What time is the summer solstice 2021 in Sidmouth?

Monday, June 21 is a significant date for pagans and astronomers – it's the day of the summer solstice.

When the summer solstice happens in the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted about 23.4° (23°27´) toward the sun.

This means it's the day of the year when the sun rises earliest and sets latest, giving the longest hours of daylight.

Sunrise and sunset times vary according to your location; in Sidmouth the sun will rise at 5am on Monday, and set at 9.29pm.

This year, June 21 was also going to be a symbolic 'light at the end of the tunnel' for everyone in England, as the Covid restrictions were due to be lifted on that date. As we now know, Step 4 on the roadmap to recovery has been pushed back to July 19 – so there won't be any 'freedom day' revelries.

But for pagan religions, it's still a very significant date. For thousands of years they've celebrated the event as a manifestation of the sun's divine, life-giving powers. For pagans it's a time to give thanks, but also to acknowledge that from this date, the sun will begin to decline as the seasons move towards winter.

Stonehenge is a focus for summer solstice celebrations, because the sun rises behind the Heel Stone in the north-east part of the horizon and its first rays shine into the heart of the stone circle.

People have traditionally gathered there to watch – but this year, because of the delay in lifting Covid restrictions, English Heritage is not allowing large groups to attend. But small, pre-booked groups from the pagan and druid community have been given permission to visit the site on the days around the summer solstice to mark this important moment in their calendar.

The sunrise at Stonehenge will be live-streamed via English Heritage's social media channels, with interviews and music. But it may not be a very striking sunrise this year - the current weather forecast for Monday is for rain.

The variations in sunrise times across England and Wales

Nub News has websites in towns across England and Wales, and the hours of daylight differ significantly between them.

For instance, our town furthest to the east is Felixstowe in Suffolk, where sunrise will be at 4.34am and sunset at 9.18pm.

However in Falmouth, which is the furthest west town that has a Nub News site, sunrise will not be until 5.10am and sunset at 9.33pm.