Druids protest plans to install gates on Primrose Hill: Ancient Order which celebrates autumn equinox in famous London park slam plans to limit access in row over anti-social behaviour

• The Royal Parks has applied to Camden Council to install gates for overnight

Druids who celebrate the autumn equinox at London’s Primrose Hill fear access will be taken away as gates could be installed to deter rowdy partygoers at night. 

The Royal Parks, which runs the park, has applied to Camden Council to install gates preventing access to the popular hilltop overnight after neighbours complained about litter, drug crime and noisy sound systems. 

But druids, who have gathered to celebrate the autumn equinox there since 1717, say it’s a shame to put limits on a site which is clearly important and special to so many people. 

Their ceremony entails a procession up to the summit of the north London hill, where they make a circle and blow a trumpet to the four elements to mark the equinox.

Druids celebrating the Autumn Equinox on Primrose Hill, London, 

The Autumn Equinox marks one of two points in the year when day is equally long as night; the other is the spring equinox

Druids, who have gathered to celebrate the autumn equinox at Primrose Hill since 1717 – pictured in 2009

Although gates at night would not prevent druids gathering at the hill, they still disagree with the idea. 

Druids are people who form part of a modern spiritual or religious movement that promotes the cultivation of relationships with physical landscapes.

Susan Winter, 61, one of those who leads the Druid Order, told the Times: ‘It’s somewhere people go for many many reasons, and it would be a shame to put limits on that. People need somewhere where they can go and feel they’re in a special place.’ 

She added: ‘I think it’s very interesting that so many people throughout history want to go to the top of Primrose Hill. 

‘It shows that there is clearly an energy there, whether people realise it or not, as people have been drawn there for hundreds of years.’ 

A Royal Parks spokesman told the Times: ‘A planning application has been submitted which will be subject to statutory consultation by the Local Authority, providing an opportunity for the public to comment.’

MailOnline has also contacted the Royal Parks and Camden Council for comment.  

Druids wearing their traditional outfits on Primrose Hill

People watch as the sun rises behind the London skyline, from Primrose Hill in London, on November 25

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