Latest news with #Stonehenge
Telegraph
3 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Witch ‘thrown out by Druids after being accused of transphobia'
A witch has claimed she was thrown off a Druid training course amid allegations that she was 'transphobic' in a row over women's rights. Angela Howard claimed she joined the British Druid Order (BDO) in 2020 to find 'spiritual healing' after being sexually assaulted by a trans woman. Ms Howard, 48, said she was later 'knighted' as a 'warrior princess' at Stonehenge and began training as a student 'bard', which is a division of modern Druidry. But after the Supreme Court ruled that transgender women were not legally women in April, Howard claimed she was banned from continuing her training and had her BDO membership revoked because she supported the exclusion of trans women from single-sex spaces for women. Ms Howard also claimed she was 'defamed' and branded 'transphobic' by members of the religious advocacy group the Pagan Federation. She responded to a post on the federation's official Facebook page entitled: 'Statement of Support for Trans People from the Pagan Federation'. The post states: 'Trans women are women, Trans men are men, and all non-binary genders are valid. This is not up for debate with the Pagan Federation.' 'I cannot safely wear a witch's hat in public' According to The Times, Ms Howard said she responded to this statement by commenting that there were situations in which women needed single-sex spaces, citing changing rooms, women's refuges and prisons. She referred to her own experience of being sexually assaulted by a trans woman. She claimed her comments were later deleted, and that she was blocked from viewing the contents of the Facebook page after she criticised an article describing the court ruling as 'a triumph for bigotry'. Shortly afterwards, Ms Howard claimed she was expelled from the site after a member of the Pagan Federation support team said she had been 'more unequivocally transphobic' in her comments. Ms Howard has now lodged a written complaint with the British Druid Order. In it, she pointed out that women and girls were the 'largest and most consistently oppressed group worldwide'. She added: 'Even here in the UK, I cannot safely wear a witch's hat in public without receiving threatening or fearful looks. 'It is profoundly ironic, then, that within modern Paganism and Druidry (movements that should be committed to liberation, healing and truth) we are witnessing a kind of spiritual witch-hunt against those who speak up for the rights, safety and dignity of women and girls.' In a second complaint to the Pagan Federation, she accused the charity of breaching its own code of conduct and the Equality Act 2010. She claimed that she had been 'penalised' for expressing her gender-critical beliefs. The Pagan Federation said in a statement: 'We have a robust complaints procedure, which is designed to ensure fairness and accountability across all aspects of Pagan Federation activities. The process is accessible by both members and non-members alike. 'We have a policy of not commenting on complaints made under our procedures, which may be ongoing. This is to ensure the fairness of the process and to protect all parties involved.' A spokesman for the British Druid Order said it had received a complaint that was being reviewed and had no further comment to make.
The Age
5 days ago
- General
- The Age
A prince, traditional owners and a ‘carbon bomb': Inside Woodside's extension plans
When Prince Charles toured Murujuga on Western Australia's north-west tip with Ngarluma man David Daniel in 1994, he passed antiquities older than Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Tower of Jericho combined. Home to more than 1 million petroglyphs, or carvings, Murujuga – which documents 47,000 years of human history – hosts the largest collection of rock art in the world. Among them are engravings of spirits, humans and animals including thylacines, extinct on the Australian mainland for more than 2000 years. Traditional owners describe Murujuga as a living library, which – for those who know how to read the rocks – tell stories about earthly and spiritual realms, men's and women's business, and even how to butcher a kangaroo. Less than 10 kilometres away, on the opposite edge of a vast flat that once served as a meeting place, is Woodside's vast Karratha gas processing plant. On Wednesday, newly minted Environment Minister Murray Watt gave preliminary approval to the Woodside Energy's bid to extend the life of its North West Shelf project – comprising a vast network of offshore oil and gas infrastructure and the onshore gas processing hub in Karratha – until 2070. The Climate Council said the decision locked in more than 4 billion tonnes of climate pollution – equivalent to a decade of Australia's annual emissions – and would 'haunt' the Albanese government. Hours before Watt announced he had given preliminary approval to Woodside's expansion plans, it was revealed the United Nations intends to deny an Australian bid for Murujuga's ancient art to be given World Heritage status, due to the impacts of Woodside's 'degrading acidic emissions' on the petroglyphs. UNESCO instead recommends the 'total removal' of emissions from the area and urged the Australian government to 'prevent any further industrial development adjacent to, and within, the Murujuga Cultural Landscape'. For its part, Woodside said the decision would allow the oil and gas giant to continue to produce LNP for domestic and export markets while markets 'decarbonise' from coal. The project, it maintains, is critical to securing jobs and gas supply. Executive vice president Liz Westcott said the North West Shelf project had paid more than $40 billion in royalties and taxes since the start of operations in 1984. 