Wiltshire has always enjoyed a good solstice celebration and the Winter Solstice on December 21st is no exception. In Alton Barnes, over the last few years, the marking of the year's shortest day and longest night has gone far from unnoticed by locals.
 | | Candles are placed at sunset |
Last year the tradition of 'ringing out the old' and welcoming the return of the sun even had the 'Wiggly Bus' stopped in the road so passengers could get a good view of this rare sight.. But a good view of what? Well, the lighting up of the white horse chalk figure which overlooks the famous crop circle fields of Alton Barnes. It's an old tradition that used to see every white horse in Wiltshire lit by candles but now only the white horse at Alton Barnes is candle lit to see in the new sun. Every year, since 2001, up to 25 people have set off from Knap Hill car park and made their way up to the white horse. Armed with jam jars and night lights, the candles have been arranged around the outline of the horse ready for lighting just as the sun sets and the daylight starts to fade. For organiser Melanie Gambrill the effect, last year, was dramatic:
 | | Inside the lit horse |
"It must have been amazing to watch the horse being lit from a distance, as the lighting progressed up the horse's head, along the tail and up the legs until it was completely aglow. "As darkness fell, the horse lights became brighter and brighter. We could see vehicles stopping along the road below as people paused to view the lit horse." This year the white horse will again be set aglow for the longest night. So if you want to celebrate this ancient Wiltshire tradition and help carry jam jars up to the white horse than head to the Knap Hill car park (above East Field at Alton Barnes) at 2:30pm on Wednesday 21st December. Or if you want to just watch, the white horse is due to be lit up just as the sun sets at about 4.00pm. Let's hope the weather stays good…. | 
