'Be patient' plea over new Stonehenge visitor centre

People disgruntled with the new £27m visitor centre at Stonehenge have been urged to "be patient" while English Heritage "irons out" its issues.

Reviews posted on the Trip Advisor website have complained of steep prices, long queues and inadequate transport to the stones.

English Heritage said shuttle buses had been increased and a timed ticketing system would start in February.

But it said the majority of feedback had been "overwhelmingly positive".

English Heritage says it is making improvements to the centre

A spokeswoman said: "This is a brand new operation, on a completely different scale to the old visitor centre, and naturally during these early days there have been some issues.

"But we are solving them.

"We appreciate all the feedback we've received and we would ask people to be patient while we iron out the few remaining issues."

'Ugly carbuncle'

Several users on Trip Advisor were critical of the new centre, with one describing it as a "monstrously ugly carbuncle".

One user said: "I am a wheelchair user and I thought the price was a bit steep, I had no discount on being disabled. there wasn't much to see when I went in, it was a bit poor for the money."

However, another said the visit was an "incredible experience" and the monument was "beautiful".

English Heritage said the admission price of £14.90 offered value for money and would not be lowered.

More than one million people visit Stonehenge each year. About two thirds of them come from overseas.

The new visitor centre, which features an exhibition of 250 prehistoric objects, opened in December.

Facilities at the complex also include an education centre, cafe, shop and toilets.

A transit system transports visitors to the World Heritage Site and the A344, which ran near the stones, has been closed and grassed over.

The project has been partially funded by a £10m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.