Whilst thousands of worshipers, revellers and curious visitors descended on Stonehenge for the summer solstice, a group of visitors from our Lake District Hotels had a more intimate affair at Castlerigg Stone Circle.

The group was made up of visitor’s from Nottingham, London, the USA, many locals as well as Lake District Hotel Directors, Kit & Charles Graves. From meeting at the Moot Hall in Keswick at 3.30am the group started their 35 minute walk to Castlerigg Stone Circle, where they would greet the sunrise at 4.34am.

Upon arriving at the Stone Circle, Cumbrian Druid Leader Paul Bills performed a druid summer solstice ritual before talking to guests about the history of the circle, giving them a feel for the circle and a sense of the energies they create.

As the sun came up over Blencathra, a delicious breakfast was served by Kings Arms Hotel Head Chef Daniel Grimshaw, whilst Druids, New Age followers and part-goers celebrated the longest day of the year with beating drums, chanting and dancing around the stones.

Two ladies who had joined the group having driven up from London the night before said “we’ve celebrated the summer solstice at Stonehenge before, but with over 20,000 people we thought it was more like a rowdy festival than a celebration of the sun. It was much more profound at Castlerigg and it was great to celebrate the sunrise with coffee and a freshly cooked bacon and egg roll!”.

Dani Hope, Marketing Director of Lake District Hotels Ltd, said “We are pleased that the summer solstice celebrations have been an enjoyable event, by offering this quirky break we wanted to add a little more excitement and drama for our guests – it’s something quite unique and we are already looking forward to next year’s event.”