STONEHENGE and Avebury will be open for visitors tomorrow morning for the Winter Solstice.

The winter solstice happens every year when the North Pole is tilted farthest away from the Sun, delivering the fewest hours of sunlight of the year and the shortest day of the year.

Many people believe that the Winter Solstice always falls on December 21, but because of a mismatch between the calendar year and solar year the celebration date is not fixed.

This year Winter Solstice occurs during darkness, at 16.29 on the 21st, and based on advice from the druid and pagan communities, the date chosen to celebrate Winter Solstice at Stonehenge is on December 22 at the first sunrise following the astronomical event.

The car park, toilets and café at Avebury will be opened for people for sunrise celebrations which commemorate the shortest day of the year.

Sunrise is just after 8am and Stonehenge visitors will be able to access the monument field as soon as it is light enough to do so safely. The café will be open from 6am. There is a charge of £5 per car or £2 for motorbikes to park in the solstice car parks, which will be open from 6am.

Kate Davies, general manager of Stonehenge, said: “We are really pleased to offer people a warm welcome to Stonehenge for Winter Solstice once again. If you are planning to join us, please think about car sharing or taking the bus, wrap up warmly and be prepared for a couple of hours in a field in wintery weather!

For those who’d rather watch from under the covers Stonehenge be live streaming sunrise from the monument.