http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/nationaltrust5.shtml
NATIONAL TRUST: THE STONES
BBC FOUR Wednesday 3 March 2004 10.30pm-11pm (part 1),
Wednesday 10 March 2004 10.30pm-11pm (part 2)
and/or
BBC TWO Wednesday 10 March 2004 10pm-10.30pm (part 1),
Wednesday 17 March 2004 10pm-10.30pm (part 2)
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?
