How & When To Watch Stonehenge's Summer Solstice Live Stream 2020

On this year's summer solstice you'll be able to watch the sunrise at Stonehenge on the longest day of the year from the safety of your own home.

Druids and pagans following social distancing guidelines at home will be able to watch the sun rise over the mystical site at exactly 4:52 BST on the morning of Sunday, 21st June.

It's not the first time that English Heritage, who manage the ancient monument, have streamed the summer solstice live on social media, but this year the virtual coverage of the celebration is more vital than ever as the landmark is closed to visitors due to the global coronavirus crisis.

The live broadcast will be free to view and will be streamed on English Heritage's official YouTube channel and on Facebook. The stream normally goes live about an hour before sunrise, so make sure you're near the biggest screen you can find from around 4am and watch as the sun rises from behind the Heel Stone in the north-east part of the horizon.

If you don't fancy staying up until the early hours of the morning, you'll be able to watch the event back on demand at a more reasonable time.

The prehistoric World Heritage Site in Wiltshire is currently closed to visitors, and that includes over the summer solstice, a time when normally the site becomes a mecca for thousands of people who go there to watch the most significant sunrise of the year. This year English Heritage are asking people not to visit the tourist attraction.

Stonehenge has been a place of worship and celebration at the time of summer solstice for thousands of years, and 2020 will mark the first time in living memory that crowds don't gather for this special event in the astronomical calendar.

If you can't wait until the solstice to experience Stonehenge digitally, English Heritage have made it possible for people all around the world to explore Stonehenge online and admire its skyscape and unobstructed view of the horizon from the centre of the inner circle. You can visit the virtual Stonehenge here.

With parents around the world struggling with home-schooling their children at the moment, the solstice might be a good opportunity to teach them a little about Britain's prehistoric past. After all it was recently revealed in a poll of 1,000 primary school-aged children that only 44% correctly identified Stonehenge as an ancient monument. Worryingly, 5% thought it was an old alien landing pad, and 7% believe it is the remains of a very old house.

You can follow English Heritage on Twitter for more information about Stonehenge, its eventual re-opening, and details on the summer solstice broadcast, or take a look at last year's sunrise in the video below...