THE SOLAR ECLIPSE

On Wednesday 12th August 2026, the UK experienced one of the most impressive solar eclipses we’ve had in decades.

The eclipse was total elsewhere — with the path of totality crossing Greenland, Iceland and northern Spain — but from the UK we experienced a very deep partial eclipse. Around 90–96% of the Sun was covered depending on where you were, making it the greatest coverage seen from Britain and Ireland since the famous eclipse of 1999.

In London, the eclipse began at around 6:17pm, reached its maximum just after 7:12pm, and finished at approximately 8:06pm. At its peak, just over 91% of the Sun was obscured.

I happened to be working.

I was coaching my client Malika at the Commando Temple in Deptford, and as the eclipse progressed the setting Sun was casting its light straight down Resolution Way outside the gym.

It was an incredibly strange atmosphere.

It didn’t become dark in the way you might imagine from footage of a total eclipse. Instead, the remaining sliver of Sun produced this bright, low, almost unnatural light, with incredibly intense shadows. Everything looked slightly wrong — almost like someone had changed the lighting settings on the world.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich described the effect of the partial eclipse as being closer to dusk or dawn than complete darkness, with the Sun already sitting low towards the western horizon.

So rather than stay inside the gym, we took the workout outside.

Malika was training with a Bulgarian Bag, and we carried it out onto Resolution Way to make the most of the strange light. There was something pretty special about training outside while more than 90% of the Sun disappeared behind the Moon — swinging and spinning a Bulgarian Bag while these long, sharp shadows stretched across the road.

And obviously, I couldn't let the eclipse pass without lifting a stone.

I brought out one of the Commando Temple stones — Trafalgar, weighing 151kg — and lifted it as the eclipse passed overhead.

There was a slightly ridiculous logic behind it.

The next major solar eclipse visible from the UK will come much sooner, but the next total solar eclipse visible from mainland Britain isn't until 23rd September 2090.

I'll be 101.

So while there will be other eclipses, there probably aren't going to be too many opportunities in my lifetime to stand outside the Commando Temple, under an eclipse like this, and pick up a 151kg lump of stone.

And by 2090, I suspect my stone lifting days may finally be behind me.

So it seemed worth marking the occasion.

151kg stone. Solar eclipse. Resolution Way.

Sometimes you just have to make the most of the lighting.

I coach one-to-one clients at the Commando Temple in Deptford. You can find out more about personal training with me HERE