Grey skies met the solstice dawn at Avebury

1:41pm Monday 23rd June 2008

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DESPITE having to guess at when the sun was going to rise, hundreds of people turned out at Avebury for the summer solstice on Friday.

With heavy cloud covering the sky at the dawn of the longest day of the year revellers relied on keeper of the stones, Terry Dobney, to announce the sunrise.

Click the link below for a video report of summer solstice at Avebury.

When it came, at 4:45am, there were no beams of light striking the ancient stones, just the faint sound of drizzle, which had been falling since 3am, landing on the ground.

The evening had started brightly but soon faded underneath the clouds.

There were spectacular displays with fire as batons were twirled against the backdrop of the imposing Avebury stones.

Mr Dobney led the ceremony as the sun started to rise and welcomed the longest day as the "sunny dawn" much to onlookers' amusement.

Mr Dobney, who has had his title for nine years and has been coming to Avebury for 50 years, said: ""It is really the death of the summer because from Tuesday we lose a minute of light every day.

"But this is an important day because of its significance and you can see it matters to a lot of people."

Mr Dobney, 59, from West Kennett, was pleased with the amount of people who had braved the weather.

He said: "It is intriguing to see the age diversity and the new blood who come through. People seem to want to come here just to experience it, they are really inquisitive.

"You often see couples walking hand in hand and it is a very romantic place. They can learn about the stones and learn about each other."

Some had pitched tents in adjoining fields but others had just put umbrellas up and bunkered down for the night.

The hardy souls refused to let the rain beat them and steadfastly stayed among the stones dancing and enjoying the music from various drums.

Will Wood, 25, travelled from Gloucester with girlfriend Vicky Burgundy for the first time.

"We thought it would be romantic to watch the sun come up, but obviously it's a little cloudy to do that," he said.

"But it is still a good experience. We hadn't done it before and it was something we wanted to do."

Ali Richardson, 26, from Bridport in Dorset had decided to come to Avebury, despite Stonehenge being closer to his home.

"I knew all about Stonehenge and have been the last few years but wanted to come to Avebury for something different," he said.

With revellers steadily getting soaked, some less hardy folk left for the night but the hardcore stayed until the bitter end.

Many gathered on the hill overlooking the stones and others formed a circle around the druids as they chanted to acknowledge the sunrise.

It was lucky for those still awake because the only hint of a new day was the sky getting mildly lighter.

Avebury has been one of the centres of celebrations of the summer solstice for centuries.

Originally built to help tell the time, the stones have been carbon dated to between 2800 and 2400 BC.