A seemingly curious alliance of druids, pagans, hippies, locals and tourists gathered around a prehistoric stone circle on a plain in southern England to express their devotion to the sun, or to have some communal fun.
They stayed and celebrated at Stonehenge for the night and greeted the sunrise yesterday, which was the longest day in the northern hemisphere.
All over the UK, optimism would reign supreme as summer officially starts. It is no coincidence that the nearby Glastonbury Festival, one of the world’s biggest music events, opened its doors yesterday, too.
Photo: Reuters
Stonehenge and Glastonbury supposedly lie on ley lines — mystical energy connections across Britain.
For the thousands making the pilgrimage to Stonehenge, about 128km southwest of London, it is more than looking forward to Elton John at Glastonbury or a few ciders in the sun.
For druids, modern-day spiritualists linked to the ancient Celtic religious order, Stonehenge has a centuries-long importance, and they were there to perform dawn rituals around the solstice in their traditional white robes. It is effectively all about the cycle of life, of death and rebirth.
Photo: AFP
This year, the summer solstice at Stonehenge started at 7pm on Tuesday and ran through 8am yesterday.
For one night, worshipers were allowed to spend time inside the stone circle. Others chant or play their acoustic guitars. Alcohol is prohibited, as are sound systems. Bring a blanket, but no sleeping bags, please, and definitely, no climbing on the stones.
The rules have been tightened over the decades, certainly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Back in the less-restrained past, tens of thousands would travel by foot, car, bus or motorcycle to worship at the solar temple, or just have a bit of fun.
It is a symbol of British culture and history, and remains one of the UK’s biggest tourist draws, despite the seemingly permanent traffic jams on the nearby A303 highway, a popular route for motorists traveling to and from the southwest of England.
Stonehenge, one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments and a World Heritage Site, was built on the flat lands of Salisbury Plain in stages starting 5,000 years ago, with the unique stone circle erected in the late Neolithic period about 2,500 BC.
Some of the stones, the so-called bluestones, are known to have come from the Preseli Hills in southwest Wales, nearly 240km away, but the origins of others remain a mystery.
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