Thanks for this reminder. A search for eclipse data gives the impression that America has severely degraded the science information provided by various national institutions on the web, but surely that cannot be.**

Here's a useful site that calculates circumstances for an individual location (found via Wikipedia).

http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2026_GoogleMapFull.html

Pathfinder tours, among others, ran a train down to Plymouth for the '99 eclipse - as it happened the sky that day was a very mixed bag of clouds, which as expected revealed the sun in all it's glory about half an hour after the 2 minutes of totality. That didn't stop totality being enormously impressive given the sense of movement in this enormous shadow, the darkness, that swept in and across the sky. Network Rail had made additional provision for the day, including support from at least one helicopter crew. There was certainly the impression that this was an event for the railway.

With a 96% eclipse, totality is a hundred or so miles beyond the western horizon. 96% is nothing like total, but easily enough to put the birds to bed, and it will give you chills - and they will be multiplying. Best take a jumper.

Mark

**Narrator: it's true alas, America has done just that.

I've heard of events being planned and venues with outdoor dining booking up. The timing however at the end of a working day could lead to gridlock. I'll probably head to tin country to view.