The Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

A chance to catch the sunrise in a most magical place..............

The Summer Solstice at Stonehenge is a truly magical time to be there. It's an ad hoc celebration that brings together England's New Age Tribes (neo-druids, neo-pagans, Wiccans) with ordinary families, travelers and party people.

Solstice nowadays is a peaceful and moving experience, but that wasn't always the case. For years, Wiltshire police fought pitched battles with the people who were drawn to see the sunrise on the longest day of the year at Stonehenge. Every year the news carried the numbers arrested. In 1985, in a notorious event named "The Battle of the Beanfield", Wiltshire police were accused by participants journalists and other witnesses, of brutality against a convoy of New Age travelers heading for the site. The event resulted in law suits against the police that went on for years.


At last the authorities saw the light

In more recent times, everyone has seen sense.

For many the impulse to arrive at Stonehenge in time for the Solstice is a little like all those people drawn to the strange rock in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It's akin to a spiritual experience. Anyone who has witnessed the crowd become silent as the sky begins to brighten can attest to that.

English Heritage, who manage Stonehenge, have establish a set of ground rules and now allow visitors to spend all night - From sundown to sun-up. By contrast to the wild and wooly 1980s, the atmosphere is peaceful and happy. There is usually impromptu music, sharing of picnics and the like and if you are in the UK for the Summer Solstice it is a fabulous way to see Stonehenge.

The Summer Solstice at Stonehenge 2010

When: Sunday evening, June 20 to Monday morning, June 21

Parking:

Parking is free.

The parking lot opens at 7 p.m. Sunday evening. Cars will not be admitted before then.

Last admission is 6 a.m. Monday morning, June 21.

The car park must be vacated by noon on June 21.

Access to the monument: 7:00 p.m. Sunday evening to 8 a.m. Monday morning.

The shortest night: Sunset on Sunday 20th June 2010 is at 9:26p.m. Sunrise occurs at 4:52 a.m. on Monday 21st June 2010.


Visit the English Heritage Website
Visit Stonehenge Web Site
Private Stonehenge Tours - HisTOURies UK
Salisbury Guided Tours

David - Stonehenge Tour Guide (see you there!)

Stonehenge Crop Circle - May 2010

THE first crop circles of the year in Wiltshire have appeared at Old Sarum and Stonehenge.

The one at Old Sarum was discovered in a field that is part of Little Durnford Farm last Tuesday.

Estate manager Philip Simmonds said it had been created overnight, but people living in former farmworkers’ cottages nearby did not see or hear anything unusual.

Since then enthusiasts from across Europe have been travelling to Salisbury to see the intricate design, photographed by Old Sarum flying instructor Mark McClelland.

“People have come from Holland, and this morning two ladies arrived from Austria,” Mr Simmonds said on Saturday. “On Thursday evening we had a Dutch film crew, and we’ve had an approach from a Californian film crew to film here next week. It’s all over the internet.”

The circle is in a 110-acre field of oil seed rape, owned by Lord and Lady Chichester.

“I’ve not seen one in a rape field before,” said Mr Simmonds, “although we did have a simple circle in the adjoining field, in a crop of barley, about five years ago.”

Unfortunately for Mr Simmonds the circle has caused £1,000 worth of damage to his crop, so to recoup his loss he is charging visitors to view it close up.

Excitement grew with the discovery of the second circle – or rather three swirling interlinked circles – across the A303 from Stonehenge at 9am on Monday.

Wiltshire Crop Circle Study Group sent up photographer Olivier Morel to take aerial pictures of the design, estimated at 350ft long.
According to the group’s website www.wccsg.com, another circle appeared in the same field in 1996.

Salisbury crop circle researcher and lecturer John Bannister, who has been fascinated by the phenomenon ever since seeing his first circle in a 1950s newspaper article, said: “The geometry of these things is inch-perfect. And no two are ever the same. We send soil samples from the circles away for analysis and they show significant changes.
“We usually get between 60 and 70 in Wiltshire each year because we have got so many ancient sites and ley lines.”

HisTOURies UK, a tour operator based in Salisbury have already started taking private tours to the circles.  The manager, Tim quoted "this is great for tourism in Wilsthire" and looks forward to a bumper year of mysterious crop circles.

David
Stonehenge Tour Guide

Crop Circle at Stonehenge Stone Circle 2010

A Histouries UK tour guide has just sent this information through.  The very first crop circle in Britain for 2010, see image below.  We have also been sent an aeriel image of a crop circle next to Old Sarum hillfort - 8 miles southj of Stonehenge, we will add more details as we get them.  A big thank you to Histouries UK for keeping us up to date, keep up the good work!


David - Stonehenge Tour Guide Private Stonehenge and Crop Circle Tours
Crop Circle Tours and private guided tours of Salisbury and Stonehenge - click here (Histouries UK)