THE Summer Solstice on Friday, June 21, will be celebrated on Hilly Head. A red painted disc on the wall indicates where the sun will be seen as it rises above the trees. This is a solemn occasion for those who will have arrived on Hilly Head about 4.30am to watch the changing sky, and in their hearts thank the Earth as ‘life-giving’. I paint a few stones and put these at the base of the wall at the red sign. Others may wish to do the same.

I used to watch the sunrise on Hengistbury Head, Dorset, where about 40 people, including children, would be gathered, standing in silence, to gaze at the pink sky and the pink water of Christchurch Harbour as the sun came up. It would be nice to share a similar experience here in Wellington.

Interestingly, Hilly Head is the appropriate place for this shared experience as the sun’s rays pass over what seems to be a weathered down round barrow, and a shadow points to a prominent feature on the distant landscape making an alignment. This is typical of a Neolithic or Bronze Age site where someone of high status in the community has been buried. That the sun’s rays cross this grave on this day is thought to invigorate the spirit of the deceased. And it has long been believed that Hilly Head has a ghost.

John Jarrett

Wellington