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Not your usual Summer Solstice

Getty Images Man in hat playing pipeGetty Images

It's the longest day of the year - the day when henges come into their own. The Summer Solstice. People wishing to greet the rising sun gather at ancient sites and cluster around age-old stones. But there is more than one way to celebrate the astronomical beginning of summer.

Whether it's "enjoying" a pre-drawn dip or having a whirl on the London Eye, here are some more unusual ways people across England marked the day.

Clonehenge food stonehengesClonehenge
And if you cannot get to the real thing, why not make one? Clonehenge, a website dedicated to henge reconstructions, offered up these tasty morsels. Stonehenges made from (clockwise from left): Wotsits, fudge, butter, and sausage with flank steak lintels and a base of kale pesto
Sefton Park CC Solstice CupSefton Park CC
Sefton Park Cricket Club in Liverpool held its yearly Solstice Cup, the first ball being bowled at 04:43 BST. For the first time in nine years, the Long Shadows beat the Early Risers - by one wicket with one ball remaining
Julia Bryson Ilkley LidoJulia Bryson
It's the fifth year solstice swimmers braved the water at Ilkley Lido, with particularly keen participants turning up at an eye-watering 04:30. The early hour wasn't enough to put people off, and a record number of 276 bathing beauties enjoyed a bracing splash
Pells Pool Pells PoolPells Pool
People who missed out on the Solstice swim at Pells Pool in Lewes, East Sussex, can take advantage of a starry skies swim between 23:00 and 01:00 on 7 July
Orchard Eagles Orchard EaglesOrchard Eagles
The Orchard Eagles, a running club in Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, has an annual solstice night ultra jog of 32 miles

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Jonathan Hordle London eyeJonathan Hordle
The London Eye blinked open especially early this morning, watching the dawn for the first time in its 18-year history
Jackdog Arbor LowJackdog
Castlerigg Stone Circle near Keswick, known as "Stonehenge of the north", attracted its share of sensibly wrapped-up visitors....
Reuters StonehengeReuters
... while the "Stonehenge of the south", Stonehenge, was overrun by people in tie-dye jerkins, cloaks and hats with earflaps
Wiltshire Police Handout drone footage issued by Wiltshire Police of crowds of people gathering to watch the sunrise to celebrate the summer solstice at StonehengeWiltshire Police
Wiltshire Police provided some images from their drone, which used heat-sensitive technology to pick out dawn revellers

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