'This proposed approval will secure the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf and the thousands of direct and indirect jobs that it supports,' she said. 'This nationally significant infrastructure has supplied reliable and affordable energy to Western Australia for 40 years and international customers for 35 years and will be able to continue its contribution to energy security.' The project is a major employer in the state, supporting 900 direct jobs and about 1300 contractor positions. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described gas as a 'firming capacity' to support the transition to renewables. But the project's extension has been staunchly opposed by conservationists, climate scientists and traditional owners. Climate councillor Greg Bourne, a former North West Shelf manager with BP, said 4 billion tonnes of greenhouse emissions would be generated by the project over its lifespan – equivalent to a decade of Australia's total emissions. 'Extending the North West Shelf will haunt the Albanese government,' he said. 'They've just approved one of the most polluting fossil fuel projects in a generation, fuelling climate chaos for decades to come.' Climate scientist Bill Hare described the government's decision as extreme, and said it underscored a disconnection between the federal government's efforts to curtail domestic emissions and its support for ongoing fossil fuel exports. 'I think it [sends] a destructive message, actually, because the world is trying to stop the warming, and then we go and make a huge decision as a country to continue adding to this problem for 50 years,' he said. 'Country is crying out' More than 30 years after Prince Charles walked through Murujuga's living library, David Daniel's daughters, Ngarluma/Yindjibarndi traditional owners Regina and Kaylene Daniel, are also speaking up for this sacred space. 'You can feel the Country hurting; you can sense it,' Regina said. 'Our mum would say Murujuga was like a big library for us. It is a library. It is our library, our stories. It's our next generation's story to pass on to the next generation. We don't want to destroy it. We want it protected.' Kaylene said the sisters had watched the destruction of sections of Murujuga, on the Burrup Peninsula, when Woodside's Karratha plant was constructed in the 1980s. 'We've seen the way the Country used to be … where the construction and the building is now, we used to get bush tucker, bush medicine ... you used to see kangaroos out there.' In the 1980s, when Woodside constructed its Karratha plant, thousands of petroglyphs were bulldozed to make way for the facility. It's a memory that pains Regina and Kaylene, who describe Woodside's promise of more jobs for the region as 'more jobs for more destruction'. 'When you get connected to Country ... Country tells you,' Regina said. 'Country is crying out for help.' Woodside has long harboured ambitions to expand its gas operations in the resource-rich north-west of the state, seeking for years to develop the Calliance, Brecknock and Torosa gasfields in the Browse Basin, 425 kilometres north of Broome, and pipe gas to an onshore hub for processing. In 2013, a Woodside-led consortium was forced to abandon ambitious plans for a gas hub at James Price Point in the Kimberley region to produce gas from the Browse Basin, after the Supreme Court of WA upheld a legal challenge by Goolarabooloo traditional custodian Richard Hunter and the Wilderness Society. After the James Price Point proposal collapsed, Woodside turned its sights to Karratha – about 900 kilometres from the Browse Basin – to process the untapped reserves. The North West Shelf extension approval paves the way for this to happen. In December, West Australian Premier Roger Cook's government gave its approval to the North West Shelf extension, subject to a raft of conditions, including that Woodside review its measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions within 12 months of the approval, and then on a five-yearly basis. The oil and gas giant would also be required to lodge a new marine management plan before 2026, document its environmental performance, monitor air quality and consult Murujuga traditional landowners. Watt's preliminary approval of the project is also subject to what he described as 'strict conditions'. But the precise conditions will not be revealed until the post-approval statutory 10-day time frame for Woodside to make comment on the conditions has run its course. Critics say the 45 additional years the project is set to operate threaten to undermine Australia's commitments under the Paris Agreement to limit dangerous climate change. The Climate Council points out the forecast emissions from the North West Shelf project (90 million tonnes per year) would be higher than New Zealand's annual output in 2023 of 76.4 million tonnes. Emeritus Professor Alex Gardner, an environmental law expert with the University of Western Australia, said about 90 per cent of emissions emanating from the project would be sent offshore. Australia could not absolve itself of responsibility for these emissions, he said. 