Summer Solstice In Yorkshire

The Summer Solstice can be seen anywhere in Britain and is celebrated every year in lots of different ways.

'Solstice' comes from the Latin, 'solstitium', sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still) because the path of the sun seems to come to a halt before reversing direction.

It is the time when the earth in the northern hemisphere is nearest towards the sun and so gets the most daylight of the year.

Solstices are opposite on either side of the equator, so the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa.

In 2019 the Summer Solstice takes place this coming Friday 21 June.

Where to celebrate

One of the popular places to celebrate is at Stonehenge in Salisbury, where hundreds, if not thousands of people often flock to the ancient site of Stonehenge to celebrate the Summer Solstice, as Stonehenge has been a prehistoric site of worship and celebration for thousands of years.

At the Summer Solstice the sun rises directly above the Heel Stone which stands outside the circle of stones to the north-east. Here the sun will rise at 04.52 and set at 21.26. This is 8 hours, 49 minutes longer than the December Solstice.

It is said that the giant stones of Stonehenge were so positioned to align with the sunrise on the two annual solstices.

In Yorkshire one of the best places to experience a seabound Solstice is at Saltwick Bay which is approximately one mile to the east of Whitby, North Yorkshire. Here during the summer months this particular part of the coast hosts both sunrise and sunset over the sea. As the sun sets there are breathtaking reflections in the mirror like pools surrounded by textured rock formations. Check the tide times and you should see the Black Nab rock stack and the twisted wreck of the Admiral Von Trump.

So after 21 June 2019 the days will be getting longer and hopefully the weather will be getting warmer and we can all enjoy the Summer.