21 June 2011Last updated at 12:25

In pictures: Stonehenge summer solstice

On Monday evening more than 18,000 revellers descended on Stonehenge to celebrate the annual summer solstice.

The marking of the longest day of the year is the only occasion when the public is allowed full access to the ancient stone circle.

Each year the celebratory event attracts druids, hippies, pagans, tourists and party revellers who await the breaking of the midsummer dawn at precisely 0443 BST.

Festivities consisted of bonfires, maypole dances and courtship rituals. They centred on the Heel Stone, a pock-marked pillar just outside the famous circle, which aligns with the rising sun.

Arthur Pendragon, a senior druid, led incantations during the summer solstice ceremony.

The peaceful event passed off largely trouble-free but there were 20 minor drug-related arrests and 60 people requiring medical treatment.

Wiltshire

In pictures: Stonehenge summer solstice

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