The Friends of St Giles Hill Park welcome Winchester to view the Eclipse

The crowd waits for the eclipse in St Giles Hill Park.

Hundreds of people gathered on St Giles Hill on Wednesday evening to witness one of the most spectacular astronomical events visible from Winchester for a generation.

As the sun began to sink towards the western horizon, families and friends made their way to St Giles Hill, drawn by the promise of an extraordinary sight: the Moon passing directly between the Earth and the Sun.  This was a great vantage point to see an eclipse that won’t be bettered until 2081 and then another in 2090 that will be a whisker off total a total eclipse at 99.98%

Harry Mycock, Chair of the Friends of St Giles Hill Park commented that it was wonderful to see so many enjoying the spectacle in such a great place.  “So many had a good time recognising this rare and humbling experience.  There was a regular cacophony of ‘oh wows’ to be heard accompanied by sometimes deeper reflection on what it is to be human and where we sit in the cosmos.  One eight year old quickly totted up that she would be 72 years old for the 2090 eclipse and it might be cloudy then!”

For Winchester, St Giles Hill provided a particularly appropriate natural theatre for this rare celestial spectacle.  High above the city, its open areas and viewpoint offered visitors the chance to watch the diminishing Sun against the western sky, while the historic city lay below.

The Friends of St Giles Hill Park had encouraged people to experience the eclipse from Park with certified eclipse glasses provided for safe viewing, handing out 50 pairs of such glasses on the night for people to share around.  The atmosphere was informal and distinctly communal, with people chatting, sharing the experience and taking glimpses upwards as the Moon progressively covered the Sun.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

For many of those on St Giles Hill, however, the hill has long been one of Winchester’s great viewpoints, looking across a city whose history stretches back more than a thousand years. On this evening it became a meeting place for people to experience something that connected the ancient landscape with the wider universe.

St Giles Hill has witnessed dramatic events throughout Winchester’s history. On Wednesday evening it witnessed something distinctly peaceful — a city gathering together to watch the Moon take a bite out of the Sun.

And for those who stood on the hilltop watching the shrinking crescent of sunlight above Winchester, it was a reminder that sometimes the most memorable events in the city are not confined to its streets and buildings, but take place high above them in the beautiful St Giles Hill Park.