Stonehenge

An interesting article in The Guardian today about Stonehenge. I must say, I went there a few years ago and I was quite insulted to have to go to a tacky visitor centre (you can't get to the stones without going through it)and pay to enter the field where the stones are. I can understand paying for a museum or stately home, because there is upkeep involved. Stonehenge is made of stone, it's been there for centuries, it can be left to its own devices like any other piece of rock, surely. I hate the way that it has been touristified. But as Simon Jenkins points out, Avebury is more impressive, anyway. It has gift shops and a museum, but they aren't compulsory, and they don't intrude on the atmosphere of the place.