Crowds defy ban to mark the solstice at historic site
AROUND 100 people defied a request from landowners not to mark the summer solstice at Nine Ladies Stone Circle in the Peak District National Park.
The historic Bronze Age stone circle is owned by English Heritage, which has banned camping and fires around the location.
However, that did not deter those who gathered to mark the longest day of the year, a tradition some of them have taken part in for many years. They have also gathered in the winter to mark the shortest day.
While the last of the sun beat down on the historic site, at the top of Stanton Moor, we joined them to find out what brings them to the ancient monument.
“Many people that come up here are pagans and we celebrate nature’s cycles in life and this is one of them, we come up here and create rituals through our drumming and a sense of community” said Aimee, who did not want to give her surname.
She was one of the many people who were there to enjoy the atmosphere.
Managed by the Peak District National Park Authority, the site, near Bakewell, dates back 4,000 years and centres around a small stone circle of ten stones, despite what the name suggests.
The monument was first recorded by Major Hayman Rooke in 1782 but for those who go to the site today, it is mostly about the feeling it gives them when they are there.
Aimee continued: “Nine Ladies has become a bit of a space where people can feel like they connect to a part of the community that lives an alternative lifestyle.
“Stanton Moor has over 70 different burial chambers so in the Bronze Age it was a really important site for people and I think a lot of people can sense those energies.”
“We create a fluid community that comes together on these different unique periods of time throughout the year and we celebrate life and death.”
Aimee said that the site is used for ceremonies and for nature lovers to come together to celebrate.
Along with those who were on the moor to mark the longest day of the year though, there did appear to be a number of people who were up there for a more relaxed time. Some of the people at Nine Ladies had been there for the weekend, while others had arrived on Monday just to mark the longest day and shortest night of the year.
Each group marked the event differently.
“You have lots of different individual groups celebrating in their own unique way, at the stones we come together.” Aimee said. “There is chanting, there’s drumming, there are lots of different celebrations going on.”
While there was a very relaxed atmosphere on Stanton Moor when we went up, Aimee admitted that some people had gone up there for reasons other than to celebrate nature.
“There is a big group up here who find this is a sacred homeland and they want to maintain it as a sacred space and there is a group who would just mention to people if they are having a fire in an inappropriate place. I guess it’s like some etiquette of countryside rules and codes.
“Unfortunately there is an element of, certainly over the weekends, more of a party and not quite understanding of here as a sacred place, so there’s a tricky balance. The locals find this time quite difficult, the roads get blocked with parking and people acting not as responsibly as you would like.”
As some of those camping on the site drifted off to the top of Stanton Moor to see the sun disappear behind the Peak District hills, we departed Nine Ladies stone circle for the day.
It was certainly an area where people were relaxing and having a good time but we could not help but notice numerous tents and about five campfires still burning as the light started to fade, even though both of those activities are banned at the stone circle.