Stonedhenge

Submitted by vicky on Sunday, 14 December 2003 Page Views: 1589

Marsh Farm is to be pushed as a tourist attraction - the next best thing to Stonehenge! But already critics are dubbing it Stonedhenge because of the area's reputation for drug use and riots. The organisation behind the idea, The Marsh Farm Development Trust, claims Waulud's Bank is the country's second most ancient site after the Wiltshire stones.

Apparently, settlers took root there in 3,000 BC making it a place of archaeological interest.

And, in 55 BC, Julius Caesar fought off Celts in his bid for supremacy.

The Trust - armed with £48 million of Government money to spend over ten years - plans to build a museum there and invite people from around the world to visit.

Trust spokesman Tony Gamble said: "It is a fact well known to people in the know that Wauluds Bank is the second most historic site in this country after Stonehenge.

"We want to make use of this fact by promoting the area as a place for tourists. I know we haven't got any interesting stones to look at but we could display various things that have been excavated over the years such as bits of Celtic pottery.

"Although plans are still in the early stages we are considering building a tourist centre and museum which we believe would be of interest of a lot of people."

What he does not point out is that when visitors turn up all they will actually see is a field. And, as our fun picture attempts to illustrate, the nearest they will come to stone blocks are the high rise blocks of flats.

Locals are bemused.

Claire Buoys, 24, of Luxembourg Close, said: "Marsh Farm a tourist attraction - I don't think so. I can't see any reason to come to the place unless you have to."

Andy Marshall, 31, of the Purley Centre, added: "Wauluds Bank is covered in old tyres, rotting car batteries and dog mess - kids also play football there. It's a dump."

Another, who did not want to be named, added: "Stonedhenge, maybe. Tourists might be more interested in gawping at the druggies and criminals that inhabit the area."

A spokesman for the East of England Tourist Board would not be drawn on whether it would be adding Marsh Farm to its list of attractions. A spokesman said: "We are aware of Wauluds Bank's history, but are not aware of plans to turn it into a tourist attraction."

Source: Luton & Dunstable on Sunday 13/12/2003

Contributor Bio for vicky: Ex Megalithic Portal Editor, Co-author of 'Rock Around the Peak - Megalithic Monuments of the Peak District' and... More

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