A new Groups Reception Building located in the recently completed 52-space coach park at Stonehenge has opened, making visits for groups arriving at the attraction by coach simpler and easier.
The new building gives group leaders a new and more convenient interior reception space for ticket and audio guide collection. It also houses toilet facilities, which almost double the number on site and will be especially handy for passengers disembarking from coaches after long journeys.
Kate Davies, Stonehenge’s General Manager, says: “We worked closely with our travel trade partners to find the best way to meet demand and ease congestion at this important heritage attraction and feedback shows they have already noticed a significant improvement since we finished the first phase earlier this year.”
The opening marks the completion of phase two of a major improvement project started by English Heritage almost a year ago aimed at streamlining group arrivals and improving visitor flow at the busy site.
Other improvements completed earlier this year include a newly designed permanent coach park with an upgraded layout.
A new groups-only shuttle pick-up point has also been added next to the reception building. It allows groups to go directly from the coach park to the Stone Circle, where an enlarged drop-off/pick-up layout makes the shuttle service more fluid and flexible.
Groups returning from the Stone Circle are dropped at the nearby visitor centre where they can view internal and external exhibitions, shop for souvenirs and enjoy refreshments in the café before walking the short distance to the coach park to re-join their vehicles.
