10 of the very best locations to have a good time the summer time solstice within the UK and Eire

Glastonbury, Somerset

Celebrated in folklore and historical traditions for the reason that daybreak of time, the summer time solstice on 20 June is when the solar is at its highest, making it the longest day of the yr. Midsummer refers back to the days across the solstice interval.

Get pleasure from dawn with the druids at Glastonbury Tor, famend as one of the vital religious websites within the UK, with beautiful views throughout the countryside. Referred to as the Isle of Avalon, it’s additionally the place King Arthur is alleged to have retired after his final battle. Legend has it that beneath the hill on which the Tor is constructed, there’s a hidden cave by way of which you’ll be able to go into the fairy realm of Annwn. Get pleasure from a novel keep in a “tree tent” at Pennard Hill Farm, strung between two timber and overlooking the beautiful Mendip Hills.
From £165 in peak season; pennardhillfarm.co.uk

Orkney

Orkney is a fascinating place to go to earlier than or after solstice, with the longest days within the British Isles anda sky that by no means actually will get darkish. Have a good time the “grimlins” (the native phrase for midsummer, from the Outdated Norse phrase “grimla”, that means to twinkle or glimmer) on the St Magnus Worldwide pageant (stmagnusfestival.com, 21-29 June). Working for the reason that 70s, it’s a week-long celebration of the humanities together with music, theatre, dance, and literature in a surprising pure setting. Keep on the pretty Peedie Harray’s, Harray’s Hoose and Harray’s Little Bothy.
Double rooms from £125; visitscotland.com

East Sussex

Absorb the solstice environment at Chanctonbury Ring, an Iron Age hill fort on the South Downs close to Steyning, additionally utilized by the Romans as a spiritual website. With breathtaking views throughout the Sussex countryside, there are great walks alongside and across the South Downs Method. Simply ensure that to not summon the satan (apparently achieved by working anticlockwise across the fort seven instances). And maybe don’t sleep there at night time if you wish to keep away from the expertise Robert MacFarlane particulars in The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot, when he camped and was woken by unearthly screaming at 2am. Get pleasure from a much more snug night time’s sleep at Springwells Home at Steyning, an ivy-strewn historic Georgian home.
Double rooms from £150; springwells.co.uk

The Lake District

See within the longest day at Castlerigg Stone Circle, one of many earliest stone circles within the UK, courting again to about 3000BC, which has enchanted guests for hundreds of years, together with Romantic luminaries corresponding to Coleridge and Keats. For full dramatic impact, go very early within the morning at dawn and, if you happen to’re fortunate, you’ll have the place to your self. Keep on the elegant Grange Nation Home, with its spectacular views throughout Keswick-on-Derwentwater and the encompassing mountains.
Double rooms from £165, minimal two nights; grangekeswick.com

Snowdonia (Eryri)

Head for the wilds of Snowdonia (Eryri) to have a good time the Welsh midsummer pageant, “Gathering Day” – drawing its identify from the time when druids historically collected mistletoe and different crops and herbs to be used all year long – technically celebrated on the primary Monday after the solstice (sticknstep.org). Keep on this secluded cabin set in rolling open countryside and luxuriate in a wild swim in your individual lake (Powys, close to Machynlleth).
From £79; canopyandstars.co.uk

Northumberland

Have a good time dawn on the longest day by crossing (at low tide!) the causeway to ethereal Lindisfarne, often known as Holy Island,, an space of excellent pure magnificence steeped in religious significance. Sleep on the island and watch the crowds of daytrippers disappear. Eeand quiet that descends because the tide rises and cuts the place off from the mainland. Keep in a single day at Eden cottage, with an out of doors area good for a midsummer night time’s feast.
From £180 per night time; hostandstay.co.uk

County Donegal

Head to Donegal to go to Eire’s very personal Temple of the Solar, the traditional ruins of Grianán of Aileach, on a hilltop 250m above sea stage with beautiful views throughout. Watch the solar rise over lovely Lough Foyle close by, Northern Eire’s largest estuary and a haven for birdlife. Stroll the breathtaking Wild Atlantic Method and keep at Oul Home, located among the many ash and sycamore timber on the foot of Coolcross Hill in Rashenny, overlooking Trawbreaga Bay.
From £172; govisitdonegal.com

Norfolk

For one thing a bit of totally different, take pleasure in a night on Outdated Hunstanton seaside in west Norfolk for “Gong Magic”, or sound bathing, on the sand (from 7pm on 20 June), an annual gathering that’s been going for a decade. Be a part of Val, Emrys, David and different Gong masters for a night of sound bathing. No reserving required, simply “flip up and benefit from the power with a seaside mat, blanket and an open coronary heart and plenty of love”. Positioned off Sea Lane, Outdated Hunstanton, immediately behind the Mariner Inn.
Camp from £17 on the Sandringham Property, and luxuriate in strolls across the secluded royal grounds; sandringhamestate

Cornwall

Transfer over Stonehenge and the teeming midsummer crowds, have a good time the solstice as an alternative on the Merry Maidens – a late neolithic stone circle that, in accordance with fable, was shaped when some wayward girls had been petrified as punishment for dancing on the Sabbath (the 2 “pipers” who performed the music are a brief distance away). You may additionally catch a present on the open-air Minack Theatre, reduce into the rock above the cliffs at Porthcurno, 4 miles from Land’s Finish. Keep at Treen Farm, a family-run campsite a 10-minute drive from the Minack, or a 50-minute hike, set a few fields away from 5 beautiful sandy seashores often called the string of pearls.
From £29 for 2; treenfarmcampsite.com

Suffolk