A CROWD of thousands celebrated sunrise at Stonehenge for the summer solstice yesterday.
Around 10,000 revellers flocked to the Neolithic site to see in the start of the longest day of the year at around 4.52am.
The solstice marks midsummer, which is traditionally seen as the first day of summer in the UK.
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Built on the alignment of the midsummer sunrise and the midwinter sunset, the prehistoric monument in Wiltshire has hosted solstice celebrations for thousands of years.
As the sun rose and lined up with the almost five-foot-high heel stone and the central Altar stone, the crowds cheered, delighting in the first rays that bathed their faces.
Police were poised at the event, run by English Heritage, to douse any unrest and said the gathering was peaceful, despite four arrests made through
the night.
A drone was used to monitor the crowds while simultaneously sending a live feed to Wiltshire Police’s control room. The bird’s-eye view helped officers to identify areas around the site that would benefit from foot patrols.
A 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure, a 25-year-old man on suspicion of drink driving and a 15-year-old girl on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly and a 19-year-old man on suspicion of criminal damage.
A 45-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of common assault
24 miles away at the stone circle in Avebury, Wiltshire, where more people had camped out to watch the sun rise.
Superintendent Dave Minty said: “We were pleased with how summer solstice went once again this year. It passed peacefully with just one arrest at Avebury and four at Stonehenge, including one person on suspicion of drink driving.
“Overnight, we deployed a force drone at Stonehenge several times to help keep an eye on the estimated 10,000 strong crowd. We got some really good footage and by using a live feed to the control room it made it easier for us to place officers and security officers around the site where they may be needed.”
Scotland wasn’t short of celebrations either, as people congregated to welcome the 16 hours and 38 minutes of daylight that was traditionally an important time in the spiritual and farming calender.
Celebrations were carried out close to the Ring of Brodgar, Orkney’s stone-age stone ring, organised by the Spiritual Orkney group who concluded their night-time ritual by sharing ale and honeycake.
Yesterday also saw the commencement of Orkney’s St Magnus International Festival that showcases chamber music and opera; theatre and dance; poets and authors as well as many more activities over seven days.
The Shetland Isles, which also boasts megalithic circles thought to be pagan places of worship, saw gatherings mark the occasion.
The islanders celebrate festivals throughout the year that use fire to herald in a new season, thought to be influenced by their proximity to Scandinavia.
Marking the halfway point of harvest, midsummer brought the promise of ritual and celebration to early communities and fell between the planting and harvesting of crops, leaving those who worked the land with a period of relaxation.
Fire was used to toast the celebrations, a potent symbol of light defeating the months of darkness.
It’s thought that although customs would have varied from place to place, the overarching theme would have remained the same: land, crops and animals would have been blessed with fire, often by walking around them in a sun-wise direction.
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The most athletic villagers would be invited to leap over roaring bonfires to demonstrate their prowess while protective plants such as fern and St John’s Wort would be worn and stashed around home to ward away evil and usher in good fortune.
Perth’s family-friendly three-day Solas Festival kicked off on the day with a line- up that included live music, storytelling, participatory workshops and late night DJ sets, while The Scottish Crannog Centre at Kenmore, Loch Tay, held their annual Midsummer Music event which provided live music in the thatched crannog and on a woodland outdoor stage.
Other countries celebrate the mid-point of the year with their own festivities; Spain honours the pagan roots of their St John the Baptist nativity held on June 24.
People in Sweden gathered under a pole draped in greenery while midsummer’s eve is is a national public holiday.
New Yorkers have co-opted the tradition with a collective celebration of yoga on the solstice when thousands of yogis descended on Times Square to downward-dog at the spot they consider the “Crossroads of the World”.
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