The centre of the circle is packed with revellers.AS the sun finally made its appearance at 5.15 on Monday morning, at the beginning of the longest day of the year, cheers broke out among the assorted crowd of about 21,000 people gathered at Stonehenge.

It was the fifth consecutive year that English Heritage had provided managed open access to the World Heritage site for the summer solstice.

Sadly, the sun was shrouded in mist at its due time of 04.58 BST, missing its slot between the gap of the two large standing stones aligned with the heel stone.

Not even the druids' horns could summon its presence and, after quickly retreating behind cloud after its first, brief appearance, it was not until 5.30am that the ancient stones were fully bathed in glorious sunlight.

Although there were fewer visitors than last year's record figure of 30,000, the chilly air did not deter anyone present from celebrating the dawn, some in their own special way - dancing, chanting, praying, saluting the sun with yoga and tai chi - while others simply enjoyed being near the stones.

White witch Georgina Blything, of Haverfordwest, had travelled to Stonehenge with her sister, Rose.

Formerly from Tidworth, Georgina is a regular at the summer solstice.

"Last year, I performed a wedding, but this year I have come to perform a reiki achievement with the stones," she said.

For Ruth Collins, of Portsmouth, it was her first visit to both Stonehenge and the solstice, and she said it was "an absolutely wonderful, completely fantastic, mind-blowing experience".

Druid leader 'King' Arthur Pendragon formed a circle with fellow druids by the heel stone, gathering anyone who wanted to join in the druid vow to "swear by peace and love to stand, heart-to-heart and hand-to-hand".

'King' Arthur called for the uniting of the Celtic and English dragons, before the sun finally made its appearance.

Most people were happy simply to wander around the outside of the stones, some sporting body paint and wearing wreaths, others just sitting and soaking up the atmosphere, or playing a constant drumbeat that could be heard all over the site.

Those who could penetrate the inner circle would have enjoyed a real party atmosphere with the revellers.

Some 150 police were on duty at the solstice and, although a low profile was maintained, there were 17 arrests for climbing on the stones and other offences relating to public order.

A spokesperson for Salisbury Police said: "We were pleased with the manner in which the majority of people who attended the celebration conducted themselves.

"They aimed to enjoy themselves and we were pleased that plans between English Heritage the National Trust, ourselves and other religious groups were pulled off for the fifth consecutive year."

English Heritage did a good job of presiding over the smooth running of the event, with strict conditions of entry helping to ensure that druids, pilgrims, partygoers, students and an assortment of other people enjoyed a happy and peaceful time.