Stonehenge Future

Landscape Feasibility Study

Dominic Cole (DCLA) and Tom Johnson (GRO DESIGNS) are landscape architects collaborating on a project at Stonehenge for English Heritage. They are preparing a Landscape Feasibility Study for the entire site. Ten years ago, English Heritage relocated visitor vehicle access and the arrival point one mile north of the Stones by closing a public highway and constructing a new visitor centre, parking area, and back-of-house offices. Visitors can either take shuttle buses or walk to the Stones.

While the new visitor building is bold and modern, there are several issues in the landscape, the routes to the Stones, and the arrival experience. These detract from the sense of place and do not adequately honour this World Heritage Site.

English Heritage is conducting multiple appraisals of how they manage and present the site, including aspects such as access, interpretation, and security. Landscape elements form a significant part of this comprehensive site review.

Our approach to the project has been to conduct an independent assessment of the entire site, focusing on how it feels, how it functions, and where improvements could be made. We have evaluated the site as though we were first-time visitors, noting what works well and identifying areas for enhancement. The English Heritage site team faces daily challenges related to visitor management and site protection. To address various issues, they have made numerous short-term decisions, leading to an inconsistent visitor experience - for example, using movable post-and-tape barriers to control access in constricted areas. During COVID-19, additional temporary measures were introduced, some of which remain and contribute to the disjointed feel of moving through the site.

English Heritage also faces challenges related to land ownership and extensive underground archaeology.

Our feasibility study outlines opportunities to create a seamless and aesthetically pleasing visitor experience across the site. These include adjusting path routes and widths, adding planting around the visitor building to reduce wind-blown discomfort while queuing, and reconfiguring the walk to and arrival at the Stones. The goal is to ensure the Stones themselves are the central focus of the visit, rather than the current distractions of fences, old highway markings and shuttle buses.

Tom, a licensed drone operator, has captured extensive aerial footage, which we have used to create hand-drawn views illustrating what our proposed changes would look like if implemented.