festival

Us in the 'modern world' tend to think we've got the market cornered for most things, and partying is no different. Clubs, drugs, drink and casual sex may be frowned upon even by our elders at times, but it seems those in the ancient world had rather less stringent morals when it came to partying hard. And new research suggests the neon-lit acid haze of the eighties was far from the first movement to find a love for rave culture. It seems that rolling stones had barely been invented before the ancient world was partying like Keith Richards on closing night.

Much of History is written down in dusty old books, usually in a dark and dank corner of the library laden in cobwebs and thick layers of dust, right? So what's the best way to make that history accessible and interesting? Well here on Heritage Key, we're using innovative methods of media and developing new ways to make archaeology more interactive. But another method of bringing history to life, is to re-enact it!

The Roman Festival of Living History 2008 did just that - by re-enacting everything from daily Roman life to scenes from the battlefield, it truly does make history come to life, and becomes much more accessible to everyone! No more sitting down in the corner of the library, reading texts until your eyes grow tired and you drift off.. through re-enactments, you can literally live the past and experience it!

The Summer Solstice - also known as midsummer - occurs once a year on June 20th or 21th, when the sun is at its highest point in the sky for those on the northern hemisphere. It's the longest day of the year and the start of the Summer. It's also one of the few days English Heritage provides 'Managed Open Access' to Stonehenge: You get to spend the night in between the ancient stones and no access fee is charged.

This year, the 'Summer Solstice 2009' takes place Sunday the 21st of June. Practically, this means you can access Stonehenge starting Saturday 7pm until Sunday 8am. The sunrise itself occurs at 4.58am. The weather forecast for it is 'cloudy with sunny intervals' and not too hot. Let us hope that doesn't progress to 'rain'.