Ah, Stonehenge... It's the mystery that attracts us. Who built it? For what purpose? How long ago? What can it reveal about ourselves? What higher meaning does it have? What higher meaning did it have then? What does it mean to you? What does it mean to me?
I'm fully aware it cannot be closely approached or touched, and, to my knowledge, there is no roller coaster or well-stocked gift shoppe with obnoxiously-priced wares (like flimsy Stonehenge mousepads, rubbery keychains, magnets sporting images printed from some personal computer at the groundskeeper's flat, novelty "Collector's Edition" miniature Stonehenge replicae - as seen in the hit film SPINAL TAP - and the always-popular "My fucking git parents spent the day at Stonehenge and all I got was this pit-stained t-shirt") located on-site, and that David Bowie is not the tour guide.
Be that as it may, it is one of the wonders of the world, and it is important to respect and preserve the long-standing technological accomplishments of our forebears. Like the egyptian pyramids, the moai, the mystery jars of Laos, Chichén Itzá, the Nazca Lines of Peru, the petrogplyphs on the westside of Albuquerque, Pamela Anderson's boobs, et al., they are a direct link to another time, and an impressive representation of mankind's spirit, abilities, intention and driving force.
If we start to take these things for granted, stop asking questions or withdraw interest, we lose a part of ourselves.
Menty/Rose, I can see how locals would be less-than-fascinated with something that is so ever-present, seemingly mundane, and easily traveled to, just "on the motorway."
Where I live (Albuquerque, NM), we host an international hot air balloon fiesta that attracts people from all over the world. To these folks, this is a HUGE thing, to us locals it is annoying: oversized RVs all over the fucking place, rubberneckers and gawkers causing auto accidents, stupid tourists flocking to Santa Fe in the afternoon - but it generates income. And, no matter how jaded I get around the fiesta, I must admit, it is a lot funner taking someone who's never been, and witnessing it through their eyes. That helps keep it "fresh."
Rose, you made an interesting comment. Are you saying that (modern) druids have rights and access to the stones, that they can touch them, whereas as most 'normals' can't?
