To celebrate the summer solstice, we pick some of the most magical places to greet the sun’s arrival on the longest day of the year. Don’t forget that flask of coffee…
1 Best for… wildlife-watchers
Wake up with puffins at this two-mile-long nature reserve off St Bride’s Bay. More than 40,000 Atlantic puffins breed on Skomer from April to July, and if you stay overnight at The Wildlife Trusts’ off-grid hostel*, you can tiptoe down to their burrows at dawn to see them take flight in search of a sand-eel breakfast for their pufflings. Skomer is also home to Manx shearwaters, razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes and grey seals (welshwildlife.org).
2 Best for… blissed-out yogis
North Yorkshire’s sandy beaches offer a wealth of accessible spots, where you can roll out your mat and salute the sun as it rises above the North Sea. Happy Seal Yoga runs year-round sessions at South Cliff, Cayton Bay and Filey, although you’ll have to arrive three hours before the 7.15am class to catch the first sunrays (happysealyoga.com).
3 Best for… happy snappers
It’s worth getting up early to catch the sun rise behind the giant basalt finger that defines the skyline on the northeastern side of the island. It’s less than an hour’s walk from the car park to the pinnacle itself – hence the constant stream of visitors at more sociable times of day – but walk beyond it for this south-east-facing view across the Sound of Raasay towards the Applecross peninsula (isleofskye.com).
4 Best for… beach-lovers
The lamp no longer beams from the 19th-century lighthouse that once warned ships off the rocky outcrops on the south side of the Moray Firth, but in the glow of an east coast sunrise, this landmark – now owned by the local community – shines as brightly as ever. It’s a one-mile walk west of Lossiemouth along a white-sand beach (at low tide), where the possibility of a display from the Firth’s resident bottlenose dolphins is always on the horizon (covesealighthouse.co.uk).
5 Best for… car-free adventurers
Famed for its 360° views across the Edale and Hope valleys, the summit of Mam Tor (Mother Hill) in the Peak District could never be described as secret – even at 4.30am. To avoid the scramble for a space at the National Trust’s Mam Nick car park, take the train to Hope, home to several pubs and a campsite. It’s a four-mile walk up Mam Tor – then stride across the spectacular Great Ridge path to Lose Hill.
6 Best for… fun-loving paddlers
Paddleboarders and kayakers take to the water to immerse th
