Heh!

I'm sure lots of people have very different experiences at these places. I know plenty of people who go to Stonehenge (and Avebury) every summer solstice and have a fantastic time without all the booze, tealights and tat.

That said, if I were inclined to go *anywhere* for solstice, I doubt it would be Stonehenge - it just seems like too ouch hassle!

For me, Avebury would be the preferred option out of the 2 in the area. Less restriction and herding. And you can stay all day and night!

But again - I've heard of similar things going on there, too. It's gonna happen at the more popular sites, innit?

If I had to make a choice, I'd go somewhere much more secluded and less well known than either of the places mentioned.

I know what Nigel's saying, though. I had a conversation with Andy Worthington some years back saying that I'd never fancied visiting these places when they're so hectic and busy, and often preferred solitude (obviously not necessarily at Stonehenge or Avebury! Lol!). We theorised that some places really seemed to "come alive" when lots of people gather there, likening them to churches. An empty church, for example, being a very different place to one full of people singing and having fun. (I'm guessing that's what happens in churches -

I've heard of mostly happy experiences at both Stonehenge and Avebury at summer solstice. There will always be elements that perhaps enjoy themselves in a different way to what a lot of people would like, but who knows - maybe it really WAS always like that, way back when! We just don't know, do we? :)

G x