{"id":811571,"date":"2026-08-12T22:02:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T22:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/811571\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T22:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T22:02:17","slug":"europe-solar-eclipse-millions-watch-rare-spectacle-across-spain-uk-and-iceland-as-it-happened-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/811571\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe solar eclipse: millions watch rare spectacle across Spain, UK and Iceland \u2013 as it happened | Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Key events<\/p>\n

This blog is now closed\"JakubJakub Krupa<\/p>\n

We are now closing the blog.<\/p>\n

Thank you for following today\u2019s special solar eclipse with us on Europe<\/a> Live.<\/p>\n

But, but, but\u2026 before you go, make sure to save the date: the next total eclipse seen from the UK, France and mainland Europe will be in September 2081.<\/p>\n

See you then, right?<\/p>\n

Share<\/a>Total solar eclipse darkens sky in Spain \u2013 video\"TotalTotal solar eclipse darkens sky in Spain \u2013 videoShare<\/a>Solar eclipse visible over Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in London \u2013 video\"SolarSolar eclipse visible over Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in London \u2013 videoShare<\/a><\/p>\n

For a selection of the best photos from today\u2019s eclipse, you can browse this gallery by our picture desk:<\/p>\n

Share<\/a>Iceland in complete darkness during total solar eclipse – video\"IcelandIceland in complete darkness during total solar eclipse – videoShare<\/a>\"AshifaAshifa Kassam<\/p>\n

in Madrid<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the most beautiful things I\u2019ve ever seen in my life,\u201d Sara Garc\u00eda Alonso, a reserve astronaut for the European Space Agency, told broadcaster RTVE. \u201cIt gave me goose bumps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thousands of people gather to observe a total solar eclipse over the Madrid town of Buitrago del Lozoya, Spain. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Standing next to her, the astronaut Pablo \u00c1lvarez Fern\u00e1ndez nodded in agreement:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt had been described to me so many times, but it was much more beautiful than what I had expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Share<\/a>Cornwall comes together for communal moment during solar eclipse\"StevenSteven Morris<\/p>\n

in Cornwall<\/p>\n

Strangers shared picnics, drinks and eclipse glasses, which had been very tricky to source in Cornwall.<\/p>\n

People watch the solar eclipse in Cornwall, England Photograph: Luke Gartside\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

The wind picked up as the eclipse took hold and the temperature, which had reached the 30s during the day, plunged.<\/p>\n

Gulls stopped circling and landed on the surface of the water. A trio of choughs \u2013 Cornwall\u2019s national bird \u2013 hopped around on the hillside, looking a little less graceful than usual. The swallows that had been whizzing around the thatched cottages rested for a while.<\/p>\n

Mary Bendall had positioned herself on a rock near the coastguard station with a complicated setup involving a filter over a scope that she uses to watch wildlife and her iPhone.<\/p>\n

She watched the total eclipse in 1999 with her daughter, who now works in physics, having been inspired by the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have just spoken to her \u2013 she\u2019s in Spain<\/a>. It\u2019s cloudy there so we may be having the best of it,\u201d Bendall said.<\/p>\n

Mother and daughter Lisa and Janet Grenfell, 53 and 79, plonked their camp chairs on the front and took it all in. \u201cWe remember the total eclipse in 1999 but it was cloudy. This is beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jasmine Owen and Rory Smith arguably had the best seat in the house \u2013 a table overlooking the ocean where they tucked into fish and chips.<\/p>\n

What was better? The supper or the eclipse? Owen did not hesitate:<\/p>\n

double quotation mark\u201cThe chips are great, the eclipse amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Share<\/a>\"ChrisChris Michael<\/p>\n

in Camberwell, south London<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not often I have been able to share my telescope obsession with strangers \u2013 or indeed any other people at all, other than my long-suffering partner.<\/p>\n

It can be a bit of a weird and inward hobby, involving a lot of fiddling around with eyepieces in the dead of night while covered in dew \u2013 and of course it\u2019s basically pointless in London, where the light pollution makes amateur astronomy a bit like the equivalent of going for a swim in a car park.<\/p>\n

So seeing an impromptu crowd of all ages gather in Brunswick Park, south London, asking to take a look through the scope at the eclipse, which reached 92% totality here, was a wonderful experience.<\/p>\n

People gather in Brunswick Park, Camberwell, south London to watch the partial solar eclipse Photograph: Chris Michael\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

We met dozens of new neighbours, of all ages \u2013 not least Ludmila, a Ukrainian woman in her 70s, who was the first person standing in the park when we arrived and revealed she\u2019d worked at an observatory in Crimea for 30 years. \u201cWhat a surprise to find an actual refractor,\u201d she said of the telescope. \u201cIt\u2019s like a wonderful gift.\u201d<\/p>\n

View of the sun as seen through a telescope during the partial solar eclipse in London Photograph: Chris Michael\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

The real highlight, however, was all of the creative ways people experimented with seeing the eclipse. Some held up colanders, another a spatula with holes, another a makeshift pinhole camera made of old candy boxes. One guy used a volcanic rock with a little hole in it.<\/p>\n

People watch the solar eclipse through a colander in a south London park Photograph: Dan Rose<\/p>\n

Later, as the eclipse passed its zenith and the sun began to set for real, we stayed up to drink beer on picnic blankets and swap photos \u2013 strangers no longer.<\/p>\n

Share<\/a><\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a016.18 EDT<\/p>\n

Solar eclipse as watched across England – in picturesPeople gather to view the partial solar eclipse in Greenwich Park in London, United Kingdom. Photograph: Dan Kitwood\/Getty ImagesPeople observe a partial solar eclipse on Crosby beach near Liverpool as the moon covers part of the sun in Liverpool, England. Photograph: Jon Super\/APArsenal fans watch the solar eclipse ahead of the pre-season friendly match between Arsenal and Como at Emirates Stadium in London. Photograph: Charlotte Wilson\/Offside\/Getty ImagesA woman holds a piece of paper showing the eclipse refracted from binoculars on Primrose Hill in London. Photograph: Henry Nicholls\/AFP\/Getty ImagesPeople view the partial solar eclipse at Parliament Hill in London, England. Photograph: Brook Mitchell\/Getty ImagesMembers of the public watch the solar eclipse during the European Athletics Championships at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. Photograph: Ben Stansall\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a015.38 EDT<\/p>\n

Solar eclipse across Europe – in picturesThe moon completely covers the sun during a total solar eclipse as seen from the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory in in Arcos de las Salinas, near Teruel, Spain. Photograph: Christian Hartmann\/ReutersA solar eclipse is seen over a Virgin Maria church in Vidigulfo, near Pavia, northern Italy. Photograph: Antonio Calanni\/APPeople gather at the Dinny\u00e9s Observation Tower to watch the partial solar eclipse close to Agard, Hungary. Photograph: Attila Kisbenedek\/AFP\/Getty ImagesBeachgoers watch a solar eclipse as the moon partially covers the sun and briefly dims the afternoon light along the coast of Fregene, near Rome, Italy. Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane\/ReutersGrooms Jerry Bone, 30, and Jamie Bone, 25, take a moment during their wedding day to watch the solar eclipse in Alpheton, Suffolk. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt\/PAShare<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Key events This blog is now closedJakub Krupa We are now closing the blog. Thank you for following…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[79,193],"class_list":["post-811571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}