Ice-blog » Solstice

Summer Solstice 2008

Chris Wild — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:16:50 +0000

Visited Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice again this year; it was very wet. The whole family went for the experience but despite our misgivings with the weather before we set off, the kids were looking forward to it; so we went anyway.

It was very gloomy and very wet. At 8:30pm the stones were quiet so I was hopeful that a projected weekend contingent wasn’t going to turn up. At 4:30am it was apparent that they had. The Stones seemed busier than any other time, and they were definitely messier – the litter was appalling. I do wish some people would have a little more respect for others.

The rain fell for most of the night in some shape or form – came down very heavy just before sunrise. The sun was never visible through the clouds!

The kids spent most of the night asleep in the back of the Scenic; it was just a form of camping to them.

Biggest problem was the two hours it took us to get out of the car park. Normally only takes about 15 minutes. We spent a good hour thirty not actually moving!

It seems the car park was full; I have never seen the cars parked all the way to the back that’s for sure. And I think this created a problem when people started to leave – just nowhere to go. That combined with the little hill heading to the exit being a tad wet and the cars were started to wheel spin on it… I wonder how some of the later cars and vans would have got on…

Summer Solstice, Stonehenge

Messages from the stones…

Chris Wild — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 22:19:26 +0000

I was at Stonehenge for the summer Solstice… anyway recently someone commented about one of my pictures on one of the photograph sites that I post to.

Here is the picture. You can click on it to get a bigger image.

And here is the comment.

Great image spoiled by the NO in the cloud formation obviously not a heavenly body!!!! apart from that nicely handled image…Bev.

I had to email Bev to find out what was meant… and only after much staring did I see that message sent to me during sunset before the summer solstice at stonehenge… boldy in the top middle of the picture, nestled among the clouds… “NO”… was someone trying to tell me something?

Summer Solstice, Stonehenge, Photograph, Messages, Weird, Hidden Text

Summer Solstice 2007

Chris Wild — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 05:00:32 +0000

I went to the Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge last night. I was up there for 9pm ready to see the sunset. I’ve not see the sunset at the stones before and to be honest they are not in the right position for it!
There was a small amount of cloud which cleared relatively quickly and the rest of the night was pretty clear and dry. It only rained for about 10 seconds at around 9:30pm.
The stones were busy, mainly I think because Glastonbury is upon us and many people will be en-route. I have to say that security seemed a bit edgy. I’m not sure if they were expecting trouble or that they were concerned about the numbers but there did seem to be something in the air. There seemed to be a lot more nobs than usual and there was an awful lot more rubbish left lying around. All in all I didn’t think it was the best solstice celebrations.
The sky was clear right through to 4am and the the dark storm clouds rolled in. By 4:30 the sky was pretty covered and the chance of seeing a decent sunrise looked very very remote. Also, the chance of getting soaked look very very high. So we cut our loses and head for home.

Summer Solstice, Summer Solstice 2007, Stonehenge, Glastonbury, Sunset, Sunrise
Stonehenge

The Longest Night – Winter Solstice

Chris Wild — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 11:31:58 +0000

I went to the Winter Solstice Celebrations at Stonehenge this morning. It isn’t as widely visited as the Summer Solstice, I guess the cold puts most people off, so the reduced numbers make for a more personal moment. There is very little organisation compared to the Summer Solstice, no car parking facilities, no food, etc, but then you only get about a thousand people at the most compared to the twenty five thousand in the summer.

The fog was thick, as it has been for the past few days, so I didn’t actually see the sun until about 9:30am from the motorway on my way to work, but the atmosphere was fantastic and the fog added to the feeling of eerieness that one gets from the stones.

Unlike the summer solstice, the winter solstice has a more defined ceremony for the people who welcome the sun back. I found myself caught between two thoughts for the people who take it seriously; One. You are grown men, get a grip of yourself… and Two. We should all let these people get on with it without our intrusion.

There is a large intrusion of photographers and camera men trying to get the close shot of anyone who remotely look like they take the process seriously. I found myself thinking that they should just be left alone with a small exclusion zone around them. Imagine all these cameras at the front of a church during communion or something.

I also found that you get people dressed up a tad silly to be taken seriously, and that these people detract from what everyone else is doing. A bloke dressed as Merlin springs to mind. Dressed in new modern costime shop atire, complete with jeans and white trainers! Unfortunatley, it is people like him that get the attention of the press, and therefore show a rather silly side of the whole process.

