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Hundreds watch sunrise at UK's most easterly point

Zoie O'Brien,at Lowestoftand
Laura Devlin
News imageZoie O'Brien/BBC A view of a sunrise over a sea, watched by three people with phones held up filming it Zoie O'Brien/BBC
Ness Point draws an early morning crowd every year on 21 June

Hundreds of people watched the sun rise on the longest day of the year at the UK's most easterly point.

Ness Point in Lowestoft, Suffolk, is among the first places in the country to see the dawning of a new day at 04:30 BST.

It has a special resonance on 21 June - the summer solstice - when the sun is at its highest point in the sky for a year, kicking off astronomical summer.

"It was beautiful, just what we imagined," said Kerr, whose six-year-old daughter, Enid, described watching the sunrise as one of her dreams.

News imageZoie O'Brien/BBC A woman and young girl smiling as they sit on a concrete sea defence wall, the woman cuddling the girl from behind as she reclines back against her chest. The woman has brown hair and a white top, the girl is blonde and wrapped in a blue sleeping bag. Behind them is a grey sea and the horizon Zoie O'Brien/BBC
Enid kept cosy and warm for the special trip with her parents, Kerr and George

"Enid last summer told us she had a bucket list and on that was a sunrise, a sunset, a rainbow and snow - so this one we ticked off this morning," She added.

"We were under our sleeping bags in the camper van, so we were nice and warm."

Enid said: "I liked it lots."

The family set off from home in Norfolk at 02:30 BST, with Enid still in her pyjamas as she watched the sun peek over the horizon, albeit behind a bank of cloud.

News imageZoie O'Brien/BBC A group of men sitting in a line on a concrete sea defence wall, the grey sea and horizon behind them. They are all wearing shorts black tshirts with chase the sun written in white across the chest and an image of a pair of sunglasses with palm trees reflected in them. They all have grey hair and beards. The two men to the left have black motorcycle helmets held down on their lapsZoie O'Brien/BBC
Motorcyclists from Oxfordshire caught the spectacle before making their way to Land's End to watch the sunset
News imageZoie O'Brien/BBC A banner saying MEET ME AT FIRST LIGHT stretches across a beach at sunrise. Groups of people sit in groups, taking in the view as the sun sparkles on the calm sea Zoie O'Brien/BBC
First Light Festival makes a celebration of the solstice on Lowestoft beach
News imageZoie O'Brien/BBC A group of two men, two women and a teenage boy, all in running gear of shirts and t-shirts stand side by side and smile at the camera. Standing in front of them are two dogs - a black and white mixed breed and a blond labrador. Behind them is a promenade and sea. Zoie O'Brien/BBC
Waveney Valley Running Club members ran to Ness Point with dogs Callisto and Bella

Down the road at Lowestoft beach, a second gathering was taking place around the town's annual First Light Festival, which celebrates the solstice.

Swimmers enjoyed an early dip, and about 500 did their sun salutations during a yoga session on the sand.

"It was amazing, breath-taking," said Courtney, from Beccles, who was there with her friend Kirstine.

"The energy just felt great, and it's nice for people to come together and enjoy it together."

News imageZoie O'Brien A woman in a blue dress smiles at the camera, her hands behind her back. She has black long hair and is standing on a sandy beach, the sea behind her and a banner stretched between poles which reads MEET ME AT FIRST LIGHT Zoie O'Brien
Jo Leverett said people descended on the beach from "all around"
Sun rises over Ness Point in Lowestoft, Suffolk - the UK's most easterly point

Performance poet Bradley Taylor, of Birmingham, said he rarely got to see the sea, so watching the sunrise at Lowestoft with hundreds of other people was "very, very special".

Project manager Jo Leverett admitted she hadn't had much sleep before the early wake-up but said the sunrise was nevertheless "absolutely gorgeous and really, really special".

"I think we had about 2,000 people come down for our wonderful dawn celebration - we had music, we had singing," she added.

"There is something really special that draws people down to it, because it is the first light that we get here."

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