Winter Solstice - Doing Things Differently

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Adam4868

Guru
I did too. I am actually considering going there or somewhere similar next year. It would be an interesting experience.
Been a few times,magical place ! Would love to get back there soon.My partner has somewhat of a obsession with standing stones/dolmens etc.Which is no bad thing as it takes us to some gorgeous places ! Was meant to be back in Ireland for Xmas but covid has put a stop to that for now.Soon though !
Planning on a trip to Skellig Michael as soon as we can....and weather permitting !
 
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tyred

Legendary Member
Location
Ireland
Been a few times,magical place ! Would love to get back there soon.My partner has somewhat of a obsession with standing stones/dolmens etc.Which is no bad thing as it takes us to some gorgeous places ! Was meant to be back in Ireland for Xmas but covid has put a stop to that for now.Soon though !
Planning on a trip to Skellig Michael as soon as we can....and weather permitting !
I was there over the summer for a third time but I've never been at the Solstice.

The nearby Loughcrew Cairns are worth a visit too and there's a campsite near it. There are many such places in Ireland, I've only been to few really. I fancy Skellig Michael too.

I'm fortunate enough to live within cycling distance of Beltany Stone Circle and Grianán Ailigh so often visit both.
 

Adam4868

Guru
I was there over the summer for a third time but I've never been at the Solstice.

The nearby Loughcrew Cairns are worth a visit too and there's a campsite near it. There are many such places in Ireland, I've only been to few really. I fancy Skellig Michael too.

I'm fortunate enough to live within cycling distance of Beltany Stone Circle and Grianán Ailigh so often visit both.
Partners from there so she's been to most,went to quite a few in Brittany a few years ago aswell.Good riddance to covid so we can get about again whenever that will be 🙄
 

captain nemo1701

Space cadet. Deck 42 Main Engineering.
Location
Bristol
Don't do Xmas either. Commercial excess that defies belief these days. I do give my time to those that need it instead.
Good that you celebrated the real reason for that time of year - Yule. Christmas is a made-up religious festival, an arbitrary date chosen by early Christians to convert heathens by having their messiahs 'birthday' conveniently a couple of days after Yule. I often imagine them wandering into pagan villages saying 'by fabulous co-incidence, our festival is next to yours'....Add in 2000 years of aggressive religious propaganda/social conditioning and you have a modern Xmas.

I'm all for scrapping xmas totally & if we need to have some kind of festival, why not the Summer Solstice?. Go back to our real pagan root....and the weather is better too:smile:. The longest day is something tangible rather than a made up birthday, so we can all relate to it and it really doesn't have much in the way of religious trappings. Plus longer daylight hours:okay:.
 

captain nemo1701

Space cadet. Deck 42 Main Engineering.
Location
Bristol
I'd like to celebrate it at Stonehenge or Glastonbury Tor, but they're both a trek Plus you need to get up super-early for the Summer one. I have though, celebrated it at Stanton Drew, a small stone circle south of Bristol.
 
I'd like to celebrate it at Stonehenge or Glastonbury Tor, but they're both a trek Plus you need to get up super-early for the Summer one.
This is a good excuse of turning it into a night-ride (we can leave here around 1am to get to Avebury* for dawn in June).

Must do a WINTER thing some time. I'm probably too soft to do an all-night ride, so might find accommodation near to somewhere fun - come back for late breakfast around 0930? Preferably in bed!

*Avebury is not far from Stonehenge, but a much calmer atmosphere. Still plenty of rocks, and sheep wander around the inner circle.
 

annedonnelly

Girl from the North Country
Go to Shetland and stay up all night. See the sun go down one side and back up on the other.

There's a trip to see birds that nest on an island there that you have to do at night and It's absolutely magical when the weather is right.
 

tyred

Legendary Member
Location
Ireland
Go to Shetland and stay up all night. See the sun go down one side and back up on the other.

There's a trip to see birds that nest on an island there that you have to do at night and It's absolutely magical when the weather is right.
That's on my to do list too.

What I've found is that my to-do list grows by the day while I am laid up!
 
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