Three Buddhist monks took a walk while a group of men took off their T-shirts in the hot sun and drank lager, promising to continue the party until the sun set and rose again. After two years of Covid restrictions, Stonehenge’s large stone circle reopened for summer solstice celebrations on Monday, prompting pagans, healers, nature lovers and parties to return to the Salisbury Plain by the thousands. Druid Chris Park: “It’s so wonderful to be back and feel part of this amazing landscape again.” Photo: Sam Frost / The Guardian “It’s very exciting,” said Chris Park, a bagpipe druid. “For the last two years we have not been able to reach the stones for the summer solstice. It’s so wonderful to be back and feel part of this amazing landscape again. ” Park was helping lead a group of pilgrims who had brought water from sacred springs across the UK for a ceremony at a point near the circle where humans are known to have camped 4,000 years ago. They then headed for the stones before sunset at 21:28 on Monday and sunrise at 4:49 a.m. on Tuesday. One of the pilgrims, Angela Harding, chief librarian from Bedfordshire, said she really enjoyed returning to Wiltshire. “We have pilgrimages all over the country and it is always wonderful to meet, but I feel very special here this year. “We will sing songs, we will listen to the bagpipes, we will be happy,” he said. Camping and glamping activity at Stonehenge. Photo: Sam Frost / The Guardian When Covid’s lockdowns and restrictions hit in 2020, the right to free access to the stone cycle during the summer solstice was one of the high-profile events canceled. In 2021, people were again asked to stay away, although some disobeyed the request and jumped fences to see the sunrise from the circle. This year English Heritage “managed open access” is back and the charity and the police plan to have 10,000 people in attendance. “We have been planning for two years now,” said Jennifer Davies, head of historic heritage at English Heritage in Stonehenge. “Some people were desperate to return, while others may not yet be ready to be in a crowd in Salisbury Plain.” A live stream of sunset and sunrise at Stonehenge was organized for those who preferred to see it from afar. Sarah, priestess of the goddess (right), with Debs’s girlfriend. Photo: Sam Frost / The Guardian At the camping and glaming site in Stonehenge, a polite, gentle atmosphere prevailed as people who had not seen each other since June 2019 caught on to the difference. “We are creating our own little world here,” said Dan Twocrows, a solstice veteran. “You meet all kinds of people, including people who are far away from fairies – and people who know where fairies come from.” Sarah, from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, who described herself as a priestess of the goddess, said: “It’s good to come back to connect with old friends and make new ones. This is a special place with a special atmosphere of love. “ Dembs, a therapist from Newcastle upon Tyne, was carrying two badger skulls and a container of herbs. He said that Covid had left many people in “fractures”, but he believed that this trip was an opportunity for many to recover, find peace and healing. Anete at the Summer Solstice Festival. Photo: Sam Frost / The Guardian Some were in Stonehenge for the first time, including Anete, who is from Latvia but now lives in Burnley and was traveling with her husband and her two children, aged four and five. “The Solstice is very big in Latvia, so we wanted to see how it was here,” he said. A group of men in their 20s and 30s drank beer happily in the sun. And they proved to be regular solstices. “We love the atmosphere, we love the variety of people,” said Chris Richards, a Wolverhampton caregiver. The return of solstice celebrations is good news for local towns and villages. Most hotels and hostels had “No Vacancies” signs, while pubs and cafes in the nearest town, Amesbury, did a good job. Chris Richards (right) with friends. Photo: Sam Frost / The Guardian There were some crises. People camping on trucks in Drove, a track near the circle, were blocked and miles of traffic cones blocked the edges and potholes. Arthur Pentragon, a druid who considers himself the current incarnation of the former and future king, refused to pay the parking fee in the stone circle and went by bus and not on his motorcycle. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST “It’s useful to pray. That’s not right, “he said. “And it should not have closed in 2020 and 21. If you can not socially distance yourself from Salisbury Plain, where can you?” But he accepted that this was a time for happy celebrations rather than for complaints. “It’s good that I’m back,” he said.
