The summer solstice, heralding the longest day of the year, brought hundreds of swimmers and onlookers to the shores of Bridlington and Flamborough, where the early dawn was greeted with warm sunshine as the ongoing heatwave continued.
For many, the solstice signifies a time of celebration, marking the dawn of summer and the anticipation of holidays and hopefully a busy tourist season for the towns and villages up and down the East Coast.
The Flamborough Flippers swimming group were up extremely early to be in the sea as the sun rose over the headland this morning – 21 June.
Sara from the group explained: “It was lovely and warm. Such an amazing event. People left feeling energised. “
While the solstice, occurring between 20 and 22 June, is celebrated as the true start of summer in astronomical terms, meteorologists define the season as beginning on 1 June and concluding on 31 August.
This distinction stems from the meteorological approach, which divides the year into four three-month periods, thus simplifying seasonal comparisons.
The exact date of the solstice varies each year due to the imperfect alignment of the calendar with the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, which takes nearly a quarter of a day longer than the calendar accounts for. Consequently, a leap day every four years is added to maintain this alignment.
As the sun rose over the horizon, eager swimmers took to the sea to embrace the spirit of the solstice.
With its natural beauty, the summer solstice in Bridlington and Flamborough, a surge of early morning risers and swimmers has been noted over the last few years, drawing both locals and visitors to witness the natural magic of the longest day of the year.
