Eclipse over the windmill

Friday is the usual day for volunteers to do the flour milling and any odd jobs at the Mill, and on the morning of 20 March a number of us were there to get ready for the intensive weekend of spring-cleaning, and limewashing the interior. We'd brought our eclipse-projecting kits with us - colanders, binoculars – the skies were beautifully clear, so we could make the best of the rare chance, and we captured some images, projected on the Mill wall, or reflected in a window. People passing by came up to share our vantage point at the top of the hill, and one man brought a welder's mask which we passed around, getting a direct look at the sun’s disc reduced to a thin crescent.

From the upper floors of the Mill there are views to the distant hills, and a photo from a bin floor window shows something of the strange, bleak atmosphere across York at maximum ‘darkness’; but it was surprising how bright the day remained with only a sliver of sun to light it. Birds didn’t seem to be troubled by the event and just before the maximum, a pair of sparrowhawks passed high over the sails.