‘A magical eeriness’: Cornwall comes together for communal moment during solar eclipse

People came from far and wide to witness phenomenon that has thrilled humans for thousands of years

At 6pm the beach and village began to empty, and those in the know headed up the hill towards the old granite coastguard station on the headland.

“This is the best spot,” said Sennen Cove resident Lisa Redfern, who had built a pinhole camera for the eclipse out of an old Ryvita Thins box.

As the moon began to hide the sun and Redfern – just about – got her makeshift device to work, she felt a little emotional.

“I’d describe it as a magical eeriness,” she said. “Let’s face it, we may not see another one. We have to make the most of these moments.”

It was certainly a wonderful communal moment. Redfern was part of a big group of friends and family who enjoyed a picnic (including Pringles and prosecco) on the headland.

Matthew Robinson came armed with a colander and spent a frustrating few minutes getting the angle right. “The colander is a bit disappointing, but there’s a lovely atmosphere here.”

Another member of the group, seven-year-old Rina, did have the proper eclipse glasses. “It’s like someone has taken a bite out of a biscuit,” she said as the eclipse began.

Strangers shared picnics, drinks and eclipse glasses, which had been very tricky to source in Cornwall .

The wind picked up as the eclipse took hold and the temperature, which had reached the 30s during the day, plunged.

Gulls stopped circling and landed on the surface of the water. A trio of choughs – Cornwall’s national bird – hopped around on the hillside, looking a little less graceful than usual. The swallows that had been whizzing around the thatched cottages rested for a while.

Mary Bendall had positioned herself on a rock near the coastguard station with a complicated setup involving a filter over a scope that she uses to watch wildlife and her iPhone.

She watched the total eclipse in 1999 with her daughter, who now works in physics, having been inspired by the experience. “I have just spoken to her – she’s in Spain. It’s cloudy there so we may be having the best of it,” Bendall said.

Across Cornwall, one of the best places in the UK to view the eclipse, towns, villages and pubs staged special events as people came from far and wide to drink in a phenomenon that has thrilled – and frightened – human beings for thousands of years

In the harbour port of Falmouth, they clearly didn’t think the astronomical phenomenon was enough and an air display was arranged.

One of the hotels also hosted an evening of sea shanties. Elsewhere, the playlist blaring from radios and pubs was predictable – Van Morrison’s Moondance and the Whole of the Moon by the Waterboys.

Members of Kernow Astronomers were posted at the National Trust’s site Carnewas at Bedruthan, near Padstow, with telescopes fitted with filters to enable visitors to observe the eclipse safely.

Inland, people had gathered on hilltops, near castles, close to one of Cornwall’s many standing stones.

Carolyn Kennett, a Cornish expert in archaeoastronomy, said eclipses would almost certainly have been unexpected for ancient people and would have inspired awe, wonder and, perhaps, terror.

She said: “An eclipse is a powerful spectacle, and for people without a modern scientific explanation, such an event would likely have carried profound meaning.

“It is possible that witnessing an eclipse influenced the beliefs, stories, rituals or even choices of those who experienced one.”

The Rev Karsten Wedgewood, priest in charge of St Just in Penwith, near Sennen, planned a picnic at a prehistoric funerary cairn, and a prayer based on psalm 8, known as the psalm for stargazers – “When I consider your heavens/the work of your fingers, / the moon and the stars …”

At one point, one of the woes of modern life seemed destined to intervene when a pall of smoke from a wildfire near Land’s End airport threatened to dim the spectacle.

A series of wildfires has been fought in Cornwall over the past few days but it did not affect the view from Sennen, at least.

Coastguards and lifeguards had advised those intending to watch from kayaks or surfboards or take an eclipse sea dip to remember that it was going to turn a little colder and, of course, visibility would be poorer.

A crew from the Cape Cornwall Pilot Gig Club put out to sea from Sennen harbour but returned before the darkness fell and fired up the barbecue instead.

Surf photographer Jules River did paddle out on his board. “This is a kind of pilgrimage for me – it feels very soulful and healing to be here when this is happening.”

There were good views to be had in the village as well as on the headland.

Mother and daughter Lisa and Janet Grenfell, 53 and 79, plonked their camp chairs on the front and took it all in. “We remember the total eclipse in 1999 but it was cloudy. This is beautiful.”

Jasmine Owen and Rory Smith arguably had the best seat in the house – a table overlooking the ocean where they tucked into fish and chips.

What was better? The supper or the eclipse? Owen did not hesitate: “The chips are great, the eclipse amazing.”