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Stonehenge summer solstice: In pictures

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image copyrightPA Media
image captionPolice and security staff watched on as crowds celebrated during the summer solstice at Stonehenge

The sun has risen on the summer solstice, marking the longest day of the year. Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, is traditionally seen as a meeting place to mark the occasion, but it was closed off after the government delayed the easing of England's covid restrictions into July.

About 200 people ignored advice not to travel to the site. Here's how this year's event passed in pictures:

image copyrightReuters
image captionSome people climbed over a low fence to get into the ancient stone circle, after it was closed amid the spread of coronavirus
image copyrightPA Media
image captionThe atmosphere inside the stone circle was said to be good natured and peaceful
image copyrightPA Media
image captionPeople celebrated with music and singing
image copyrightPA Media
image captionA woman stood silent as the sun came up behind the clouds
image copyrightReuters
image captionIt is believed that solstices have been celebrated at Stonehenge for thousands of years
image copyrightReuters
image captionSenior druid King Arthur Pendragon performed a ritual from outside the fence
image copyrightReuters
image captionPeople also turned up at Avebury Stones, about 24 miles (38km) away, where police closed part of the nearby Ridgeway footpath to maintain public safety
image copyrightReuters
image captionOnlookers got a glimpse of the sun through the clouds as they stood on a hill near the Avebury Stones
image copyrightEPA
image captionOthers gathered at Glastonbury Tor in Somerset

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