‘I feel special, in my heart’: thousands gather at Stonehenge for winter solstice

Kefan Wang, a shaman from China, and Abbie Coombs from London, dance as people celebrate the solstice. Photograph: Anthony Upton/AP

Thousands of revellers gathered at Stonehenge in the early hours of Sunday morning to celebrate the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.

Crowds amassed in the dark around the historical site in Wiltshire to watch the sunrise, with some dressed in traditional pagan clothing, just as they did to mark the sun rising on the summer solstice six months ago.