Here I was sitting at the computer on Thursday night, at about 9.30pm, pj'd up, messing with some photos, playing on Facebook, to read a status from a friend up in the Highlands on what a fantastic display of the Northern Lights they were having. 
As I was replying to her (in a state of jealousy!!) another friend very excitedly reported sightings of the Aurora visible at Berwick!
As you can imagine (or perhaps no if you're not as geeky as me!) my heart started to race in excitement that ooh perhaps tonight was the night that I'd get to see it - but oh hang on - the hubby had just gone out with the dogs and the kids were sound asleep in bed! WHAT DO I DO????

Research!! Onto the Aurora forecast website which updates every 30 seconds, to see the green light bouncing very closely to the North East borders!
More research was done, this time backwards and forwards on Facebook with the photographer friend who'd pinged the Berwick status - who himself was stranded in the house as his wife was out! 
Sweaty palms started to appear - what to do?? I phoned the hubby and asked him if he'd mind awfully hurrying up with the said lovely pooches so I could go out and see if I could capture this rare sight! And what a star he was. Back he came, tracksuit bottoms I threw on and arranged to meet a friend and her husband who were as desperate to see it, and off we went! I was extremely grateful for the company but also for the protection, as the last time I went "Aurora Hunting", I went on my own and scared myself witless about stopping in the pitch black!!! Well the Bogey Man might have got me!!

The coast had been the area of speculation of seeing it best. But living in the Tyne Valley, we made a decision to head onto a road, literally just outside Corbridge where we knew there were dark skies. After parking up down a slip road, we rigged up the camera, switched all lights off and bam, there it was! Clear black skies, twinkling with millions of very visible stars & the most beautiful green glow with feint "fingers". It was amazing. 
However, it did cloud over rather quickly so we made the decision to drive to St Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay to see if we could find it there. We did, but by this time it was quite feint and we all felt that the Corbridge sighting was the best we were going to get at that point.

This was my first ever viewing of the Aurora and my first ever attempt at capturing it on camera.
I am very proud of these first attempts. I know I can do better next time (please let there be a next time!) but I love these 2 pictures. I may even toot my own trumpet and tell you that the first "roadside Aurora" photo was printed in our local paper, The Journal, on Saturday!! 

Enough of my waffling - here's my two favourite photos from that fantastic night.