Let the 2014 Rat Run begin!

Friday 11th April 2014...... 





Watch Bustard .....he does work hard for STAG doesn't he!....out again on the A303  taking photos, handing out our new flyers and generally just talking to stuck motorists. The queueing started about 11.20am - these pictures taken from Folly Bottom....and the traffic was nose to tail just 7 minutes later!  

and this, just 7 minutes later!

A303 flowing freely....or so he thinks!!!



We at STAG, sympathise with people who just want to get to their destination for what ever reason: pleasure, work or business, and for the unfortunate gentleman who had left home in London early, to attend a funeral in Blandford.....after sitting in our A303 queue for over half an hour, his car over heated, so it had to come off into a lay by to cool down.....good thing Watch Bustard was around to give the gentleman an alternative route, well off the A303!!
In the main, most people were happy enough to take our flyer to dual the A303 and asking questions such as "has there been an accident?"  "is there road works?"....no, this queue is here almost every weekend and worse leading up to, and during a holiday, and of course we have Easter coming up next weekend.   I say most people were happy enough considering they've been sitting stuck for perhaps 45 minutes to an hour on the A303 from Beacon Hill.  However, by the time they reached our hand out point of just 3 miles, in some cases, tempers were getting a bit frayed, children fractious etc.  I thank the shaven headed gentleman for his advice to go and do something.....that involved sex and travel??.....can't think what he meant!!
At 1 o'clock, our man - Jonathan, from BBC Wiltshire turned up with his mic and interviewed myself and a few of the waiting public - two of whom actually turned out to be Australian and in quite cheery mood considering.   They're used to driving 200 km without a service area!  But ooohhhhh! the smell from cooked clutch or as Watch Bustard put it....casserole de clutch!...and he now muses to take a portfolio of shares in Ferodo! 
You can listen to the interview on Graham Rogers early show from 6am at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01vgtz7  and it takes place from the 7am news bulletin.

The exercise of handing out the flyers to ask people to sign our petition for dualling the A303 past Stonehenge, definitely works because a further 30 people have signed in just 12 hours....keep 'em coming at: www.sh2.co.uk

There is another side to setting off on your holiday and coming to our favourite road's traffic jam.   If you happen to be familiar with the weekly hold up.....like some drivers said....."something needs to be done, we've been travelling this route for 23 years!"   They could of course use their sat nav and provided they've clocked the hold up early enough - as they come over Beacon Hill for instance, come off at Solstice Park (Holiday Inn) and this would take them around the "rat run" i.e. through the local villages of Bulford, Durrington, and Larkhill and on to our own village of Shrewton.    There in lies a problem.....stressed town drivers meeting local villagers - a very bad mix really.....In Shrewton there are no pavements, lots of children, cyclists, horse riders not to mention the elderly and of course......
there's our Duck Race on Easter Sunday starting at 3pm!!! 

You may have thought that the 8 hours of traffic hold up on Friday would be enough......but no! it all started again about 08.30am on Saturday!   So! following a STAG meeting at Base Camp, STAGman.....giving Watch Bustard a rest, went out himself and sent the following photos.....Saturday 12th April........

My spies tell me that unexpectedly, the A303 is queued solid again Monday 14th from Beacon Hill....and, can you believe it, Watch Bustard only got stuck in it....wouldn't you think he'd know better!!!?

Please help us get these people to their destinations and sign our petition at www.sh2.co.uk to dual the A303 past Stonehenge!