NATIONAL TRUST: THE STONES
BBC FOUR
Saturday 17 July 2004 7pm-8.20pm; rpt
2.10am-3.30am
Officially designated a
World Heritage Site, each year Stonehenge
attracts a 20,000 strong crowd of hippies, pagans, witches, druids and
travellers for the summer solstice. But in the 1980s Stonehenge was the
setting for riots and the stones were closed. Today its problems are
far from over.
As celebrations for
summer solstice draw ever closer, the National
Trust and their partners, English Heritage, who look after the actual
stones, go head to head for a bizarre round of negotiations over party
plans for this year's solstice with the leading pagans and druids,
including such characters as Viziondanz and King Arthur.
The final, extended
episode of the series follows
proceedings at an important point in the life of Stonehenge to see if
the worlds of
heritage and hippies can ever see eye to eye for the sake of the
Stones.
Meanwhile, as Britain's
most contentious planning battle concerning
the site comes to a head, there is also the hope that the long-running
debate about the state of the stones - hit hard by the A303 and encased
in metal fencing - may be about to end. But can all parties with a
vested interest in the sacred site ever be satisfied?
