Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and the first day of summer.

If I had planned properly, I’d be celebrating with 25,000 “druids, revellers, hippies, ‘New Age’ travellers” that this Daily Telegraph article predicts will be at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in southwest England.

When the sun rises over the Heel Stone to the sound of Pagans beating drums, some chant, some cheer, others meditate and the odd character has been known to frolic naked in delight.

Clear skies are predicted between four and five o’clock Wednesday morning.

“We’re hoping for a great sunrise,” said a spokesman for English Heritage, which manages the site, one of Britain’s most popular tourist attractions.

“Last year’s was spectacular. There’s always a good atmosphere here.”

Six people were arrested at the 2005 summer solstice, mostly for drink-related offences.

A Wiltshire Police spokesman said: “We’re expecting between 20,000 and 25,000 people. A lot will probably arrive in the early hours of the morning after having watched England play Sweden.”

Of course, if you can’t make Stonehenge, there are other henges you could visit:

• Carhenge, the whimsical recreation of Stonehenge, fashioned from American-made automobiles at Alliance, Nebraska

• Maryhill’s Stonehenge, built by Sam Hill as a tribute to the soldiers of Klickitat County who lost their lives, Maryhill’s Stonehenge is the first monument in the USA to honor the dead of World War I. The structure is a full-scale replica of the original English Stonehenge.

• Stonehenge II, erected by Al Shepperd and his friend and neighbor, Doug Hill from limestone slabs Hill had left over from building his patio.

Are you getting “Stonehenge Fever?” Then check out this MSNBC article, America unhenged: 7 great Stonehenge replicas.

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