The Longest Night, Winter Solstice, Fog, Stonehenge, Winter Solstice Celebrations
Winter Solstice Celebrations, Stonehenge

Stonehenge – Summer Solstice 2006

Chris Wild — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 06:26:59 +0000

Well, I’ve just got back from Stonehenge where I was for the Summer Solstice. That’s now the third year on the trot. It was a little different this year as it was cloudy and rainy. It was on off slow drizzle from about 0:00am and then absolutley tipped it down at around 2am. The sun should have appeared at about 4:50am but it didn’t really clear the clouds until 6am. But despite the clouds and the rain, it was still an enjoyable experience. I really want to get the Winter Solstice in this year…

Stonehenge, Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice
Stonehenge, Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice

Stonehenge – Summer Solstice 2005

Chris Wild — Tue, 21 Jun 2005 06:30:26 +0000

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.

Stonehenge

Chris Wild — Mon, 19 Jul 2004 21:58:47 +0000

I have posted an article that I wrote on the Summer Solstice. I’ve placed it in the June archive where it rightly belongs.

The Longest Day

Chris Wild — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 08:00:00 +0000

There are few times in your day to day life when you give any consideration for the people who have walked the path before you, stood where you stand, or have sat where you sit. The last time I gave this any real consideration was back in 1999 when I visited Pompeii. Walking down the recently unearthed streets I found myself thinking about whom may have walked or ridden down there before me. When you consider many of the names from history, linked with the Roman Empire and imagine that many of they may have walked the very cobbles that you stand upon.
Another place that fills me with the same fascination is Stonehenge. Ever since I moved down south some ten years ago now, I have meant to spend more time there than the cursory visits that I have so far afforded it. Year after year I plan to visit for the Summer Solstice, and year after year I just never get around to it. It was only recently while chatting online to an American friend of mine, that I realised just how much she would love to visit the Henge, and it struck me that despite the fact that it is particularly on my doorstep, I?ve never got round to doing something that other people can only dream about. So with that, I made sure that this Solstice would be spent at the stones.
It is thought that the first phase of Stonehenge was completed about 5000 years ago. This consisted of a circular bank and ditch, and a set of holes known as the Aubrey holes which sit just inside the circumference of the 120m diameter ditch This ditch is actually the part know as the henge; a henge being an earthwork monument built during the Neolithic.
A few hundred years later, phase two was added at the site. This consisted of wooden structures being added to the centre of the monument. Although there is much excavation evidence that shows very complicated patterns, there is no real way of knowing the layout or purpose of this phase.
About 1000 years later the builders moved in and redeveloped the site; a double circle of 80 blue stones that was added during the Henge?s third phase. These 4 tonne stones, are believed to have originated from the Preseli Mountains of South Wales 240 miles away, the reason being is that the stone cannot be found anywhere else. At this point the Heal stone was added, this is the stone that marks the direction of the Midsummer sunrise. Excavations at the site show that the third phase was never completed as about 100 years later the then owner of the land decided on yet another redevelopment.
The next phase involved adding a large circle of Sarsen stones from the Marlborough Downs, 19 miles away. This circle was capped with stone lintels that created the well known circle that visitors know today. Some of these stones weigh up to 50 tonnes, and although they were transported from a much shorter distance, the feat of moving them to the site shouldn?t be underestimated. Once on site these stones were all shaped for either aesthetic or for creating the joints required to keep the lintels in place.
The final phase at Stonehenge happened about 500 years later, around 1500bc. The stones were moved around to create the inside of the circle that we are familiar with today.
Pompeii is only around 2000 years old, a slight moment in time compared to 5000 years of Stonehenge.
I was oblivious to all this information before setting off on my journey for an evening with the druids. You may be able to tell from the tone of my voice that I?m rather sceptical about many of the people who visit the site to perform their pagan rituals. Maybe this has to do with the fact that I?m not spiritual or religious in anyway, but maybe it just that I was never very good at participation events and I find the whole concept a little daft. It doesn?t matter if you don a robe and stick and wander the Salisbury plains, or are a happy clapper at the local church; it?s just not my scene.
All I knew was that many people visited the site during the morning before the rising of the sun for the longest day, and that this year I was to be one of them. The first thing that struck me is that English Heritage has a great fact sheet telling you everything you need to know about the Summer Solstice. It not only covers all the obvious do?s and don?ts but also everything you need to know about parking, transport, camping, wheelchair access etc. I was really impressed with the wealth of information available.
