Geography Teaching Today

The focus of this lesson is the sustainable management of Stonehenge, a major international tourist attraction in need of environmental quality improvements. A nominee for one of the new 7 wonders of the world in 2007, the site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. In 1993 Stonehenge's setting and presentation was condemned by the UK Parliament's House of Commons Public Accounts Committee as 'a national disgrace' owing to a stranglehold of roads and traffic and its car park and inadequate visitor facilities being positioned right next to the monument.

Key questions:

• What should be the management objectives for Stonehenge?
• What would a management plan recommend?

Key concepts:
Place
Environmental Interaction and sustainable development
Physical & human processes
Cultural Understanding and Diversity

The problems that need to be management objectives need to address are:

• Roads: On one side the busy A303 rushes past, and on the other side the A344 passes very close to the ancient site. This Stonehenge section of the A303 is a major traffic blackspot and its junction with the A344 is hazardous.
• Visitor Facilities: These are located right next to the monument, but were not built to cope with the nearly 1 million visitors it receives per year. The centre is linked to the monument by a concrete underpass. Interpretation of the site is also not up to the high standards that modern tourists expect - an audio tour and leaflet to guide people around the monument, and three information boards are all that is offered.
• Car Park: The car park is too small to cope with the number of cars, especially during the summer months. This encourages people to park illegally on the roadside, resulting in serious road safety problems. The car park is also visible from the stones and detracts from the spiritual atmosphere of the monument.
  

What would a management plan recommend?
There are two main ideas on a management plan. One is for removing the roads from around Stonehenge and replacing with a shallow 2.1km tunnel and move the location of the new visitor centre with all car and coach parking to Countess East, 2 miles to the east of Stonehenge with and a visitor transit system. The second is to create a deep 4 km tunnel completely underground, leaving the stretches of the A303 and A344 to be grassed over.

Click on an activity:
Starter
Main activity
Plenary

Downloads:
Briefing document

Stonehenge Google Earth placemark

7 Wonders of the World Google Earth Tour

Images:
Stonehenge

Stonehenge Map