summer solstice at avebury

We went to Avebury for the Summer Solstice gathering of the tribes. As usual we parked our van on the Ridgeway near the Sanctuary. It is a very apt name even now as it is the only place near Avebury you can park if you have van. Wiltshire police in their wisdom decided on the Saturday to shut the Ridgeway to any more vans as they were 'worried' there were too many people. This stupid move only created an unsafe environment as people arriving expecting to get off the main A4 road were forced into the laybys. What is so unsafe about that you may ask. Its important to understand that most people had kids & dogs with them & so it was a very unsafe place to be. Would you fancy spending any length of time in a layby with a restless toddler & cooped up dog? After much discussion the police backed down & reopened the Ridgeway. The really sad thing is that there is plenty of room on the Ridgeway for thousands of vehicles & yet I can see if the police were 'worried' this year because there were 40 vehicles they may try & stop this happening in the future. Nearly all the people that arrive for the pagan festivals only stay a few days & most are very conscious of not leaving litter & being respectful to others. Most want to have a happy summer solstice at a very magikal place & have no intention of making trouble or whatever it is the authorities are scared of. Personally I think they're scared of too many conscious people coming together but hey what do I know :)  Anyway here's a few pics from the weekend...

Thanks for looking :) xoxox