PHOTOS: 12,000 celebrate summer solstice at Stonehenge with glimpse of season's first sunrise

By Jillian MacMath, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

June 22,2016; 12:17AM,EDT

 

Thousands camped out at Stonehenge on Monday night in order to catch the first glimpse of the rising summer sun on 21 June.
The annual gathering in Wiltshire celebrates the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and first day of the summer.
For the first time since 1967, the summer solstice also coincided with June's full moon, nicknamed the Strawberry Moon.
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Nearly 12,000 people gathered at the historical site, marking a drop in attendance by nearly 10,000 from last year, according to the BBC.
Organizers say the timing of the solstice, falling on a weekday rather than a weekend, may have had an impact on turnout.
Hundreds of others hoping to escape the crowds gathered at nearby Avebury, a neolithic henge monument recognized for housing the largest stone circle in Europe.
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