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In pictures: Druids descend on Stonehenge to mark winter solstice

News imageReuters A reveller in costume attends winter solstice celebrations at the StonehengeReuters

Thousands of revellers gathered at Stonehenge in Wiltshire on Sunday morning to welcome the sunrise on the winter solstice - the shortest day of the year.

Wearing Celtic clothing and elaborate, nature-inspired headdresses, druids and pagans danced around the Neolithic stone circle in Wiltshire thought to have been built by distant ancestors to align with the movements of the Sun.

News imageEPA Revelers dance near Stonehenge wearing green and red dresses and capes.EPA
Druids and pagans danced near the Neolithic stone circle to mark the winter solstice
News imageEPA Women dressed all in red stand in front of a Neolithic stone singing.EPA
There was also singing before sunrise on the shortest day of the year
News imagePA Media Kefan Wang (left), 4th-generation Manchu Shaman, dances as people take part in the winter solstice celebrations during sunrise at the StonehengePA Media
Several pagans wore elaborate, nature-inspired headdresses
News imagePA Media Morris dancers perform in front of Stonehenge as people take part in the winter solstice celebrationPA Media
Traditional morris dancers also welcomed the sunrise
News imageEPA Revellers drum together near Stonehenge.EPA
As did a collection of drummers
News imageGetty Images People gather on Glastonbury Tor as they take part in a winter solstice ceremony. The church on the hill can be seen in the background, with people standing around a woman dressed in red holding a drum and a bonfire.Getty Images
People also gathered on Glastonbury Tor to see in the shortest day
News imageGetty Images A woman rests her head against one of Stonehenge's stones in a moment of quiet contemplation.Getty Images
Things can only get brighter from here: people celebrate the winter solstice as it marks the start of daylight hours getting longer instead of shorter