‘Dangerous precedent’: fears over plans for Calanais stones access fee

Calanais, also known as Callanish, now draws huge numbers of tourists thanks to cruise ship tours. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

For generations walkers, pagans and artists have freely roamed around the standing stones at Calanais on Lewis, drawn by the site’s monumental scale, its coastal views and the spiritual impact of the rising sun and moon there.

But there are growing fears that proposals by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to introduce an admissions charge and control access to the neolithic site for the first time, could have a significant impact on those freedoms.