The best places in the UK to see the solar eclipse this weekend

It’s always fun when it feels like we’re all actually uniting over watching the same thing.

From telly binges with the likes of Adolescence sweeping the country to your entire Instagram being filled with everyone seeing the Northern Lights, we’ve got another opportunity coming for a bit of a communal watch.

Yep, taking place in real life rather than on your screen, you’ve got the chance to see a solar eclipse across the UK this weekend.

Well, a partial solar eclipse to be precise. This takes place when the Moon passes in front of the Sun and makes it appear in a crescent shape.

So, from down here on Earth, it kind of looks like the Moon is taking big old bite out of the Sun and that’s just the kind of thing you might like to try and catch a glimpse of this weekend.

The best places in the UK to see the partial solar eclipse

Thanks to the weather forecast, the Met Office has said those down in the south-east have the best chance of seeing the partial eclipse thanks to clearer skies.

Despite usually being one of the best spots for viewing it, northern Scotland are set to have a cloudy and rainier morning, tarnishing the likelihood of decent views.

It’s a bit of a reverse scenario really, as the northwestern parts of the UK should have the best eclipse coverage but this is where the weather is set to be the worst.

Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick said in a weekend weather forecast: "The unfortunate thing is across the southeast you're only going to see about 30 per cent of that eclipse, whereas further northwest you could see about 50 per cent. But unfortunately, that's where we're going to see the cloud and the rain, so there's very little chance of seeing it here."

When to see the partial solar eclipse

The partial solar eclipse will begin at around 10am tomorrow (29 March) and will last until midday.

The maximum point of the eclipse (AKA, the best time to actually see it) will be at about 11am.

“A partial solar eclipse will be taking place across the UK on Saturday morning, between 10am and 12pm,” the Met Office wrote on X.

“Viewing chances will be best in the east where skies remain clearest, whilst clouds will be spreading into western regions at this time.”

And if you are going to try and catch the eclipse this weekend, it’s important to remember that no matter the weather, the astronomers warn to never look at the sun during a solar eclipse. As it can cause damage, you should view it through a filtered lens like a pair of solar eclipse glasses or a pinhole camera.