Did you know that there are only 2 days each year that the public is welcome to stand freely among the stones at Stonehenge? Every summer and winter solstice, celebrations are held at the famous stones, giving people the rare opportunity to walk inside the circle, touch the magnificent stones, and watch the sunrise. In this guide, we tell you all about the awe-inspiring experience of celebrating the summer solstice at Stonehenge.
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Stonehenge was not originally on our itinerary. When we realized we could be in England during the solstice celebrations though, we did not want to pass up on the chance. For 2.5 years, Amanda and I had worked for The Walt Disney Company, where we worked extremely long, stressful hours to keep films and TV shows up and running during the Pandemic. Disney disbanded our department as COVID cases waned, and we were subsequently laid off.
Our trip was to be cathartic – a sort of mourning for the loss of our jobs at a company we really enjoyed working for, but also a celebration for the fact we would not spend every hour of every day talking about COVID. We had zero idea what we would be doing with our lives next. What better way to mark a new season in our lives than watching the sunrise in a beautiful setting as a new season of the year began?
Need more ideas on how to spend your time in England? Check out our Self Guided Walking Tour of London’s Top Sights!
What to Wear and What to Bring
The Summer Solstice may mark the start to summer, but it certainly does not feel like summer weather as you wait for the sun to peek over the horizon in the early morning hours. It was very chilly when we went. Temperatures were in the low 50s (10C) and the light breeze blowing made it feel like the high 40s.
With this in mind, wear layers and bring a coat. You will want to wear your comfiest closed toe shoes. This will keep your feet warm and also dry as you walk in a field that will be covered in dew. You won’t need to bring snacks, but remember your wallet, because there will be food trucks and little souvenir stands a short walk from the circle.
Because it is a world heritage site, there are rules in place of what is allowed in and out. Please familiarize yourself with this list prior to going. Police officers will be stationed there to ensure everyone is following the rules.
If you are unable to visit the festivities for summer solstice at Stonehenge, you can watch it live on Youtube! Follow the English Heritage organization on social media for the latest updates on when streaming will begin.
Getting There
There are not many reviews or blog posts on celebrating Summer Solstice at Stonehenge, so we went back and forth a bit on which tour company we should book. After a lot of research, we chose Premium Tours and had a fantastic experience! Premium Tours has cornered the market for offering fun and exciting tours in the London area – not just to Stonehenge, but also tours to Warner Brothers Studios for Harry Potter fans, trips to the castle where Downton Abbey was filmed, and Shakespeare themed day trips to the Cotswalds and Oxford to name a few. We will definitely use them again after how smoothly things went with our Stonehenge tour!
Use our special link to see the full list of day trip options that Premium Tours offers!
You are going to have to wake up extremely early if you want to go on this adventure. The day before our trip, we did our self guided walking tour of London’s top sights to ensure we would sleep good that night.
Our tour bus departed South Kensington at 1am from the Casino entrance of the Millenium Gloucester Hotel. Knowing this in advance, we chose to stay in South Kensington for the entirety of our trip so we would not have to wake up any earlier than necessary the day of our tour. South Kensington was a fabulous home base in a quiet area near interesting sights with easy tube access.
You will know you are in the right area for the bus pickup, because there will be a horde of people from all over the world eagerly waiting to also experience the summer solstice at Stonehenge. The tour guides arrived just before 1am and did an excellent job wrangling everyone on to the 2 buses. The trip from South Kensington to London takes just under 2hrs. Thankfully, they dimmed the lights quickly after we boarded the bus, allowing us to sleep the majority of the journey. Shortly before we arrived, they woke us up to give a short history of Stonehenge and useful arrival information.
If you will be driving to Stonehenge yourself, there is a carpark. It is a long walk from the parking area to the stone circle. For those with limited mobility (or with a stroller like I was), there is a little bus that will pick you up near the visitor center and drop you off fairly close to the festivities. Regardless of whether you walk or ride to the circle, you should use the restrooms at the visitor center to avoid using a porta-potty on site.
The Celebration
If you attend Stonehenge during the Summer Solstice, it truly is a celebration. The 2023 event we attended saw an estimated attendance of 8,000 people, and it was such an energizing atmosphere to be part of. Everyone we talked to was so joyful.
As soon as we arrived on site, we were met with smiling faces. People in flower crowns merrily wished us a “Happy Solstice!” Lots of people had glow in the dark necklaces and crowns, and there were a couple of groups roaming around playing music on wooden instruments that sounded like they were straight from Runescape.
I was worried that it would be so crowded we would never be able to fight our way to the inner circle. That was not the case at all! We easily traipsed right to the middle and were able to touch the stones and take several pictures, despite the crowd. As daybreak drew nearer, the center grew more crowded, but we were still able to get a spot inside the circle to view the sunrise.
Just before 5am, a hush fell over the crowd as everyone waited with excitement for the sun to appear. When it finally rose, cheers erupted. Amanda and I turned toward each other grinning broadly and made promises to ourselves that in this new season of our lives, we would be more present and pursue our passions more diligently.
Maybe we felt renewed by our promises spoken aloud or maybe it was the mystical powers the stones are said to have, but we felt a sense of peace and contentment that neither of us had felt in a long time as we left the standing stones. There is something so magical about experiencing something so incredibly beautiful and captivating with loved ones and strangers alike.
The beauty did not end when we left the stone circle. Walking back to the bus, the sun continued to put on a brilliant display of colors. Transfixed, we stopped to feel the sun wash over us. To enjoy the moment. To be present.
Do you have questions about celebrating summer solstice at Stonehenge or have experiences you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below!
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Oh my goodness, that sounds truly beautiful. Attending the Summer Solstice celebration at Stonehenge must be a truly unique experience – I have to keep this in my mind!
It was incredible! 10/10 recommend if you are ever in the London area around that time!
Stonehenge is so unique and interesting, I really want to go one day!
I haven’t been to Stonehenge since I was a teenager. But, since it was a typical day, there were far fewer people and no celebrations. Your visit looks more fun!
We were so glad we got to visit Stonehenge the last time we were in England. It was a fascinating sight to beyond. I did not know there was a time when visitors were allowed to stand close to the stones. Good reason to visit for the summer or winter solstice. It sounds like a fun celebration.
How neat to visit at sunrise like that! Adding to my bucket list for sure