Lucky camper captures northern lights while camping at Blencathra

Sightings were made over Friday, December 1, and were not limited to Cumbria, although its low levels of light pollution offered nearly uninterrupted views of the spectacle.

The view of the lights, also known as aurora borealis, were seen in other parts of the UK, mostly in the north and in Scotland, such as the northern coast of Aberdeenshire.

They’re mostly seen in areas nearer the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the planet, and appear often as patterns of lights that look like curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers that cover the sky.

Northern lights on December 1, 2023, at Blencathra (Image: John Jackson)

They are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere which are caused by solar wind, but sometimes they happen after solar storms, one of which happened earlier this year, hitting the planet.

John Jackson, who was wild camping in Cumbria at the time, managed to photograph the northern lights as he saw them flickering over Carlisle.

He said: “I wild camped on the summit of Blencathra on Friday, December 1.

“As I was setting up camp, I could see the northern lights, so I stopped and started taking pictures.

“They ended up going on for two hours.

Lucky camper John Jackson at Blencathra during the northern lights on December 1, 2023 (Image: John Jackson)

“The best aurora I’ve seen, but the moon, although only half, was very bright as it was a clear night, so it bleached out a lot that could have been able to view with the naked eye.

“The forecast in the morning was supposed to be clear, but I woke up to a snowy white out.”

The stunning spectacle of the lights was followed by a gathering snowstorm. The snow the following day struck large parts of Cumbria, with some of the worst areas affected being in the south of the county.

Lucky camper John Jackson at Blencathra during the northern lights on December 1, 2023 (Image: John Jackson)

The heavy snowfall saw many snowed in, roads closed, and a concerted effort by highways workers responding to the major incident.

In Millom, cars were abandoned on routes in and out of the town.

A spokesperson from Cumberland Council said: “Since Wednesday last week, crews have treated and ploughed 2,530 miles, used 251 tonnes of salt, carried out 203 hours of continuous gritting travelling 3,230 miles.”