'Every tonne of CO2 emitted, regardless of when or where, leads to the same warming,' he said. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, released in 2023, showed the existing 'carbon budget' – before the world reached 1.5 degrees of global warming above pre-industrial levels – had already been spent. 'Projected CO2 emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure without additional abatement ...would exceed the remaining carbon budget for 1.5 [degrees],' he said. 'All the things that are in place now, if you burn all that fossil fuel, will exceed 1.5 … the world's authority on climate change science has said we don't need any new gas fields.' As the deadline for Watt's decision neared, environment groups and advocates launched desperate attempts to slow the process. On May 23, traditional custodian Raelene Cooper lodged legal action in the Federal Court seeking to compel Watt to decide on her application for a cultural heritage assessment for Murujuga, under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. Her application had been sitting with the federal government for more than three years. 'I am furious that the minister would make a decision to lock in ongoing and irreversible damage to my country before addressing my application,' Cooper said before Watt's announcement on Wednesday. 'I am sickened that the minister would make such a decision without even paying us the respect of coming here to meet with the custodians of this place, and without even seeing the incredible Murujuga rock art with his own eyes. 'The minister does not even have the respect to come and see for himself what he will be allowing Woodside to destroy.' Speaking after the decision, Cooper said: 'See you in court.' 'Degrading acidic emissions' The federal government formally nominated Murujuga National Park for World Heritage status in 2023, in recognition of the 5000-hectare site's cultural significance. Loading But that nomination was dashed this week, when the agenda for UNESCO's July meeting went online, revealing the United Nations is poised to knock back Australia's application for World Heritage listing for the Murujuga rock art. Instead, the body recommended Australia attend to the 'total removal of degrading acidic emissions' that are affecting the rock carvings, or petroglyphs. The largest source of emissions is Woodside's North West Shelf gas processing facility, which is less than 10 kilometres from between 1 million and 2 million petroglyphs. 'The current system isn't delivering' Karratha, like so many other towns in the far reaches of Western Australia, is a mining centre. To get here from Perth means walking past airport gate after airport gate filled with a sea of high-vis-wearing workers. On the early morning flight, about 90 per cent of the passengers are men, and most wear the fluoro yellow or orange uniforms of the major companies running west coast industries. Watt's decision on Woodside's future here has been welcomed by the oil and gas industry, which describes the North West Shelf as a critical economic driver in the region. But in nearby Roebourne, home to many traditional owners, the economic benefits of this juggernaut are thin on the ground. In 2013-17, the median age of death in West Pilbara was just 55 years compared with 80 across Western Australia. At the 2021 census, 28.5 per cent of residents in Roebourne were in the labour force, compared with 63.9 per cent of West Australians. 'The data highlights a stark contrast between the substantial wealth generated by industry in the Pilbara and the continued socio-economic challenges faced by Ngarda-Ngarli [Aboriginal] communities,' Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation chief executive Sean-Paul Stephens said. 'While industry is thriving, too many of our members are still grappling with the basics – life expectancy remains alarmingly low, and families often rely on food rescue programs to get by. This tells us that the current system isn't delivering equitable outcomes.' Watt spent much of his second week in WA dealing with the two biggest issues of his portfolio: Woodside's expansion plans and the government's nature positive laws. Loading He told ABC radio in Perth last week that he saw his role as serving a dual purpose. 'The way I see my role is ... to be the guardian of the environment and to oversee the regulation of our environmental laws when it comes to projects,' he said. 'But also part of my job is to help facilitate sustainable economic development going forwards. We know that WA in particular relies very heavily on the mining and resources sector. And we do want to see projects go ahead but in a way that doesn't irretrievably damage our environment.'
