SURVIVING witnesses of the last eclipse in 1927 are invited to go on a special trip to see the next one in 1999.

Giggleswick was the perfect vantage point for the stunning solar blackout in June 1927, when more than a million people flocked to the Dales. Next August Cornwall takes its turn as the area bang in the centre of the shadow, with North Yorkshire folk seeing 85 per cent of the sun blocked out.

Nevertheless, a Skipton motor dealer which ran "Saloon Buses for the Eclipse" in the 1920s, wants to celebrate the event by running the same trips, this time using modern-day people carriers.

Nicholas Smiths wants to hear from anyone who saw the last eclipse. Assuming not all the elderly witnesses will want to travel to Cornwall, company director Brett Dawson is organising a luxury nostalgia trip to the Dales next August to see the eclipse nearer home. The day will be rounded off with a slap-up buffet back at his Gargrave Road headquarters.

Brett said: "I just thought it would be a nice idea to bring back a few memories of that stunning 1927 eclipse for the people who were there."

Anyone who witnessed the last eclipse should call Brett on (01756) 792277.

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