Man makes trip to the US to see total solar eclipse
AN avid traveller visited Ohio this week to witness a once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse.
David Gill – who is 62 and originally from Kingstone – flew to the USA where he gathered alongside others from the local community to witness the stellar phenomenon.
While a partial eclipse was visible in parts of the UK, the best views could be found in the USA, where the full eclipse passed over Texas and towards the east coast.
This pitstop in Ohio was part of a longer road trip across the US from the Atlantic to Pacific coast, which David and his wife Wendy – who now live in Inverness – started last month.
David told the Chronicle: “It was pure coincidence we were here.
“Originally we were going to do this road trip in 2020 but we had to cancel because of the pandemic.
“When I saw it was happening I did some research and found Norwalk was on the line and only a 70-mile drive.
“People there were so welcoming, they were all set up with stalls selling T-shirts and stuff.
“We ended up chatting with people who were telling us they’d travelled from all over the place, coming up from Florida and South Carolina.
“We were the only people there putting the England pin on the map though.”
More than 30 million people in America went out to witness the moon pass in front of the sun on the evening, as groups made plans to travel to the best spots to witness the event.
The next total eclipse is set to take place in August 2026, passing over the Atlantic Ocean with a path that cuts through Russia, eastern Greenland, the western coast of Iceland, Spain and parts of Portugal – however one won’t be visible in the UK until 2090.
“It was amazing to see,” David added. “The moon nibbles away at the sun for over 40 minutes, maybe an hour.
“Gradually it’s getting darker and darker around you.
“The birds are all chirping away like they do when the sun’s setting, saying goodnight to one another.
“Then when the totality happened the birds went quiet everyone burst out cheering.
“We got about four minutes of totality and people got eerily quiet – I looked around and it’s dark but not pitch black, there’s still a glow.
“You see it on TV and think it can’t actually be like that, but it really is.”
With plenty of time left on his adventure, the solar eclipse was a perfect way to mark what David admits will probably be the last of these types of globe-trotting journeys.
“I first went to America in the 80s – it gets a bad name because of presidential stuff and crime, but the people here are so nice and welcoming.
“We’ve had no problems on this journey.
“But this is probably the last road trip we’re going to do, other than camping around the UK.
“My son’s about to have his third kid and we want to be there with him, it’s nice to see the grandkids grow up.
“If the rest of this trip is anything like it’s been so far then it’ll be fantastic.”