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
A prince, traditional owners and a ‘carbon bomb': Inside Woodside's extension plans
When Prince Charles toured Murujuga on Western Australia's north-west tip with Ngarluma man David Daniel in 1994, he passed antiquities older than Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Tower of Jericho combined. Home to more than 1 million petroglyphs, or carvings, Murujuga – which documents 47,000 years of human history – hosts the largest collection of rock art in the world. Among them are engravings of spirits, humans and animals including thylacines, extinct on the Australian mainland for more than 2000 years. Traditional owners describe Murujuga as a living library, which – for those who know how to read the rocks – tell stories about earthly and spiritual realms, men's and women's business, and even how to butcher a kangaroo. Less than 10 kilometres away, on the opposite edge of a vast flat that once served as a meeting place, is Woodside's vast Karratha gas processing plant. On Wednesday, newly minted Environment Minister Murray Watt gave preliminary approval to the Woodside Energy's bid to extend the life of its North West Shelf project – comprising a vast network of offshore oil and gas infrastructure and the onshore gas processing hub in Karratha – until 2070. The Climate Council said the decision locked in more than 4 billion tonnes of climate pollution – equivalent to a decade of Australia's annual emissions – and would 'haunt' the Albanese government. Hours before Watt announced he had given preliminary approval to Woodside's expansion plans, it was revealed the United Nations intends to deny an Australian bid for Murujuga's ancient art to be given World Heritage status, due to the impacts of Woodside's 'degrading acidic emissions' on the petroglyphs. UNESCO instead recommends the 'total removal' of emissions from the area and urged the Australian government to 'prevent any further industrial development adjacent to, and within, the Murujuga Cultural Landscape'. For its part, Woodside said the decision would allow the oil and gas giant to continue to produce LNP for domestic and export markets while markets 'decarbonise' from coal. The project, it maintains, is critical to securing jobs and gas supply. Executive vice president Liz Westcott said the North West Shelf project had paid more than $40 billion in royalties and taxes since the start of operations in 1984. 'This proposed approval will secure the ongoing operation of the North West Shelf and the thousands of direct and indirect jobs that it supports,' she said. 'This nationally significant infrastructure has supplied reliable and affordable energy to Western Australia for 40 years and international customers for 35 years and will be able to continue its contribution to energy security.' The project is a major employer in the state, supporting 900 direct jobs and about 1300 contractor positions. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described gas as a 'firming capacity' to support the transition to renewables. But the project's extension has been staunchly opposed by conservationists, climate scientists and traditional owners. Climate councillor Greg Bourne, a former North West Shelf manager with BP, said 4 billion tonnes of greenhouse emissions would be generated by the project over its lifespan – equivalent to a decade of Australia's total emissions. 'Extending the North West Shelf will haunt the Albanese government,' he said. 'They've just approved one of the most polluting fossil fuel projects in a generation, fuelling climate chaos for decades to come.' Climate scientist Bill Hare described the government's decision as extreme, and said it underscored a disconnection between the federal government's efforts to curtail domestic emissions and its support for ongoing fossil fuel exports. 'I think it [sends] a destructive message, actually, because the world is trying to stop the warming, and then we go and make a huge decision as a country to continue adding to this problem for 50 years,' he said. 'Country is crying out' More than 30 years after Prince Charles walked through Murujuga's living library, David Daniel's daughters, Ngarluma/Yindjibarndi traditional owners Regina and Kaylene Daniel, are also speaking up for this sacred space. 'You can feel the Country hurting; you can sense it,' Regina said. 'Our mum would say Murujuga was like a big library for us. It is a library. It is our library, our stories. It's our next generation's story to pass on to the next generation. We don't want to destroy it. We want it protected.' Kaylene said the sisters had watched the destruction of sections of Murujuga, on the Burrup Peninsula, when Woodside's Karratha plant was constructed in the 1980s. 