Beacons burn bright on Jubilee night

The Queen will light the last beacon in London

More than 1,000 beacons are being lit across England on 3 June to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

From Berwick-upon-Tweed in the North East to the Isles of Scilly in the South West, the night sky will be aglow before the Queen lights the final beacon outside Buckingham Palace.

Each village, town and city which make up the network of beacons has organised special events unique to each area.

The beacons range from bonfires to battlement braziers.

Multi-cultural festivities

In Berwick, the Elizabethan city wall houses a huge metal brazier which points out to sea.

The lighting of the beacon at 2145 BST signals the start of festivities in the town with a huge jubilee festival taking place on the following day.

Some of the islands have really gone to town

Patricia Wardley - Isles of Scilly

In Bradford a cross-culture party at St Mary's Church is the main focus of events, culminating in the lighting of the beacon.

Multi-culturalism also plays a major part in Derby where the Geeta Bhawan Hindu temple is hosting a brazier and procession.

And it seems that villages are matching the plans of most towns and cities.

A resident of the Cornish hamlet of Week St Mary has built a ten-feet-high beacon brazier which stands on an ancient castle mound.

Busy musicians

Len Davies, chairman of the Week St Mary Golden Jubilee committee, said: "We sent off for a jubilee pack and that's where we first saw anything about beacons.

"I knew then we had to have one."

Berwick will have a battlement beacon

The most remote beacons are the five on the Isles of Scilly.

Organiser Patricia Wardley said: "Some of the islands have really gone to town.

"The St Mary's event is huge but on the small islands there are carnivals and live music organised by the Methodist church.

"St. Agnes has to wait until 6 June for their music because one person is in all the bands.

"He couldn't get to all the venues in one day.

"But they all wanted beacons."