, and the free audioguide is terrific - it uses a cunning device of an old monk talking to a young one about what the abbey used to be like, to explain the different phases of building.
They also get in real monks from Ampleforth to talk about monastic life.

Agree Tiggy. We spent a couple of solitary hours walking round the rim and then found somewhere to sit and picnic. It was lovely and the views are glorious. We wouldn't have visited the fort bit if we didn't have corporate membership.

Not sure where Larkhill is but we walked from durrington walls via woodhenge and kingsbarrows to stonehenge and hardly saw a soul. It's very evocative.

Next time I want to go see a crumbling old moss covered ruin that's not fit for any purpose I'll look at Bupcakes.

Don't diss the trust. You couldn't handle the trust. No trust handler you!

It's going to be on fire in June, might head down to see that :)

Stonehenge is always more impressive inside your head. For a more visceral experience Avebury is good, but West Kennet long barrow is my favourite.

Glad to see another rimmer on hereLeeCoakley! The hill is a lovely place to visit. Just not the middle.

I am a Trust beyotch! You knows it. I is all over da nature trailz and medieval shit.

We have EH and NT membership. I prefer EH to NT though, because it is more child-friendly. DD and DS both enjoyed the EH Time Travellers events last Summer and we'll be looking out for more this year.

TiggyD - have you tried any of the events held at Old Sarum? We went to a brilliant jousting event last Summer, and another one where they were demonstrating ancient crafts - medieval cookery, archery, music etc. Depends if you like that sort of thing, but I found it interesting and, surprisingly, so did the children :).