Going to Winter solstice at Newgrange, no ticket

frenchmartini

Myself and 8 year old son want to celebrate the winter solstice in Newgrange early sat. We don't have tickets, just want to be there at sunrise.
Anyone done it? Is it very busy? Massive queues would be off putting


And one other thing, did you go via the visitor centre or the N51 then walk the 2km to the site?

Thanks

the_syco

Very little chance. You used to have to pre-book it (crazy times, something like 5 years), but now it's a lottery.

http://www.newgrange.com/solstice-lottery.htm

Meathlass

You won't get inside the chamber without a ticket but you can gather on the grass in front of the tomb and watch sunrise. I was there a few years ago and there was about 100 people outside.
Maybe give them a ring to see what the arrangements are this year - I'd imagine as it's Saturday that it will be a lot busier than usual.

slowburner

Here are the arrangements according to the OPW.

Anyone who wants to stand on the outside of Newgrange monument as the sun is rising on December 21st is very welcome. The best way to get there is to go to Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre and get a shuttle bus to the site. There is no charge for this. The centre will be open from 7.00am.

Once you get to Newgrange, there will be a queue on the road but everyone will be allowed on site from 8.30am (once it begins to get light) until 9.30am. Sunrise is at 8.54am. There is no charge to go on site.

If visitors decide to access the site from the N51, i.e. go directly to Newgrange, the roads will be closed off to traffic from a distance of approx 1.5 km and visitors will have to walk from where their car is parked.

After dawn (c. 9.30am), when the lottery and art competition winners come out of the chamber, people who have been waiting outside will be brought inside for a brief visit in groups of 20 people. In 2012, it took until 11.30am for everyone who wanted to go inside to get in and out.

Once all the people at the monument have left the site, normal arrangements and normal admission prices will apply.
Guided tours will recommence at 12.30pm approx.

Please dress appropriately and wrap up well.
Please respect the monument and other visitors and enjoy the experience!

Please note there are no dogs or other pets allowed on site

Meathlass

I'd love to get a chance to go inside on the day. Not sure I want to wait for 3 hours though!

Seriously considering going up to this now.

bawn79

Meathlass wrote: »

I'd love to get a chance to go inside on the day. Not sure I want to wait for 3 hours though!

Seriously considering going up to this now.

I was up there in about 2003 / 2004 (on the outside that is). About 50 people outside so we got to go in very soon after the main party were there.
Unfortunately from the arrangements details and reading online about various groups meeting outside it may be that unrestricted access (even as it is at the moment) may become limited in the future (I think). So I would recommend heading up there before it turns into a Stonehenge style free for all.

frenchmartini

Yes we are going to stand outside. Am trying to work out our walk - via the visitor centre or go from N51 and walk across to the site.
We just want to be there. We love it so much.

Weather isn't looking so good but we'll go anyway and pay our respects to that most wonderful of places

Cianmcliam

They have VIP slots for those who won places in the lottery on several mornings either side of the 21st, so you can wait until the busses arrive and go in for free but only to stand outside. You only get to go in after the lottery winner group has left, well after sunrise. Easier to park though! The experience inside the chamber will be pretty much identical for around a week.

yellowlabrador

For those in West Cork, there's usually a crowd at sunset at Drumbeg stone circle. I try to go, the last 2 years have been a no go due to the weather.

siblers

I was at it this morning (Friday morning). Got about 2 seconds of a glimmer of light. was a pretty cool experience overall but being inside in the tomb didn't really blow my mind. I knew what to expect just lacked the atmopshere I had hoped for. Tour guides etc were brilliant and treated us really well.

Cianmcliam

What a fantastic morning at Newgrange! Great atmosphere, the sun kept us waiting until the very last minute because of some low cloud. It was actually pelting rain when I parked up at the visitor centre, I'd seen a couple of tweets saying it was going to be a no-show this year, what a turnaround though! Amazing.

I've put a few photos up on the blog, might be worth clicking through the link to view the slideshow in full screen as the blog page has size constraints.

http://blog.shadowsandstone.com/2013/12/21/winter-solstice-report-newgrange-december-21st-2013/

Ipso

Excellent stuff.