It was the shortest day and the longest tailback. The line of traffic to greet the midwinter sun began to form near Stonehenge long before dawn. With the final mile from Larkhill and Winterbourne Stoke taking an hour, and English Heritage warning that the car park was full, many ignored the yellow cones and dumped their cars on the verge, completing the journey on foot.
Druids and hippies, families and tourists walked past Fargo Wood to the ancient stone circle where people first gathered 4,000 years ago to worship the returning sun. “Feels like one of the larger gatherings,” said Arthur Pendragon, a former soldier and biker turned once and future king. Some 6,000 were clocked on the gate, with 98,500 watching the sun rise online via a livestream.
“The winter solstice has become more popular recently and was more important than the summer one when Stonehenge was built,” said Jennifer Wexler, a historian with English Heritage. “There’s something magical about wandering across fields in the dark to celebrate the return of the light.
Read the self-respecting pagan bit. Not talking about Muslims and Mecca here, but Pagans and Stonehenge.