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 2009
- When: Saturday evening, June 20 to Sunday morning, June 21
- Parking:
- Parking is free.
- The parking lot opens at 7 p.m. Saturday evening. Cars will not be admitted before then.
- Last admission is 6 a.m. Sunday morning, June 21.
- The car park must be vacated by noon on June 21.
- Access to the monument: 7:00 p.m. Friday evening to 8 a.m. Saturday morning.
- The shortest night: Sunset on Saturday 20th June 2009 is at 9:26p.m. Sunrise occurs at 4:58 a.m. on Sunday 21st June 2009.
- Read the conditions of entry.
- Visit the Website
