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Thousands marking summer solstice Thousands mark summer solstice
(about 1 hour later)
Thousands of people celebrated the summer solstice as dawn broke at Stonehenge in Wiltshire. Some 30,000 people celebrated the summer solstice as dawn broke at Stonehenge in Wiltshire.
Druids, hippies and sun worshippers were among those gathering to watch the sun rise at the ancient stone circle at 0458 BST on the longest day. Druids, hippies and sun-worshippers were among those who gathered to watch the sun rise at the ancient stone circle at 0458 BST on the longest day.
A spokeswoman for English Heritage, which runs the site on Salisbury Plain, said a record turnout was predicted. Rainy conditions obscured the sunrise but the turnout was still the highest in five years.
"Because this year's solstice falls on a Friday night/Saturday morning, we are expecting more people," she said. Police said the event was peaceful, with 15 arrests overnight for public order offences.
Overcast and drizzly As the dawn broke a cheer went up from revellers who gathered at the Heel stone - a pillar at the edge of the prehistoric monument.
"People will not have to take a day off to come this year, which is why we're expecting record numbers. It's all about the feeling you get when the sun bursts through the stone Stonehenge reveller 'Cathbad'
"We hope there will be up to 25,000 but we will not know until tomorrow." Unemployed John Tarbuck, 33, from Bude, Cornwall, set up a small tent party next to his car.
Weather forecasts for Saturday morning were bleak. "The best thing about Summer Solstice at the 'henge is you get to meet loads of new people," he said.
The Summer Solstice is a way of attuning ourselves back into the cycles of nature Druid Network spokesman "It's likely to be pretty overcast, and misty and there could well be some drizzle in the air too," said BBC meteorologist Richard Angwin. "All the people here at my tent party, I've never met before."
At the complex of ancient stones in Avebury, 25 miles north of Stonehenge, another all-night Summer Solstice party takes place on a smaller scale. Another man, dressed in a black hooded top, who gave his name as Cathbad, said: "It's a beautiful experience. It's about celebrating nature, life and what makes the world go round.
A spokeswoman for the Druid Network said: "The summer solstice is a way of attuning ourselves back into the cycles of nature, connecting with the land and the turning of the seasonal tides." "It's a little bit too heavily organised, with too much intervention from the establishment, but I'll keep coming back.
Revellers travelling to both sites were urged to use public transport because of limited parking. "It's all about the feeling you get when the sun bursts through the stone."
A spokeswoman for English Heritage, which runs the 5,000-year-old site, said the last time a turnout of 30,000 was achieved was in 2003.
"It's been very wet and soggy," she said. "Probably a few disappointed people, many streaming out before sunrise because it was so wet and cold.
"I don't think it will discourage people from coming again. Quite a few people come every year and are quite hardy."