The Event
The event takes place at the given co-ordinates between 9:25pm and 9:55pm, on the evening of the Summer Solstice - Wednesday, June 21st 2017.
The sunset will occur at 9:41pm.
As with previous years, I hope many people will choose to join us for a social walk, as outlined below. However, this is not mandatory and this year I have chosen a location where you can park relatively close and walk across on a fairly flat and easy path to join us for the event, as I appreciate it may not be convienient for everyone to walk. A parking waypoint has been provided for this location and it shouldn't be more than about 15 minutes walk.
The Walk
For those joining us for the solstice walk, we will be walking up to the given co-ordinates following the route of my CE series. The entire walk is around 4 miles and takes around 2 hours. There will be an informal pint at the pub closest to the co-ordinates from 7pm, and we will be assembling at the provided waypoint with the intention of beginning the walk at 7:45pm. Please log a will attend as I will post updates in the days before the event which could include revised timings and weather updates.
Anyone that came last year will remember we had a lovely sunset, that can't be guaranteed but we can hope! Once the event is over is is a straightforward downhill route back to the village which should take no more than 30 minutes. There may be a couple of new caches published on the night but this walk is largely following an existing series so my apologies to those that have done the series previously. It is an extremely scenic walk which is why I have chosen it for this event.
Summer Solstice
Summer Solstice occurs on June 21st this year (2017). This is the longest day of the year, in terms of the length of daylight, with the shortest length of darkness at night. Day-length will then decrease as the season progresses after the solstice. The amount of daylight on this day will be 9 hours and 33 minutes longer than on December Solstice (the shortest day).
Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used like midsummer to refer to the day on which it occurs. The summer solstice occurs on the day that has the longest period of daylight – except in the polar regions, where daylight is continuous, from a few days to six months around the summer solstice. Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied among cultures, but most have recognition of sign of the fertility, involving holidays, festivals, and rituals around that time.
To give more technical details, the summer solstice occurs when the tilt of a planet's semi-axis, in either the northern or the southern hemisphere, is most inclined toward the star (sun) that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt toward the sun is 23° 26'. This happens twice each year, at which times the sun reaches its highest position in the sky as seen from the north or the south pole.
Mid Summer's Eve
Regardless of the positions of the earth and the sun Mid Summer's eve is always the night of the 24th June. It's believed that this been celebrated since Neolithic times. Essentially people believed that mid-summer plants had miraculous healing powers and they therefore picked them on this night. Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits which were believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southwards again.
And Finally
It will be light going up, and will probably stay largely light going down, but light will drop and it may go dark before we get down. Don't forget a torch and be aware the temperature may drop when the sun has disappeared.
Coombes Edge is approximately 400m above sea level at the highest point. There is height gain, the guided walk is on paths but they could be uneven and the caches will not all be on paths. There could be mud, uneven ground and it is exposed up here, the event is near a natural wind hole which tells you something... Please dress appropriately.