Picture shows today's solar eclipse as seen above the Wallace Monument in Central Scotland at 9.33am - the UK and northern Europe have glimpsed the best solar eclipse since 1999 when the area was plunged into darkness as the Moon came between the Earth and the Sun. The deep shadow formed first in the North Atlantic and then swept up into the Arctic, ending at the North Pole. In all parts of the UK the eclipse reached at least 83% and the darkness peaked at about 09:35 GMT. Clear viewing opportunities were restricted by the cloud cover that shrouded much of the country, which will not see a solar eclipse on this scale again until 2026. The National Wallace Monument - known as the Wallace Monument - stands on the summit of Abbey Craig, a hilltop at near Stirling in Scotland. It commemorates Sir William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish hero. Completed in 1869 to the designs of architect John Thomas Rochead, the monument is a 67-metre (220 ft) sandstone tower, built in the Victorian Gothic style on a spot where from where Wallace was said to have watched the gathering of the army of King Edward I of England, just before the Battle of Stirling Bridge - picture by Donald MacLeod 20.3.15 clanmacleod@btinternet.com www.donald-macleod.com all rights reserved - 07702 319 738
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