In pictures: Stonehenge solstice

While rain dogged this year's summer solstice at Stonehenge, some 30,000 people still turned out to witness the sun rise on the longest day - the highest turnout in five years.

English Heritage, which runs the 5,000-year-old site, said the conditions were "very wet and soggy", as Druids and hippies joined others to wait for daybreak.

Police said the event was peaceful, with 15 arrests overnight for public order offences.

Druid ceremonies have marked the solstice since the 19th century. Druids say Stonehenge is "a temple to the alignment of the sun and the relationship between the sun and the earth and the moon".

Blowhorns signalled the rise of the sun over the ancient monument at 04:58 BST - although the sunrise was barely visible through the clouds.

After a 15-year break, the public was given access to the stones for the summer solstice - the one day of the year the Wiltshire monument is not cordoned off - in 2000.

Revellers in ponchos and makeshift waterproof jackets gathered at the Heel stone - a twisted, pockmarked pillar at the edge of the prehistoric monument - to welcome the rising sun.

One visitor said: "It's a beautiful experience. It's about celebrating nature, life and what makes the world go round."

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