Scotland's Stonehenge at centre of right-to-roam row
The Calanais Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis, has long been free for the public to access – but now anyone wanting to marvel at the stones in future could be forced to buy a ticket.
The circle of stones are up to 13ft tall and were built before Stonehenge, with an imposing megalith weighing 5.5 tonnes standing at its centre.
The site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), which has admitted that they are considering imposing an entry fee.
Urras nan Tursachan, the charity which runs a neighbouring visitor centre where people could choose to buy a ticket, is building a new £6 million centre at the site which is expected to open next year.
Documents relating to the project suggest the stones will only be accessible after buying a ticket.
Druids are worried the new set-up will stop them seeing the stones at night at key moments of astronomical activity.
This summer a rare 'lunar standstill' will see the moon skim across a nearby range of hills before disappearing briefly and then shining into the centre of the stone circle.
Daru Mcaleece, an artist and storyteller from outside Edinburgh, represents the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, which has 30,000 members in 50 countries and is dedicated to practising and promoting Druidry.
He said: 'The Calanais Stones are a significant feature of a sacred landscape, and have been a focus of ritual activity since the Bronze Age.
'Druids have a long history of working with sacred sites across the eight festivals of the year and these celebrations take place across the entire ceremonial landscape of Britain.
'Free access is required for these festivals.'
The charity said: 'Previously and currently, visitors can freely walk up to the stones from the visitor centre car park without having to enter the visitor centre or make any payment.
'The new exhibition will now become part of the visitor journey to the stone site with access via the visitor centre, through the exhibition. This will be an all-in-one ticket price.'
An HSE spokesman said: 'The proposed admission charge will help efforts to balance conservation of the monument with visitor access.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Bailey Smith drops relationship bombshell and it may not be good news for new love Tammy Hembrow
Bailey Smith has shared some interesting insights into his dating life - and it may not be good news for Tammy Hembrow. The AFL star, 24, who has been spotted locking lips with the 31-year-old influencer, sat down with the We Mean Well podcast to reveal he has an age limit when it comes to relationships. Bailey revealed in the episode, recorded prior to meeting the 31-year-old, that he wouldn't date anyone over 28. The Geelong Cats star went on to admit he liked the 'chase' when it came to his romantic escapades and preferred making the first move. 'The ones you normally want aren't the ones that approach you, you know what I mean?' he said, before adding, 'A bit of a chase is good.' Bailey and Tammy have set tongues wagging over the last few weeks after being spotted on, not one, but two dates. The sports star, who is based in Victoria, flew to the Gold Coast two weekends in a row to spend time with the fitness influencer. The couple were first seen leaving hand-in-hand after a meal at swanky Asian fusion restaurant, Rick Shores, at Burleigh Heads. They were then caught making out at another restaurant. The pair were more recently spotted enjoying a romantic stroll to Nobby's Beach, where the footy player appeared to have his arm wrapped around Tammy's hips. Since Tammy's public appearances with the AFL star, her ex Matt Zukowski has admitted he felt 'hurt' watching his former partner move on so quickly after their break-up. The Love Island star also hinted he was the one to end things between them, despite speculation it was Tammy who took the lead. 'A couple of months ago, I made one of the hardest decisions of my life,' he revealed on his Where's Your Head At? podcast with Anna McEvoy. 'I decided to leave a relationship that I found was not right for me,' he continued, before adding, 'It was unhealthy for me.' Matt and Tammy got engaged in December 2023 after just three months of dating. They tied the knot almost a year later, in November 2024, but rumours of a split began to circulate earlier this year. In June, just seven months after tying the knot, the pair announced their divorce.
Times
3 days ago
- Times
Sorry Mariah, age is an important part of who we are
Do you tell people your age? I do. Mariah Carey doesn't. Her recent declaration — 'I don't acknowledge time … ageing just doesn't happen to me' — sparked an outpouring of comment. For Mariah, age is something she refuses to internalise. It's clearly a personal choice. But the reaction to her words shows just how emotionally charged this question has become. What's in an age? The one Mariah doesn't reveal — and the one I do — is our chronological age: the number of years since birth, the candles on the birthday cake. But that's only part of the age story. There is also biological age (revealed apparently by those tell-tale telomeres) and then there is subjective age: how old we feel, how we see ourselves and how others expect us to behave 'at our age'. This third age is perhaps the most powerful. It influences how we dress, how we work and how seriously our opinions are taken by others. These three forms of age don't always align, and that mismatch can feel liberating or disorientating. You might be 70 chronologically, 60 biologically and 45 in spirit. That's not denial. It's complexity. • Mariah Carey: Ageing doesn't happen to me and I won't allow it• Sorry, Mariah, ageing happens to all of us — even if you're famous I get the sense it's this very mismatch that Mariah Carey resists. She probably feels 45 — perhaps even biologically is — and certainly looks it. Why should she anchor herself to a number that doesn't reflect her lived experience? Seen that way, her refusal to 'know time' isn't vanity, it's a protest against the rigid expectations that come with chronological age. But there's a cost to that refusal too. When we deny time, we risk losing touch with the shape and rhythm of our lives. We flatten our story. For our perception of age isn't just about how we feel now. Age also situates us in time: in the arc that connects our past, who we have been; our present, who we are now; and our future, what we could become. As we live longer, our future self becomes more central to our story. I wonder whether, for Mariah Carey, beneath her resistance to ageing lies a deeper uncertainty: 'What will I be at 60, 70, 90 — even 100?' Because once we acknowledge our age we must also confront time itself, and what lies ahead. So how do you feel about what lies ahead? We all carry three mental images of our future self: the Hoped-for Self, who is, for example, thriving, creative, connected; the Expected Self, who reflects our realistic projections; and the Feared Self, who we all dread becoming — lonely, irrelevant or stuck. These imagined future selves are more than our daydreams or our anxieties. They guide us, influence how we spend our time, how we work, how we relate to others. Our Hoped-for Self helps set goals and drives us to action. That's the self that says no to the piece of chocolate cake and pushes you to the early morning pilates class. Our Expected Self keeps us grounded; it's the self that keeps you steady when things don't turn out just as you'd expected. And the Feared Self — far from being dysfunctional — can help to motivate change. It might be the quiet voice that urges you to keep learning, reach out to others or make that difficult shift in your career. But if the Feared Self becomes too dominant, it can paralyse. Instead of acting, you retreat. Instead of planning, you deny. Perhaps that's where Mariah's radical rejection of time comes in: not as a delusion, but as a kind of defence. A refusal to imagine a future she cannot yet see. I choose to say my age. Not to define myself by it, but to recognise it as part of who I am — past, present and future. I'm acknowledging the decades I've lived, the wisdom I've accumulated, the stories I can tell, the role model I can become. I'm still planning, still learning, still moving forward. That's not because I'm unusual. It's because the shape of life is changing — and with it, our relationship to age. Age is not a boundary. It's part of the structure through which we understand our lives — past, present and future. My age? I had 70 imaginary candles on my birthday cake this February. Lynda Gratton is professor of management practice at London Business School. Her latest book is Redesigning Work: How to Transform your Organisation and Make Hybrid Work for Everyone
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
Sad truth about ageing men... every woman whispers about it. So many women put up with these ludicrous husbands: AMANDA PLATELL
Reflecting on making his half century, Leonardo DiCaprio tells Esquire magazine he doesn't feel 50 but 32. One can imagine him parroting that well-used, older-man gag: 'You're only as old as the woman you feel.' Which fits Leo to a tee – his current girlfriend, the exquisitely beautiful and slender Italian model Vittoria Ceretti, is 27.
