'I watched through a cheese grater' YEP readers share their memories of the 1999 solar eclipse

With Leeds set to experience its deepest solar eclipse in 27 years this Wednesday (August 12) readers have been looking back on their memories of the UK's last major celestial spectacle in August 1999.

While this week’s event will see roughly 91% of the Sun covered across Yorkshire, the 1999 eclipse brought total darkness to parts of the UK and left an unforgettable mark on those watching from home.

When we asked Yorkshire Evening Post readers on our Facebook page where they were when the lights went out 27 years ago, hundreds got in touch - revealing everything from makeshift cardboard optics to rooftop viewing parties across Leeds.

We picked some of the best comments to bring you some of the tales from other Leeds locals on that fateful day back before the dawn of the new millennium.

Welding masks, cereal boxes... and cheese graters

Proper ISO-certified eclipse glasses were in high demand in 1999, forcing resourceful locals across West Yorkshire to get creative with whatever they had to hand.

Unsurprisingly, industrial safety gear was the popular choice for many on site. Lee Jarvis recalled watching from a used car dealership in Castleford alongside workers from an adjacent wrought iron business who "all borrowed welding goggles," while Sue Shepherd, Ian Young, and Paul Mitchell all admitted to stepping outside work with borrowed welder's helmets to peek at the Sun safely.

Others took a more DIY approach at home.

Karen Barton remembered "making a spy hole out of a cereal box" in her parents' dining room, while Vicky Sutcliffe watched from her back garden using "cardboard glasses my mum got from The Sun newspaper."

Perhaps the most inventive method came from Josie Boldison, who revealed: "In my garden with a cheese grater to watch it safely."

Watching across Leeds: Rooftops, hospitals, and farmyards

For those working in and around the city on August 11, 1999, the eclipse provided a brief, surreal pause in the routine.

Chez Mary remembered taking in the view from the roof of the iconic Leeds International Pool, while Eileen Flint caught the phenomenon from an office rooftop on Boar Lane.

Over at St James's Hospital, Gordon Turner watched the sky darken from what is now the Bexley Wing, taking in the view over Hill Street from the old A&E car park.

Meanwhile, Gail Reid was working at Meanwood Model Farm for Riding for the Disabled: "All the horses were in and we sat on the yard to watch it," she recalled.

Others were simply grabbing a quick breather from work. Kerry Ann Allsop, then working at BT Cellnet in Leeds, confessed: "I kept pretending I needed the toilet so I could go outside and watch it."

'The birds went silent, and the air went cold'

Even where cloud cover obscured direct views of the Sun, the sudden environmental drop remains etched in readers' minds.

Ali Fender, who travelled from Leeds to Filey for the day, described the moment as "so eerie when it went full eclipse," noting: "The clouds parted perfectly throughout it over the beach. The birds went very quiet and disappeared."

Watching from Masham in North Yorkshire, Jane Rodgers agreed: "It was really eerie when the birds stopped singing."

Malc Barker recalled a sudden silence at home as "it went a bit dull outside and the temp dropped," while Susanne Bailey noted that during a morning eclipse barbecue in Lincolnshire, "it got weirdly cold and all the birds stopped singing."

The long drive south: Cornwall gridlock and cloudy skies

With totality only visible from the south coast, thousands of Yorkshire folk made the long trek to Devon and Cornwall - with mixed success.

Ben Magnay set off for Land's End but was caught in massive holiday traffic: "The roads were gridlocked so we made it to Torquay. It was good how the tide stopped, birds went to bed, and it went dark then light three minutes later."

Others weren't quite as lucky.

Chris Flint camped in a farmer's field in Cornwall only for it to be completely overcast during the actual eclipse, while Craig Davidson remembered a colleague taking a week off work to head to The Lizard: "Rained solidly - apart from the loss of light, he saw nothing!"

Classic Yorkshire humour

Of course, it wouldn't be a Leeds mailbag without plenty of classic dry wit from readers who missed out - either by accident or design.

When asked where he was during the last total eclipse, Graham Dibb simply replied: "I didn't know about it, I was in the dark."

Richard Johnson added: "Don't know, it was too dark to see," while Sandra Stimpson Earp remembered a somewhat alarming experience in her mother's garden: "Having a cig when I seen my first eclipse - thought it was the end of the world!"