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The sky went nuts over Edinburgh last night…and aurora seemed to be visible everywhere else in the UK too. Anyone familiar with Edinburgh will realise from the image above that the Northern Lights were actually in the south, for at least part of the amazing show.
We got our first sight in the Braid Hills, with the ancient Liberton Tower in the bottom of this shot. I have to say that at this point the “lights” looked like a grey cloud to the naked eye, and only by taking an image could you see the green colour.
Moving down to Holyrood Park the lights had got more intense…and so had the atmosphere. People were running into the park in excited groups and pointing their phones and cameras up at the sky…it was like a movie scene. Lots of folk were rushing to get higher…and higher…as if climbing a hill was going to give you a better view of the sky. You can see their phone and torch lights on the path up Arthur’s Seat.
We moved round to the parliament building and Dynamic Earth and at this point the display was all around, doing a kinda crowny thing with the colours clearly visible to the naked eye. Pretty awesome stuff to be honest.
Then the display moved round to the north and danced a bit over the parliament building. This is one of my favourite shots because my wife is in it. Normally she lets me go wandering with my camera on my own, but this night she shared in the excitement and wonder of it all. A beautiful bonus for me.
Last stop was up Calton Hill where everyone and their friends and the friends of those friends and their dogs, had pitched up to try and get the best sighting of the display. There was a real party atmosphere with a Salsa Dancing group playing their music and putting on an impromptu show. Lots of folk were clambering on the National Monument and clapping, cheering and singing along.
There was either more light pollution disrupting the view, or the aurora was waning, probably a bit of both, so we left the party and headed home. One last photo I’ve added now that I know the lady is OK is of the Coastguard helicopter that rescued the injured walker. You can see the helicopter lights as it swung over Salisbury Crags on its way to land behind Holyrood Palace where the patient was transferred to an ambulance. Get well soon.
Someone emailed to suggest I add a wee tips payment option - for those of you who don’t want to subscribe but would like to offer something as a “Cheers mate, enjoyed that” option. So here it is.
A brilliant story and some special images! Made the mistake of not going out Friday, 10th, nothing seemed to be happening on Saturday 11th. Have had to be satisfied with the platitude of images taken around the UK and beyond, and the memories of our own experiences on trips to Norway! Looking forward to your next post.😀
Lovely images Tom and an enjoyable account of your evening. I managed to miss the excitement and slept through it all! 😆