'We've seen the way the Country used to be … where the construction and the building is now, we used to get bush tucker, bush medicine ... you used to see kangaroos out there.' In the 1980s, when Woodside constructed its Karratha plant, thousands of petroglyphs were bulldozed to make way for the facility. It's a memory that pains Regina and Kaylene, who describe Woodside's promise of more jobs for the region as 'more jobs for more destruction'. 'When you get connected to Country ... Country tells you,' Regina said. 'Country is crying out for help.' Woodside has long harboured ambitions to expand its gas operations in the resource-rich north-west of the state, seeking for years to develop the Calliance, Brecknock and Torosa gasfields in the Browse Basin, 425 kilometres north of Broome, and pipe gas to an onshore hub for processing. In 2013, a Woodside-led consortium was forced to abandon ambitious plans for a gas hub at James Price Point in the Kimberley region to produce gas from the Browse Basin, after the Supreme Court of WA upheld a legal challenge by Goolarabooloo traditional custodian Richard Hunter and the Wilderness Society. After the James Price Point proposal collapsed, Woodside turned its sights to Karratha – about 900 kilometres from the Browse Basin – to process the untapped reserves. The North West Shelf extension approval paves the way for this to happen. In December, West Australian Premier Roger Cook's government gave its approval to the North West Shelf extension, subject to a raft of conditions, including that Woodside review its measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions within 12 months of the approval, and then on a five-yearly basis. The oil and gas giant would also be required to lodge a new marine management plan before 2026, document its environmental performance, monitor air quality and consult Murujuga traditional landowners. Watt's preliminary approval of the project is also subject to what he described as 'strict conditions'. But the precise conditions will not be revealed until the post-approval statutory 10-day time frame for Woodside to make comment on the conditions has run its course. Critics say the 45 additional years the project is set to operate threaten to undermine Australia's commitments under the Paris Agreement to limit dangerous climate change. The Climate Council points out the forecast emissions from the North West Shelf project (90 million tonnes per year) would be higher than New Zealand's annual output in 2023 of 76.4 million tonnes. Emeritus Professor Alex Gardner, an environmental law expert with the University of Western Australia, said about 90 per cent of emissions emanating from the project would be sent offshore. Australia could not absolve itself of responsibility for these emissions, he said. 'Every tonne of CO2 emitted, regardless of when or where, leads to the same warming,' he said. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, released in 2023, showed the existing 'carbon budget' – before the world reached 1.5 degrees of global warming above pre-industrial levels – had already been spent. 'Projected CO2 emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure without additional abatement ...would exceed the remaining carbon budget for 1.5 [degrees],' he said. 'All the things that are in place now, if you burn all that fossil fuel, will exceed 1.5 … the world's authority on climate change science has said we don't need any new gas fields.' As the deadline for Watt's decision neared, environment groups and advocates launched desperate attempts to slow the process. On May 23, traditional custodian Raelene Cooper lodged legal action in the Federal Court seeking to compel Watt to decide on her application for a cultural heritage assessment for Murujuga, under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. Her application had been sitting with the federal government for more than three years. 'I am furious that the minister would make a decision to lock in ongoing and irreversible damage to my country before addressing my application,' Cooper said before Watt's announcement on Wednesday. 'I am sickened that the minister would make such a decision without even paying us the respect of coming here to meet with the custodians of this place, and without even seeing the incredible Murujuga rock art with his own eyes. 'The minister does not even have the respect to come and see for himself what he will be allowing Woodside to destroy.' Speaking after the decision, Cooper said: 'See you in court.' 