THOUSANDS of people across the region have been watching the solar eclipse this morning... and here we bring you a selection of pictures.

The clouds largely stayed away and yesterday's smog had lifter so people got a good view of the celestial synchronicity, with the eclipse at its peak at about 9.30am.

Schools across the region used pinhole cameras and other safety devices to let children take a glimpse as an eerie darkness fell.

In Chester the Astronomical Society were out in force at the city's town hall, while people also flocked to high points like Moel Famau to see the spectacle.

Crowds gathered across the North Wales coast, from Denbighshire to Anglesey, to watch the eclipse.

Visibility was only slightly hampered by cloud with star-gazers using pinhole cameras, mobile phones and reflections in windows to catch a glimpse of the phenomena.

Johanne Lewis of Prestatyn said: "It was amazing."

Kath Evans, of Bangor, said: "Excellent solar eclipse viewing here in Tregarth, Gwynedd, using the binoculars method."

Chester man Steve Jones snapped an incredible view of the eclipse.

He took the image without the aid of filters and said it looked to him as though the "sun was pretending to be the moon."

Steve added: "All the time I was thinking: 'don't look at the sun, don't look at the sun, don't look at the sun. I cant help it - it's so beautiful!"

Star gazers gathered in Town Hall Square in Chester to marvel at the solar eclipse.

Chester Astronomical Society had set up special equipment, including a modified telescope, to allow people to get a better look at the phenomenon.

Barbara Cunningham, of the society, said: “It was fantastic.

"Three hundred years ago, Henry Prescott, the then Deputy Registrar of Chester Diocese observed a similar eclipse from this location, an event recorded in his diary which is held by the Chester Records office.”

Some breath-taking pictures were taken at Chester Zoo, with their ring-tailed lemurs looking to the skies over during this morning’s eclipse. 

Tim Rowlands, curator of mammals at the zoo, said: “The animals were as fascinated with the eclipse as we were. It was quite a sight to behold.”