English Heritage will once again welcome people to Stonehenge to celebrate the Winter Solstice, the first day of the winter season. Sunrise is just after 8am on Monday 22 December and visitors will be able to access the monument as soon as it is light enough to do so safely. Entrance is free and will be available from roughly 7.45am until 10am, when the site will close before re-opening to the public. Kate Davies, General Manager of Stonehenge, said: “We are delighted to offer people a warm welcome to Stonehenge this Winter Solstice. We work very closely with the druid and pagan community to ensure that access to Stonehenge is a success during Winter Solstice. If you are planning on coming, please do dress very warmly and be prepared for wet weather”. Parking is very limited and there is in excess of a thirty minute walk, in low light, from the parking areas to the monument. Permits will be issued for blue badge disabled parking and there will be dedicated accessible transport to the stone circle which will begin just prior to the opening of the monument field. Please apply to [email protected] We recommend where possible that people arrive at site by public transport. Salisbury Reds are running a shuttle bus service from Salisbury to Stonehenge from 6am. Inspector Christian Lange said: We would like to reiterate the need for everyone to make sure they are appropriately dressed for the damp/cold conditions and have suitable footwear for the walk across rough ground to the stones. We would also strongly advise people to use public transport as parking is limited at the site. We wish all those attending an enjoyable and peaceful Winter Solstice celebration. Why 22 December? Many people – not least diary manufacturers – believe that the Winter Solstice always falls on 21 December. But the celebration of the winter solstice at Stonehenge is not fixed to a specific calendar date – this is because of a mismatch between the calendar year and solar year. The solstice is traditionally celebrated at the sunrise closest to the time when the sun is stationary before beginning its transit to the north or south. This year this occurs late on 21 December, hence the winter solstice celebrations take place at sunrise on 22 December. For traffic, weather and news updates on the morning of solstice, please follow @eh_stonehenge and #wintersolsticeSH on Twitter.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 12:02:35 +0000
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