'Degrading acidic emissions' The federal government formally nominated Murujuga National Park for World Heritage status in 2023, in recognition of the 5000-hectare site's cultural significance. Loading But that nomination was dashed this week, when the agenda for UNESCO's July meeting went online, revealing the United Nations is poised to knock back Australia's application for World Heritage listing for the Murujuga rock art. Instead, the body recommended Australia attend to the 'total removal of degrading acidic emissions' that are affecting the rock carvings, or petroglyphs. The largest source of emissions is Woodside's North West Shelf gas processing facility, which is less than 10 kilometres from between 1 million and 2 million petroglyphs. 'The current system isn't delivering' Karratha, like so many other towns in the far reaches of Western Australia, is a mining centre. To get here from Perth means walking past airport gate after airport gate filled with a sea of high-vis-wearing workers. On the early morning flight, about 90 per cent of the passengers are men, and most wear the fluoro yellow or orange uniforms of the major companies running west coast industries. Watt's decision on Woodside's future here has been welcomed by the oil and gas industry, which describes the North West Shelf as a critical economic driver in the region. But in nearby Roebourne, home to many traditional owners, the economic benefits of this juggernaut are thin on the ground. In 2013-17, the median age of death in West Pilbara was just 55 years compared with 80 across Western Australia. At the 2021 census, 28.5 per cent of residents in Roebourne were in the labour force, compared with 63.9 per cent of West Australians. 'The data highlights a stark contrast between the substantial wealth generated by industry in the Pilbara and the continued socio-economic challenges faced by Ngarda-Ngarli [Aboriginal] communities,' Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation chief executive Sean-Paul Stephens said. 'While industry is thriving, too many of our members are still grappling with the basics – life expectancy remains alarmingly low, and families often rely on food rescue programs to get by. This tells us that the current system isn't delivering equitable outcomes.' Watt spent much of his second week in WA dealing with the two biggest issues of his portfolio: Woodside's expansion plans and the government's nature positive laws. Loading He told ABC radio in Perth last week that he saw his role as serving a dual purpose. 'The way I see my role is ... to be the guardian of the environment and to oversee the regulation of our environmental laws when it comes to projects,' he said. 'But also part of my job is to help facilitate sustainable economic development going forwards. We know that WA in particular relies very heavily on the mining and resources sector. And we do want to see projects go ahead but in a way that doesn't irretrievably damage our environment.'
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- The Guardian
‘Our son thought: what if I actually move the stone?': unlocking the mysteries of Stonehenge with a family visit
'There are so many mysteries.' Talking to Lewis and Richard Edwards-Middleton the day after a visit to Stonehenge, you get a sense that it's the wonder of the place that lingers. The couple behind Two Dads in London are known for sharing their adventures as a family on social media. They had just spent a day out at Salisbury Plain's famous stone circle with their nine-year-old son and six-year-old daughter*. They're clearly struck by the fact that even after 4,500 years the enigmatic arrangement of giant stone slabs – a masterpiece of engineering – is still prompting as many questions as answers. The monument was an important site for Neolithic people, this we know, but its precise purpose is still the subject of debate. Theories as to Stonehenge's function include being a giant sundial, a calendar, a kind of ancient computer and even a portal – but more on that later. The hypothesis that English Heritage (custodian of Stonehenge) believes to be the most likely is that the stone circle was some kind of temple, given its alignment with the movements of the sun at the solstices. This stone circle is just the start of what awaits at Stonehenge, however. 'The stones are a focal point of something much bigger,' says Richard. It is part of a series of connected sites across Wiltshire where Neolithic people lived for millennia. But while the site's history is ancient and its designers, builders and original users are long gone, its history continues to live and breathe. Our understanding of it is still evolving, and it's a place where visitors and volunteers keep its legacy alive through learning. 