Summer Solstice at Stonehenge

5

This event is at the forefront of many hippie calendars and draws anywhere from 18,000 people in bad weather like this year to 45,000 people in perfect weather, like 2 years ago. It's a well organised and secure event with rules in place to preserve the ancient site, and the atmosphere is awesome with dancing and cheering throughout the night.

How to tick this off your list:

Activity requirements
There's really not a whole lot to it, but you do have to be able to walk roughly a mile from where you park your car to the actual site.

Cost
This is a free event.

What Fiked recommends
Firstly, this is England so the weather may not be great so bring boots for the long, potentially muddy walk from the car. There are a few food vendors on the site if you are hungry, but I personally recommend bringing your own food; the stuff we ate wasn't fantastic. There's a no drinking rule on the site which is promptly ignored by almost everyone, so if you're planning on drinking, bring your own alcohol, just don't bring bottles as people walk barefoot and cattle graze around there. Bring a camera along if you want some cool photos as it's not often you get to do this. Wrap up warm, it may be summer, but it's England and the middle of the night!

Best time to do this
Sunrise on the 21st of June every year. This is one of the only times each year that you can actually go up and touch the stones, so if you are planning on visiting Stonehenge, it may as well be on this day.

Where can I do this?
This evert happens annually at Stonehenge, which is an archaeological site believed to have been built between 2500-3000 BC and is one of the most popular sites in the world to celebrate Summer Solstice - the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Although Stonehenge is not the largest stone circle, it is the only one that has lintels around the top, making it unique.

Who we recommend does this:
There's a real mix of people that attend, ranging from families that come every year without fail and teenagers looking for a bit of a party, to pagans, druids and hippies. For most, the reason for celebrating the solstice has lost its meaning a long time ago and is now enjoyed by a wide variety of like minded people who want to share in a special occasion.