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As an ex-hippy ex-stonehenge free festival regular (one of the very few to make it there in 1985 hopelessly outnumbered by police and the worlds press, and in 1987 having the most profound spiritual experience of my life), I must agree with anonymous. I wasn't offered drugs (although some scally demanded drugs at the car window thinking my partners ciggy in was a spliff), but was disgusted at the attitude and lack of respect for the site of many of the so-called 'revellers'.
The truth is that there were just too many people - I made it just inside the trilithions but the crush made me fear a Hillsborough-type situation - and too many paralytically drunk people - a triumph for spirits over spirit, as for many it was just another excuse for a party just like any other weekend.
In the days of the festival, of course we had the party-till-you-drop types and the unsavoury element (anyone remember the 'brew crew"?), but the festival proper acted as a safety valve, an alternative focus for those who just wanted to get off their heads, whereas the sunrise at the stones consequently had mostly people who respected the stones and had a profound spiritual experience.
I think EH's paranoia about allowing anything festival-like is misplaced. If an appropriate site is found (e.g. nearby MOD land if it is clear of unexploded ordnance - but not too close so it is still a fair trek to the stones) those who want to party can be catered for, leaving the stones for those who genuinely want to be there. I must congratulate their organisation, and the Police, in getting around 12000 vehicles into and out of the car park within a reasonable time.
I certainly don't want to see a reversion to the bad old days of a ban or tightly restricted access, nor get into the unhelpful 'paganer than thou' arguments I have seen elsewhere. However if the current trend continues someone may be crushed to death - and any half-competent risk assessment is going to highlight this issue, so there must be some way of limiting numbers in future years (particularly at weekends). Maybe some form of ticketing on a free first-come, first served or balloted basis for named individuals and groups, limited to maybe 10-15000 people within the close vicinity of the stones.
That was my seventh - and last - summer solstice at Stonehenge. In future I will seek a less well-known site with a group of like-minded souls.
Something is not right. This message is just to keep things from messing up down the road