An evening of stargazing on Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland has left one family with photo which is simply out of this world.
Steve Swan, his partner Louise Redpath and their children Harry, 13, and Rose, 11, were soaking up the stargazing event at The Twice Brewed Inn on Saturday night, and jumped at the chance to get a group shot in front of the amazing aurora display they’d been enjoying.
Little did they know they’d be going home with a once-in-a-lifetime photo, taken by The Twice Brewed’s resident stargazer, Wil Cheung and courtesy of the photo bombing shooting star.
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Steve, who lives with his family in Morpeth, Northumberland, said: “We’d already had a fantastic night, stargazing to the south of the pub and then Wil invited us all to go out to the north side as the aurora was looking so amazing.
“We couldn’t believe it when we saw the photo – ironically, we were the only ones in the group who didn’t get to see the shooting star when it happened – but we have a pretty special photo which captured the moment forever.”
Wil, who heads up the busy stargazing programme at the popular pub and restaurant in Northumberland Dark Skies Park, said: “I still can’t quite believe the photo caught it so perfectly.
“Getting the aurora in the background; and such a beautiful shooting star travelling across the sky just at the moment the family were posing for a photo – it’s amazing. I know I’ll never take another shot like that again. It’s a real one in a million stuff.”
The photo is already one of the most liked photos on his photography page on Facebook, notching up thousands of thumbs ups within a couple of hours of it being posted.
Steve, whose mum booked the stargazing session for the family as a Christmas present, said they’ll be getting the photo printed, framed and on the wall this week.
He added: “Wil sent us a high resolution picture straight away and will be on the wall soon – it’s a really special family memory to have, and we’ll certainly be going back to do more stargazing.
“I’ve always loved looking at the night sky, but this was the first time we’d done any proper stargazing, and we all had a fantastic time.
“The kids were a bit worried about spending two hours out in the cold… but the time flew by and that’s down to Wil. He’s so enthusiastic and engaging, as well as being a pretty great photographer.”
For more information on stargazing sessions and packages at The Twice Brewed Inn, near Bardon Mill on Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland, visit their official website, here.
