Edinburgh locals looked up for the biggest eclipse in 27 years

Thousands of skygazers have flocked to Edinburgh’s most prominent beauty spots to witness the UK’s largest solar eclipse since 1999 – only to be thwarted by cloudy skies at the crucial moment.

Crowds armed with special glasses, cameras and homemade viewers packed onto the city’s summits including Calton Hill, Arthur’s Seat and Blackford Hill on Wednesday evening.

Despite earlier forecasts of clear weather, thick cloud cover rolled in across most of the city just as the moon moved to obscure 90.71% of the sun, hiding the spectacle at its 7.06pm peak for many disappointed locals.

However, the rare celestial event, which will not be seen on this scale again for 54 years, still prompted a surge in excitement across the Capital.

While many used certified glasses to safely look to the skies, others resorted to more unusual household items after specialist supplies sold out nationwide.

John Lewis reported a 40% surge in colander sales, after experts recommended the kitchen staple as a safe, makeshift pinhole projector.

Imo Bell, a planetarium astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, said: “You can project the image of the eclipse using a household item like a colander which has lots of holes in, point the colander towards the sun with your back facing it, and in the shadow of the colander you’ll be able to see the eclipse in the holes.”

Experts issued strict guidance not to look directly at the sun. Following the 1999 eclipse, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists reported around 70 cases of people experiencing vision problems.

For those remaining on the city’s hills into the darkness, the night sky is set to offer an added bonus if the skies can stay clear.

The annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak overnight, with shooting stars visible as Earth ploughs through a stream of comet dust.