Been thinking about Stonehenge a lot since visiting, and I'm of the opinion (I'm sure many will disagree) that the experience isn't as bad as it's usually made out to be.
For one thing, the stones weren't built - or used, so far as we can tell - by a handful of people.
Having a couple of hundred people on the perimeter, kept away from the stones and looking in, is probably closer to the prehistoric experience of it than popular imagination would expect.
And complaints about people taking selfies might also be misguided. Tourists used to carve their initials into the stones or chip bits off! I'm pretty sure a selfie is less distracting to others then the merry peal of hammers slowly dismantling the monument.
Again, people have interacted with it in similar ways for centuries now, either by writing about it, painting it, carving chunks off it or taking photographs of it. Only the means has changed.
The "chipping bits off" thing is intriguing, btw. It's mentioned that the stones are wider towards the top as a visual illusion that makes them look more impressive.
A more cynical mind (eg mine) notes that the widening starts above a comfortable height for using a chisel...
There's also the complaint it looks too small from far away. Well that's just your perspective, isn't it?
My feeling was that they seem to change in relative size as you move through the landscape.
And the landscape really is key to Stonehenge. It's not just a bunch of stones, but the entire bowl of landscape that surrounds it - a landscape littered with monuments that overlook the central henge but also keep their distance. If you want to see it properly, walk away from it.
I genuinely think the visitor centre is missing a trick by not explaining how to read the landscape, btw.
It's all carefully labelled on maps and what not, but nobody suggests you keep an eye on how the landscape unfolds and when you can and can't see things. It's central to understanding why things are where they are.
If you go to Woodhenge got goodness sake don't forget to crouch down to see how the posts interact visually!
I do have some sympathy with the criticisms (it's certainly gouging people with the ticket price, though you can walk almost right up to the Heel Stone for free - and too busy or too expensive, which is it?).
Would I have loved to have it for myself and be the only visitor? Sure.
But with an open and (possibly) thoughtful mind, and one eye away from the stones themselves, I enjoyed it far more - and got far more out of it - than I expected.
@DreadShips There is a special tour you can sign up for that lets you walk in amongst the stones. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/things-to-do/stone-circle-access-visits/ We did that when we saw Stonehenge, and it was incredible. It's after (or before) hours, so there's no stonehenge bus service; you'll need to own or hire a car or conveyance of some sort.
