Back in 1999 instead of heading to Cornwall like normal people did, I took a trip to Compiègne in Northern France to see the Total Solar Eclipse. It was a stunning experience - my biggest memories are of the animals freaking out in the complete darkness ... and the packed train afterward going back to Paris with people crying trying to get to the toilets!
So with the first mainland European TSE since 1999 crossing Spain this August, it's time to plan a trip ... and hopefully avoid trains with people crying!
With the north coast of Spain typically having considerable cloud cover in August, my first thought was to fly to Valencia, hire a car, and head into the zone of totality. But then I saw that Spain's Mediterranean coast typically has some cloud cover in August as well.
So my next thought was to fly to Madrid, and either hire a car or even better take a train north to head deep into the zone!
With plenty of train lines north of Madrid, there are a good few choices that wouldn't need a car.
The three places with high speed links from Madrid that jump out are Calatayud (on the Zaragoza line), Burgos and Palencia.
Five months in advance, all the train services may not yet be available for purchase, so using Wednesday 10th June as a proxy, timings from Madrid are:
Calatayud - just over 2 hours, with a direct bus or three metros taking 40 minutes to get to Atocha station, and the high speed train taking 75 minutes non stop to Calatayud. There's a 2.30pm and 3.30pm departures from Atocha that gets in at 3.40pm and 4.40pm which cost around 30 euro.
Burgos - just under 2.5 hours, with two metros to get from the airport to Chamartín station, and then 100 minutes on the high speed train costing around 30 euro. There should be a 2.45pm departure that gets into Rosa Manzano station in Burgos around 4.30pm and a 5.40pm train that should get into Burgos by 7.30pm - but recollections vary!
Palencia - a bit over 2 hours, with two metros to get from the airport to Chamartín station, and then about 1.5 hours on the high speed train costing around 40 euro. There's a 3pm departure that gets into Palancia before 4.30pm and a 5pm train that would also get there in time.
Valladolid - about 1.75 hours, with two metros to get from the airport to Chamartín station, and then under an hour on the high speed train costing upwards of 10 euro. From 1pm there are seven trains that would get to Valladolid in time for the TSE.
Sleeping
With the TSE happening around 8.30pm it's too late to make the last flight back to London from Madrid. So where to lay your hat for the night?
Calatayud - virtually no accommodation available
Burgos - not much accommodation left, and crazy expensive
Palencia - virtually no accommodation available
Valladolid - 1 reasonably price place available on Booking.com
Segovia - a few reasonable places available
Zaragoza - virtually no accommodation available
Madrid - plenty of reasonably prices accommodation available
Trains back to Madrid
Extra trains may be scheduled closer to the time, but currently the last trains back to Madrid are:
Calatayud - there's normally a 9.35pm departure, but it's not currently available
Burgos - normally no Madrid departures after TSE time
Palencia - there's usually a 9pm and a 9,30p departure for Madrid
Valladolid - departures at 9.06pm and 9.23pm for 60 euro and 50 euro respectively
Segovia - departures at 9.44pm and 9.58pm for 40 euro and 60 euro respectively
Realistic Options
With the challenge of accommodation and trains back to Madrid, it seems like Valladolid (87 seconds of totality) or Segovia (56 seconds of totality) are the best options. Whilst it would be great to head deeper into the zone with Burgos experiencing 104 seconds of totality - it seems like it wouldn't be worth the extra 17 seconds of total darkness.
Times below are in GMT, so add 2 hours for CEST.
Flights
The cheapest option starts at £116 for return flights on Ryanair from Stansted.
More pleasantly timed flights are likely to be closer to £200 for the return trip.
There is even the odd Avios reward seat still available, but I never find London - Madrid a particularly good use of points.
Conclusion
With the challenge of accommodation and trains, it seems like Valladolid or Segovia are probably the more resilient options.
But prices / availability are likely to only go in one direction in the coming months!
