Stunning photo taken to commemorate Midsummer's Day in Milton Keynes

Photographer Gill Prince captured the Midsummer sunrise this week
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

This superb shot of the midsummer sunrise over the Light Pyramid and the MK Rose in Campbell Park was taken by city photographer Gill Prince.

Midsummer's Day fell on Monday, when it was officially the longest day of the year. The sun rose at around 4.43am and setting at 9.21pm, giving 16 hours, 38 minutes and 21 seconds of daylight.

MK is famed for its connections with Midsummer Day or the summer solstice. Midsummer Boulevard at CMK was actually build to be perfectly aligned with the rising sun on summer solstice.

Midsummer magic. Photo: Gill Prince PhotographyMidsummer magic. Photo: Gill Prince Photography
Midsummer magic. Photo: Gill Prince Photography

MKDC architects in the 1970s consulted with Greenwich Observatory on the precise coordinates required and even persuaded the new city's engineers to shift the urban grid a few degrees to make it happen.

As a result, the sun rises precisely at one end of Midsummer Boulevard on the solstice - just like a modern Stonehenge