THE Summer Solstice is on its way, taking place on what we call the longest day of the year.

The Solstice occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun, so therefore it reaches its highest position in the sky and is the day with the longest period of daylight.

In 2021, this day will be Monday, June 21 and it is interesting to note the difference in times for sunrise and sunset across the country.

Nub News has websites in towns across England and Wales, and the hours of daylight differ significantly between them.

In Crewe, sunrise on June 21 will be at 4.43am and sunset at 9.40pm (Source: BBC), making it a longer longest day (16 hours and 57 minutes) than Stonehenge in Wiltshire (16 hrs 35 mins), which is traditionally associated with the Summer Solstice.

Our town furthest to the east is Felixstowe in Suffolk, where sunrise will be at 4.34am and sunset at 9.18pm.

But in Falmouth, which is the furthest west town that has a Nub News site, sunrise will not be until 5.10am and sunset is at 9.33pm.

Glastonbury, which also has a Nub News site, also has strong links with the Solstice after the famous Glastonbury Festival (then the Glastonbury Fair) was moved to coincide with its date in 1971.

In the Somerset town, sunrise on the longest day is at 4.55am and sunset will be at 9.29pm.

Since pre-history, the Summer Solstice has been seen as a significant time of year in many cultures, and has been marked by festivals and rituals.

Traditionally, the summer solstice is seen as the middle of summer and referred to as "midsummer". Today, however, in some countries and calendars it is seen as the beginning of summer.

In 2021 the Summer Solstice, which is a one-off time on the longest day and not the whole day itself, will happen at 4.32am so before dawn for most of the UK.