Pagans Party at Stonehenge

For most people, a barbecue is the best way to ring in the first official day of summer. For about 20,000 New Agers though, the solstice means gathering at Stonehenge to wait for the sun to hit the Heel Stone, a pillar outside the site’s main circle that aligns directly with the rising sun. “It means a lot to us … being British and following our pagan roots,” explained one attendee of the night-long party held every year to ring in the solstice, an update of pre-Christian rituals. After violence broke out at the celebrations the event was cancelled in 1985 and only re-opened in 2000. Since then crowds, with drums and tambourines in tow, have been largely peaceful, though police this year made 34 arrests, most of which were for drug possession.