'I think that's the fun with history. We only really know what we know at the minute. We might find something else out in 10 years' time,' he says. But there's plenty beyond the mysteries of the site itself to inspire wonder in younger visitors. Whether it's comparisons of the upright stone slabs that make up the circle to Lego bricks in the visitor centre or the replicas of Neolithic homes, complete with wooden or woven furniture, just outside the centre. You can also experience Stonehenge through the seasons in an immersive digital space, which Lewis and Richard's daughter 'didn't want to leave'. For the Edwards-Middleton family, relating the history of Stonehenge in ways that make sense to kids is something the attraction and its volunteers do really well. One linked pickaxing for flint to mining in Minecraft. Another knew all about Who Let the Gods Out?, a book series by Maz Evans that Lewis and Richard's son had read at school, featuring a Stonehenge-style stone circle as a portal. 'I think that the volunteers had a training course in all of the questions that could potentially be asked by a nine-year-old,' says Lewis. The visitor centre and replicas of Neolithic homes are full of objects that bring the era to life Tactile experiences also help bring something from the ancient past right into the present, whether it's the example of the deer antler the prehistoric people used as pickaxes, or the opportunity for kids to see if they can shift a replica of one of the stone circle's huge and heavy sarsen stones. 'I think our son thought … because he watches a lot of the history stuff on King Arthur, 'What if I actually move the stone?'' says Lewis. While the family spent a whole day at Stonehenge, there are different itineraries to suit, depending on how much time you have, such as a two-hour or half-day visit. Despite their trip to Stonehenge being in the Easter holidays, the Edwards-Middletons were surprised by how uncrowded it felt. 'You can go some places and it's so busy that you're like: 'Oh no,' especially because our daughter doesn't have a great attention span – she has some learning difficulties. We didn't feel that at all,' says Lewis. The Two Dads in London were lucky enough to plan their trip for when the sun was shining, which meant they could take full advantage of the site's picnic area and ice-cream van. Visitors can bring along their own picnics, or stop by the cafe where food is handily served in picnic-ready packaging. Activities include the chance to see if you can move a replica of one of the circle's huge stones The one thing Stonehenge doesn't have? A playground – something that's a deliberate omission (though it does have a temporary Playhenge workshop from 23 May to 2 June). As Richard says: 'If there had been one, it would have been: 'Let's go to the playground.' That kind of deletes their interest.' The lack of a playground gives kids the message that Stonehenge itself is a place of play and exploration. 'Their playground was pulling the stone, the Neolithic houses,' he says. But it's not all play. The trip to Stonehenge gave their son the opportunity to put some of the history he's been learning at school into context. Lots of kids learn about the Egyptians and the feats of engineering and construction behind the Great Pyramids of Giza, but the archaeological marvel of Stonehenge is just so easy to get to, says Richard: 'For our son to be completely mesmerised by this really old set-up in England is amazing, because it only took us an hour and 10 minutes to get there. And he's like: 'What? This is so close to us!'' * Names withheld for privacy To find out more about Stonehenge and its many mysteries, book your visit here
Times
22-05-2025
- Times
The Barbican has never been fit for purpose — it's time to move on
Doubtless the hacks and gossips of 17th-century London laughed mockingly every time Christopher Wren announced another delay to the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral. But at least it was finished. I can't muster such optimism about some heritage projects that I was reporting on in my first years in journalism, yet which seem no nearer completion now. One is the proposal to dig a road tunnel under the Stonehenge site. It's as if we've been watching the same tedious debate on a time loop for 30 years. Recent developments? The tunnel was approved by the government (again) in 2023 and scrapped (again) in 2024. So I guess this year it's back to approval. Another never-ending saga, in the news this week? It's the project to
