Thousands due at solstice event

Wiltshire, UK - Thousands of people are heading to Stonehenge in Wiltshire for this year's summer solstice party.

Druids, hippies and sun worshippers are among those who gather to watch dawn breaking at the ancient stone circle on 21 June - the longest day of the year.

A spokeswoman for English Heritage, which runs the site on Salisbury Plain, said a record turnout was predicted.

"Because this year's solstice falls on a Friday night/Saturday morning, we are expecting more people," she said.

Overcast and drizzly

"People will not have to take a day off to come this year, which is why we're expecting record numbers.

"We hope there will be up to 25,000 but we will not know until tomorrow."

Weather forecasts for Saturday morning were bleak.

"It's likely to be pretty overcast, and misty and there could well be some drizzle in the air too," said BBC meteorologist Richard Angwin.

At the complex of ancient stones in Avebury, 25 miles north of Stonehenge, another all-night Summer Solstice party takes place on a smaller scale.

A spokeswoman for the Druid Network said: "The summer solstice is a way of attuning ourselves back into the cycles of nature, connecting with the land and the turning of the seasonal tides."

Revellers travelling to both sites were urged to use public transport because of limited parking.

Sunrise on Saturday is expected to be 0458 BST.