Stonehenge winter solstice

Three hundred and sixty-three days a year, visitors are kept well away from the stones of Stonehenge. But for just a few hours during the winter and summer solstices, anyone can enter the circle. I’ve lived in this part of England for about half my life, but this was my first solstice celebration. We arrived at the stones about 7 am, an hour before dawn, and listened to the pagan prayers. The international crowd of revellers and worshippers included druids, witches, wizards and followers of ancient religions. Like us, they’d come to await the light on the darkest morning of a long, wet and grey English winter. Hail to the Sun! 

​​December 2025, Stonehenge, UK