Winter Solstice.

[Dave]

What are your plans if any for the winter solstice?

Ive never celebrated this pagan festival, ending on Xmas Day.
[Xmas day is not mentioned in the bible]

I was wondering, [kind of a bucket list thing for me] if any of you had been to stonehenge, and what the rules were about attending, etc.
Can you wild camp the night before, and go and watch the sunrise, etc...

Anyone done it?

Or has anyone been up to that new temple at Orkney, Ness of Brodgar, during the winter solstice? What do they do up there?

Or do you have local less famous stone circles, which you camp out at overnight on Dec 21st?

Cheers.

 

[Toddy]

I quietly and with great pleasure invite friends to enjoy the evening with me
It's the dark of the year, it's the cold, dreich, sodden wet and muddily gloomy time of the year, and it's a time of fire and feast and good company, knowing that it's all brighter from there on.
It might, it seems it always does, get colder yet, but the days are slowly stretching out and by Imbolc there'll be the first fresh greens and hope for a warmer Spring.

It'd be lovely if the Solstice was cold, crisp and clear, but that's kind of like wishing for a white christmas, and that's pretty rare for us, even if we are nearly 58degNorth.

Either way, I wish you joy on it

atb,
M

 

[DogRose]

We always try and do something, even if it's just a small fire in the garden, but we've been invited to a friends this year for a proper celebration, with fire, food and music. Rumour has it that somewhere there is an ancient meeting place marked with a sacred stone, where the pagan folk of the island frolic with fairies on such occasions, but I wouldn't know anything about that...

 

[Dave]

Thankyou Mary. :notworthy Slanj!

 

[dewi]

The important bit this year Dave happens at 8am on the 22nd... as the sunrises, its time to celebrate.

As far as camping at Stone Henge, there are sites close by for official camping (ring the official site on 07786 734732), but there are a lot of people who just appear and camp. Not sure how well that will work this year as the site hasn't even been declared as open so far... but no doubt a couple of thousand people will appear and it'll be a peaceful fun event as it usually is.

Be aware though, there are some true nutters that attend... proper nutters. Harmless enough, but they don't half gab on. Is a great event... not entirely historically accurate as those claiming to be druids should really be in North Wales for the winter solstice, but whatever... they enjoy themselves.

Winter solstice this year I'll be mostly sat in my garden watching the sun rise... probably some glogg in one hand raised to jólfaðr, cigarette in the other hand.... I'm not that traditional! lol

Looking forward to the turn though, this year hasn't been the best for our family... maybe I need to raise the glogg higher!

 

[dewi]

Want something original though Dave...



Yockenthwaite... although prepare yourself for the nutters lol

 

[Goatboy]

Used to pop some pins in the spring on the old family farm and tie a rag to the fairy hawthorn tree aside it. These days I usually just have a wee fire in the woods to celebrate as I can't get up to Angus anymore.
Hope you all have a good time and that the days are long and good for you in the coming year.
As we say at New Year "Lang may yer lum reek."

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Dave]

And is there a 'proper site' in North Wales then Dewi? Or is that secret, or dont they know exactly where it is?
Cheers.

 

[forrestdweller]

i*ll probably grab my faithful companion of over ten years [=my walking stick] and some edged items and have a little campfire down In the river- some sort of tradition for me to celebrate the fact that the days are getting longer again... [5years ago it had to give it a miss[full moon that night], though: i was on my one-month-walk through korea and wild camped rather close to some house...]


[i*m a grinch in normal years and santa did sadly not bring me the two things i asked for this year, so there will be no christmas celebration of any kind for me]

 

[dewi]

And is there a 'proper site' in North Wales then Dewi? Or is that secret, or dont they know exactly where it is?
Cheers.

Yep... there is the sun path on Anglesey... forget the official site name, but its basically a cave and a carved stone that aligns to the sun rise. There is another site in North Wales in the hills... I went there about 20 years ago, but I was crammed in a car being driven there and all I remember from the journey was wanting to puke... the hills make any journey around there like a roller coaster ride. The site had a cave and a half circle... supposedly where the druids gathered for meetings... but then people argue that the sun path on Anglesey was where they had their meetings. And nutters galore... I met a bloke there who claimed that Arthur and his round table of knights was true and it all took place in the woods below the site.... but he also claimed he was a modern day druid

If you're in the mood for a spot of traveling, there is always Newgrange in Ireland... again, a cave and a carved stone... predates Stonehenge... minor problem, if you want to be inside the cave on the morning of the solstice, you need to enter a lottery... they only allow a certain number of people in, so very few have seen the sun rise through the cave. I've seen pictures... never experienced it first hand though.

 

[Chris the Cat]

Glastonbury Tor is a good one for the sunrise on that day, I shall be there if I can!

Best.

C.

 

[Blundstoned Love]

I don't plan to do anything, but look forward to reading on here what others got up to.

It's always been special everytime I've been up before sunrise & experienced the day starting.

 

[Tengu]

Im going to relatives to have a Finnish Christmas dinner.

And beef on the 25th. We are Mithratics, you know.

 

[dewi]

Glastonbury Tor is a good one for the sunrise on that day, I shall be there if I can!

Best.

C.

Is the Tor the one with the tree thingy?

 

[bearbait]

What are your plans if any for the winter solstice?

Ive never celebrated this pagan festival, ending on Xmas Day.

I'm planning to cook my GF a special lunch on the Solstice, along with a simple exchange of gifts.

Last year on the 25th I lunched somewhere out in the Brecon Beacons NP alone in my Jerven Bag; previous year was Cumbria. This year is likely to be something exceedingly similar. Or, if the rains continue, a liferaft.

 

[Dave]

I was thinking of sleeping outside, in the jerven too, with the dog in his dog tent, i the middle of the moors, in the middle of a bronze age stone circle.

 

[dewi]

Depending on the circle Dave, you may not be alone.

 

[Dave]

I don think there will be anyone there....Although I guess there could be yes. Im not gonna say which one it is. Mmmmm. Its not far from the car, about 2.5 miles, if theres something going on.

 

[Blundstoned Love]

You've seen The Wicker Man, right?

 

[Dave]

..............funny you should say that, theres an old stone up above st ives in bingley called the druids altar, where local folklaw has it they sacrificed people and threw them off.