It's an important day, so I'm up at 0500 this morning, it's the winter solstice. Every winter solstice I go somewhere to mark the occasion, I say 'somewhere', for 20 years there'd be only one place I'd be and that was at the 'Henge', though disgruntled with this and that, for the last few years I've sought over places to mark the new sun. Today though I felt compelled to return to Stonehenge to celebrate. We used to park on the nearby drove or a ways off and walk, though Wiltshire Council/English Heritage have put Temporarily Traffic Restricts on several of the rights of way in affect closing them to all vehicles, pedestrians and equestrians. So with my options limited, I reluctantly decided I had little choice other than the visitor centre car park. Reluctantly, as I take affront at having to pay, effectively, pay to pray. Anyway. The roads where clear as I drove through a moonlit landscape, English Heritage's open access notice had said the car parks wouldn't be open until 0600, and not to get there before. It was 0610 when approached 'Druid's Lodge' roundabout, and with only half a mile to the visitors centre I thought I was good for time. That feeling quickly evaporated as I saw the traffic chaos at the roundabout, the bumper to bumper headlights led off into the distance along the A303, and everything from every direction was stationary. All the approaches to the visitor centre were gridlocked. By 0700 I was approaching the the visitor centre car park, still plenty of time to walk the mile or so to the stones. No, I was directed on to the overflow car park and park and ride. Now ahead of me was an endless cue of tail lights. What a massive bummer, man. Time to sunrise shortened. By the time I reached the overflow car park the full sign was up, and bizarrely, we were directed back to the main car park. It was too late anyway, it was 0740, and even if I'd got a parking space, which is a mahousive if, I'd never have made the stones. What an omni-shambles, though it didn't have to be so. For years we've used the droves, there's something quite magical about spending the night around a fire on the drove, so near to the ritual site, something timeless, as those who built the site would have done. It worked too, people arrived at staggered times, people could walk, more than that a community formed which congregated at the allotted times, meeting, feasting, drinking, partying, as we know was the case during the sites construction and use. The archaeologist in me loves that continuity, though EH doesn't and works hard at making it as difficult as possible, part of a cynical move to deny any access the landscape other than through their expensive controlled route. As it happens, the Temporarily Traffic Restricts had been quashed on the 21st of December, though the prohibitions had not been lifted, so we'll see what happens at the Spring Equinox. Anyway, as I said, it was 0740 by now and I turned for home, I stopped briefly near Woodhenge to asked some coppers if they'd pass on complaints, they said they would, they weren't happy with the chaos either, and nodded in wry agreement with my cynical opinions on EH's motivations. Then I made my way to Old Sarum, and climbed the ancient ramparts to greet the new born sun. I was disappointed, though consoled myself it that it wasn't getting to the henge which was important, more the intention, that I'd got up and travelled, marked the day, observed the sunrise. The henge would have been a bonus. Spring Equinox it is then, an overnighter, weather (and droves open) permitting.
