A HAMLET near Malvern is delving more deeply into its Druidic roots and keeping alive its ancient pagan past ahead of the winter solstice.

The tiny hamlet of Whiteleaved Oak at the southern most end of the Malvern Hills appears to be significant to Druid tradition says local author, Carl Flint.

The hamlet lies at the junction of the three counties of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire and according to Druid observations the hamlet is geometrically aligned with Stonehenge, Avebury and Glastonbury. The Oak tree at the centre of the Solstice festivities is adorned with trinkets, prayer flags and brightly decorated ribbon providing a colourful and unusual addition to the fascinating history of the Malvern Hills.

The location of the Whiteleaved Oak alongside a number of historical walks can be found in ‘A Pictorial Guide to the Malvern Hills Book 3’ by local author Carl Flint FRSA, available in all the local bookshops and Tourist Information Centres.

The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year for those in the Northern Hemisphere is on Tuesday December 22. Sunrise will be just a few minutes after 8 am and sunset 3.56 pm.

Carl Flint said: "For those living further north in Norway the day is already night. In the spring they finally get to see the sun again.

"In Malvern we will be blessed with an extra 56 seconds of daylight by New Year's Eve.

"For our ancestors the Winter Solstice was the key turning point in the winter months.

"Stonehenge was constructed to align with sunset on the shortest day and sunrise with the Summer Solstice.

"More recent findings suggest that Stonehenge was more frequented at the Winter Solstice than the summer due to the excavated remains of culled animal bones.

"This evidence would align to the widespread slaughter of cattle at this time of year due to the limited supply and reserves of animal feed that could be achieved by our Neolithic and Bronze Age ancestors.

"The resulting feast with the seasons fermented wine and beer was the last before the deep winter set in.

"The Christmas carol ‘In the bleak midwinter’ refers to this important day and prior to Christianity the eve of the Winter Solstice with the sun at the southernmost point of the constellation known as the Great Bear (or the Plough) was significant."

In Scandinavia and in Germany the Pagan twelve day festival holiday was called Yule. This is where the Yule Log and the ‘twelve days of Christmas’ has its origins.