I was making the trip with Fergus, a friend of mine. It just seemed to make sense to visit the stones with someone; it wasn?t like I would be able to have a quite moment alone surrounded by the expected 25,000 visitors. So we left my house just after midnight on Monday 21st and made the 30 minute drive to the stones. As I drove up the A345 there was a strange white glow over the hills to my left, I concluded that the ceremony had started early and that the aliens had already landed at the site and were promptly removing the druids. As I got closer to the stones everything was revealed; large lights had been erected all round the site for the safety of everyone involved. It had a strange Close Encounters feel about it, but nonetheless made sense.
As I arrived at the designated car par, I was given a map of the site and a black bin bag and then allowed to find a parking spot in the field being used as a make shift car park. Already I had the feeling that somewhere our ancestors were looking on disapprovingly. Again the car park was very well organised.
The car park is about a 20 minute walk from the stones and along the well trodden route I was struck by the commercialism occurring around me. It felt a little like going to a gig with portaloos, burger vans, and strip lights. And although no money actually changed hands for tickets so there were no touts harassing you at the gate, I half expected to get to the stones and find that Oasis or some such were headlining.
There were two real oddities that bothered me that night, one was the huge presence of the RSPCA near the burger van, I gather this was for kennels for the dogs brought by many of the travellers but I found the location a little unnerving and was therefore unable to purchase any meat products all night. The other was the preferential position of the Vegan eatery closer to the stones. I just felt that some hippy clique was going on here.
Finally we were at the stones. The hypnotic beat of the drums and the sweet smell of smokeable drugs and Eau De Hippy slowly taking you in. I have to say at this point that seeing Stonehenge at night is breathtaking, even with a cloak of 25,000 people draped over it.
We managed to walk around and through the stones and although there was no real spiritual moment for me as I touched them, I did find myself lost in that thought of all the people who had stood in that stone circle before me for some 5000 years. Call it a moment of tapping into a collective conscious, but I definitely found my self thinking about the rituals that had been performed on this site for thousands of years.
I must admit that there were moments of disappointment, I would obviously have loved to be there on my own, and I may consider paying English Heritage the fee to do that one day, to sit in the middle of the stones at dawn or dusk, all on my own. But the company of 25,000 people seemed somewhat comforting. The thing that really annoyed me was the number of people who were visiting with no real care for the sanctity of the site. The large amount of litter, mainly beer cans, strewn over the floor, I just found perplexing. I didn?t really mind the people who were that drunk or stoned that they had passed out on the grass, somehow that seemed fitting with the purpose of the place. After all who am I to say that 5000 years ago people didn?t come here to get high while watching the sunrise for the start of the longest day.
Over the next few hours we walked around the whole site and examined it from many different angles and situations. The summer morning mist starting to envelope the rolling hills around us made for an eerie feeling. Watching lone shadows walk out of the distance and into the man made light really compacted the alien quality of the technological setup to this very pre-technical place.
Sunrise was yet to arrive but I had already loved my time there. I watched tired children sitting around with their parents waiting for something that they would know doubt remember for the rest of their lives. I caught snippets of conversations as I mingled through the dancing crowds. Discarded hippies cluttered the floor. Even the police were in good humour. I heard one policeman comment to a colleague that there was no way anyone was going to let them back into the centre circle of the stones, only for him to be told to just push in like the rest of them.
The stones took on another mystical appearance as dawn approached and the mist pressed ever closer. A slight chill descended upon us as the moment we had all been waiting for approached. 4:58am was the official moment that the sun would favour us with her presence, but due to low cloud and the mist, it was almost 5:15 before she broke through and first golden tendrils embraced the ancient monument. Again there was no spiritual moment, just a beholding of the beauty of nature itself. I don?t think it really matters where you are when you witness either sunrise or sunset; it is just an inspirational moment. However, stood at this 5000 year old site, surrounded by 25,000 like minded people, was quite a moment.
By 7am I was back at home. I had a few hours sleep before going to work; in future I’ll probably book the day of as I was neither use nor ornament. I managed to watch England beat Croatia at football before finally making it to bed at 10pm. I’d slept for about 3 hours in the last 40. Monday the 21st June, really was the longest day.

Stonehenge, Summer Solstice, Pompeii, Roman Empire, Solstice, Preseli Mountains, South Wales, Midsummer, Sarsen, Marlborough Downs, druids, Salisbury plains, English Heritage, RSPCA, Vegan
Pompeii, Roman Empire, Stonehenge, Summer Solstice, Solstice, Preseli Mountains, South Wales, Midsummer, Sarsen, Marlborough Downs, druids, Salisbury plains, English Heritage, RSPCA, Vegan