Stonehenge Spring (Vernal) Equinox. Managed Open Access: 20th March 2024

7 03 2024

This year Spring Equinox will be celebrated on Wednesday 20^th March 2024.

English Heritage is pleased to give a short period of managed open access on the 20th March. Sunrise is at 6:11am, and access will commence as soon as it is safe, this is likely to be from approximately 5:45am and will end at 8:30am. The Stonehenge car park will open at 05:15am. All vehicles must vacate the car parks by 11am.

The spring equinox is one of the rare occasions that English Heritage opens up the stones for public access. Equinox open accesses attract fewer people than the Solstices – in the several hundreds rather than tens of thousands – and there are modern Druid ceremonies which are held in the circle around dawn.

Spring equinox 2024

This is the first of the four ‘sky points’ in our Wheel of the Year and it is when the sun does a perfect balancing act in the heavens. This is the point of the year when once again day and night are equal – 12 hours. The equinox, (the Latin word for Equinox means time of equal days and nights) is only the very moment the sun crosses the equator.

WHY CAN PAGANS AND DRUIDS GET SO CLOSE TO THE STONES FOR THE EQUINOX?

The famous Stonehenge circle is normally roped off to the public, but special access is granted four times a year. This is only on the mornings of the summer solstice, winter solstice, spring equinox and autumn equinox. English Heritage has ‘managed open access’, meaning the public can stand among the stones on these days. Anyone can turn up on the day to get close to the stones, but people are asked not to touch or climb on them. Organisers also have a ban on bringing glass bottles or pets onto the site and on playing amplified music. Stonehenge is expected to open at 5.45am when it was deemed light enough to safely allow people into the field and visitors must leave by 8.30am. English Heritage open to the paying public as normal at 9.30am.

Public access to Stonehenge currently takes place on four of the so-called ‘quarter festivals’. What exactly are the quarter festivals? And why are these occasions so celebrated by the Druids? The Quarter Festivals and the Druids

You can find out more about attending Solstice and Equinox by clicking on the links below.

Travelling to Stonehenge

What (and what not) to bring

Respect the stones

Safety, facilities and welfare

Accessibility

Accommodation

Related Equinox Links:
How the Spring Equinox marks the changing seasons – The Telegraph
What is the vernal equinox? Why does it mark the first day of spring? – Express
Summer Solstice at Stonehenge. From Past to Present – Stonehenge News Blog
Stonehenge Spring Equinox Tours and Transport – Stonehenge Guided Tours
Solstice at Stonehenge – English Heritage
The Stonehenge Pilgrims – Stonehenge News Blog
What Exactly Is the Spring Equinox? – Country Living
Stonehenge Equinox / Solstice Guided Tours – Solstice Events UK
Visiting Stonehenge this year for the Spring Equinox Celebrations? RESPECT THE STONES