Solstice sunset

I was so very wrong about the likelihood of a sunset on the solstice! Much of the day was grey and cloudy, but after a morning spent braving the hordes of shoppers in Peterborough, I needed a bit of down-time. I took my camera off to Ferry Meadows for the sunset, just in case (ever the optimist!). 

I'm not sure whether it was because it was the solstice, but there were at least three other serious photographers there (I'm usually the only one).
The sunset was pleasantly golden, but after the sun had sunk below the horizon the sky gradually began to pick up more shades of pink, which gradually intensified over the next hour. By this time all the other photographers had disappeared, possibly put off by the bitingly cold wind, and I was left alone to enjoy this natural wonder. The colours really were this intense - in fact by 4.30pm the western horizon became almost blood red, though by then there really wasn't a lot of light!

So we're now past the solstice and the days will start to get longer, imperceptibly at first, but then picking up speed as we head into February and March. What a lovely thought that is!