Victoria and I did the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge this year. It was my second year and her first. We got there about 0:15am after a short and easy journey, my house afterall is only about 30 minutes away. Again the organisation was splendid, and getting into the car park was effortless. We walked the mile down to the stones and took some time wandering about and through them. It has to be noted that there are a lot of people at the stones, around 25k, and a lot of them are drunk or stoned. I’m not sure if I understand why some of then take the trouble to visit, but I guess being drunk or stoned must be a crucial part of the excercise for them. Sometimes movement around the stones can be a little difficult due to the number of “discarded hippies” littering the floor, however you can usually avoid standing on someone’s head.
At about 2:15am we trekked back to the car for refreshments and a little time out before heading back to the stones for about 4:15am reading ourselves for the rising sun.
This year the sky was clearer of cloud than last year, so the sun made her appearance over the hills, bang on time at 4:58am as opposed to 5:25am when she finally breached the clouds last year. So for that reason this year seemed so much better, oh, and the little matter of being able to experience it with my wife.
Later this year I intend to visit again for the Winter Solstice Sunset – December 21st – looking forward to that already.
Related: The Longest Day
Stonehenge, Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice
Summer Solstice, Stonehenge, Winter Solstice