Summer Solstice at Stonehenge 2024

Summer Solstice 2024 at Stonehenge, photo by Elisha May

Well… all I can say is, it was an experience. It was something I fancied doing, a spontaneous tick on the spiritual bucket list, but I’m not sure I’d return for the Solstice event itself.

I half-expected it to feel a little commercialised, and unfortunately, I was right. It felt more like a mini festival than a sacred gathering.

As we approached the Stones from the northeast, we were greeted by floodlights, tight security (understandable), and a lot of people. There were burger vans, coffee trucks, and portaloos, all lined up right next to the Stones. Practical? Maybe. But it completely altered the energetic experience I’d hoped for.

I had envisioned something more reverent. Walking barefoot in quiet awe. Maybe protected firelight or even a gentle, symbolic atmosphere, a remembering of what the Solstice used to mean.

Instead, there were crowds crammed onto the Stones. Sitting. Standing. Stomping. I felt uncomfortable witnessing it. Call me old-fashioned, but some things in this world should be witnessed; not clambered on. At one point I found myself following the crowd, stepping on a small protruding piece of Stone. It hit me hard. I felt an immediate pang, almost a soul-level apology to the monument itself. The words that rose in me were clear:

“We forgot how to respect what’s sacred.”

I know that sounds wild to some, but it’s my truth. We’ve lost our reverence for stillness, for history, for land. Avebury (just up the road) seems to carry more of that intact and I look forward to visiting it soon.

On the positive:

The drive across Salisbury Plains and the Mendips in my Defender was magic. We wild camped under the stars. I slept in the back of my Landy, did some light off-roading, and dipped in the rivers around Bulford.

The wildness saved it.

The freedom. The land. The solitude.

That part, I’d do again in a heartbeat.

Until next time

Much love,

Elisha 💖