Avebury and Stonehenge closed for Summer Solstice
The National Trust have today (Monday 18 May) confirmed that neither Avebury nor its land across the Stonehenge Landscape, will be open for this year’s summer solstice and are asking visitors not to travel to the area.
The celebrations which take place every midsummer, on or around the 21st June, regularly attract in the region of 10,000 people to Stonehenge and surrounding areas including Avebury.
The NT say: ‘Our priority is always to ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff, volunteers, attendees and residents. This decision was made due to the on-going ban on mass gatherings, and the need to maintain social distancing – still the mainstay of measures to combat Coronavirus.’
English Heritage who manage Stonehenge have also announced that they will not be able to host the solstice at the World Heritage site, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all attendees, volunteers and staff.
The Stonehenge summer sunrise is going to be live-streamed but sadly you will have to endure the horrors of Facebook to do so - admittedly nothing like as catching coronavirus but not great.
https://www.facebook.com/englishheritage/
Re: the Avebury closure the NT say ‘We recognise the spiritual importance and relevance of the summer Solstice and understand that this will come as a great disappointment to many but also not a huge surprise given the on-going pandemic crisis and a ban on mass gatherings. We hope that this announcement will be received with the understanding of everyone who likes to celebrate this important time of year and traditional acts of worship.’
Many other live events have either been cancelled or postponed this year due to the ongoing battle against the disease and to limit its spread.
The camping sites, the village pub, car parks and toilets will all be closed.
Each year the Trust works closely with partners through the Avebury Solstice Planning Group to manage visitors who come to Avebury for the Solstice aiming to ensure
the event allows peaceful access for celebrants and to minimise disruption to the village and neighbouring farms. We thank everyone for their understanding and hope to welcome summer solstice visitors back next year.
Something is not right. This message is just to keep things from messing up down the road