Silbury Hill 180
Image by photobabe

Littlestone wrote:
Think the point that’s been staring us in face all this time, and we’ve missed, it is that people do, actually, want to touch the monument. We see it all the time at Avebury, and that’s what makes Avebury and Stonehenge so different – the former let’s you get up close and ‘intimate’ while the latter keeps you at arm’s length. Interestingly, at Avebury, people who actually climb the stones are few and far between – most are quite happy to wander round and interact with the stones in a respectful way.

So, I’d opt for a path at the very base of the monument so people can actually touch it – then a simple unobtrusive fence (without barbed wire) a few feet up to deter kids and the less conservation-minded from going further. Won’t deter everyone but it’s a start to better things maybe

Yep, I agree with every word of that and it just 'feels' right.

The only people who I can imagine objecting are photographers, who, during particularly busy periods, will no longer be able to get shots of the hill without people in.
Small price to pay though.

"The only people who I can imagine objecting are photographers, who, during particularly busy periods, will no longer be able to get shots of the hill without people in."

As with all art, living things always add something to pictures. And it's good to have people in shots of Silbury so as to convey the sheer amazing scale of it.

I also think this feels right. The strengthened paths at the Rollrights with grass growing through them are zero aesthetic problem. And of course, such a path wouldn't be interfering with archaeology, whereas strengthening the path on the hill would. But best of all is the fact the public would protect the hill by becoming Shame Wardens. ;)

Evergreen Dazed wrote:
The only people who I can imagine objecting are photographers, who, during particularly busy periods, will no longer be able to get shots of the hill without people in.
Small price to pay though.
Photoshop ;)