When is it and the best places to see it in the North East

The Angel of the North, Tynemouth, Bamburgh, and The Cheviots are amongst the perfect locations to watch the sunrise

Make a date in your diary to get up at the crack of dawn on June 21.

It’s the Summer Solstice – or the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere – when we get to enjoy the most daylight. It also marks the start of the astronomical summer.

The sun will rise at 4.26am in the North East on June 21 and set at 9.49pm, giving us a whopping 17 hours 23 minutes of daylight.

Stonehenge has become a popular place to celebrate the Summer Solstice for Pagans and non-nature worshippers alike in recent years as it’s the only day when the sun shines on the central altar in the middle of the stones.

But you don’t have to head to Wiltshire to wait for the sun to appear. In fact, you can steal a march on those partying at Stonehenge as the sun won’t rise until 4.51am on the longest day a full 25 minutes after the North East - and revel in this most auspicious of days at a stunning location much closer to home.

Here’s our list of the best North East places to see the sun rise on June 21 – or any other day of the year for that matter.

Fingers crossed the weather stays fair.