Newport City Footbridge and the partial eclipse

 

Newports Footbridge and the Moon Eclipse - mid picture right

I was up at a really stupid o'clock. It was 3.30am, and I was standing looking up at the western night sky at the full moon. It had been widely reported that in the early hours of Friday, 14th March 2025, there was going to be a total lunar eclipse, and the Moon would turn bright red - a phenomenon known as the Blood Moon.

The only problem was as I stared up at the goddess  Selene in the night sky, a huge swathe of cloud threatened to shroud the Moon from view. 

The Worm Full Moon

The clouds rolled in.

I had planned to meet my good friend Paul Joy at Goldcliff Seawall and try and get some pictures of the eclipse as it would offer good views of the Western Horizon. 

As I drone South towards Newport, the weather got worse, and the sky was covered in thick clouds. I messaged Paul and turned back on myself and instead went up to the Folly in Pontypool, hoping that the clouds would not be quite as thick. Unfortunately, on my arrival, the view of the Moon was no better.

I was not having a lot of luck. I had not received a message from Paul, so I guessed he may not have left his house yet.

I decided to head South again and head for the reserve at Goldcliff and call it quits on the eclipse.

As I drove through the city centre in  Newport, I suddenly thought that the lights on the footbridge looked really cool and would make a nice picture.

I parked in the multistorey car park and headed over to the bridge with my tripod, camera and drone equipment.

Spanning the River Usk, some 145m long and standing 70 m above ground, is an amazing-looking bridge, especially when illuminated during the night. The bridge has several awards, including the British Constitutional Steelwork Association Award and the George Gibby Award in 2007 from the Institution of Civil Engineers.

I found a safe spot and put my drone up. I flew it over the River Usk and took some pictures.

The bridge of light

The bridge from above resembled a beam of light spanning the river. The mast supports are made from steel and reportedly weigh hundreds of tons! The masts have been constructed to look like loading cranes that are a link to the location's past use as a trading wharf where boats were loaded with coal.

A view of Rodney Parade 

University of South Wales building

Friars Walk

The views from above the city were amazing and really give you a different perspective of Gwents only city.

I decided to take a walk across the bridge for a different view, and when I turned and looked westwards, I suddenly noticed that there was a very small break in the clouds, and the Moon was shining through it. It was 5.45 am, and I was amazed to see that the Moon was in partial eclipse. I quickly rang my friend Paul who was now in Cwmbran, also excitedly looking up at the Moon.

Paul took the picture shown below from his vantage point. ( He has subsequently had this picture printed in Saturday's South Wales Argus.)

Paul Joys's picture of the Bloodmoon partial eclipse

I had to quickly swap out my camera lenses, and by the time I had done so, the Moon was just visible through a haze of cloud.

The partial eclipse phase of the moon

We had both been very fortunate as I had given up hope, so in the end, the early start had been worth it. Now it was sunrise, 6.30 am, and it was time to celebrate with Paul with our customary Greggs breakfast.