Spectacular photographs capture stunning aurora display above Perthshire

Stunning images of the Northern Lights in the skies above Perthshire were captured by county photographers at the weekend.

Swirls of purple, green and orange danced across the heavens for an unforgettable experience for people all over the country.

Unusually strong solar flares hit Earth causing the jaw-dropping display of the aurora borealis, resulting in the stunning light display being more visible across the skies.

The extreme G5 solar storm, had been the highest level observed since 2003, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US.

Retired Perth man Charles Meldrum had gone to Balvaird Castle to see the aurora and was not disappointed.

He said: “It was amazing. I have been all over the world trying to capture the aurora including Iceland and a Greenland cruise, but I haven’t been that successful.

“And here I am at home in Perth and I have got the best pictures of it ever. It was brilliant.”

The 75-year-old who uses an app to predict the aurora has been taking photos of the Northern Lights for a few years.

He was at Balvaird Castle from 9pm on Friday until 12.30am with others to witness the spectacle and described the weekend’s display as exceptional.

Charles added: “We were all watching for the lights looking North, but one of the others said, look North East, that looks like something in the sky, so we pointed our cameras in that direction. I took a 10 second exposure and that was the start of it. As the night went on it got better and better. At one point it was right over our heads and the rays were beaming down on the castle.

“It was one of the strongest aurora for many, many years.

“It was a wonderful sight to see. I may never see it as strong again. I just loved it."

Retired Royal Navy Photographer Richard Harvey MBE had gone to a favourite spot by Frandy Fisheries, Glen Devon, where there is a tree with a unique shape.

He said: “On Friday my wife and I went to bed early. My aurora app alerted me, so I managed to drag myself out of bed and headed to the Frandy tree again.

“The aurora this time was absolutely amazing. It was so noticeable. The sky was full of colour. It was noticeable to the south. That was different this time. It was so strong that it actually made the compass on my iPhone show north as being in the southern direction.

“I feel very, very privileged to have witnessed such an amazing ‘once in a lifetime’ event and lucky to capture images on my phone and camera.

“I got back home about 3am. My wife was still asleep. I have travelled the world capturing photographs in film and digital, but the aurora last Friday tops the lot.”