Colourful swirls were spotted across Scottish and English skies on Sunday night, with sightings also reported as far south as Wiltshire and in parts of Wales.

Bonfire Night was put to shame as the northern lights lit up the skies in gorgeous shades of red and green.

Aurora borealis (as the lights are otherwise known) is more commonly seen in northern parts of the country like Scotland and Northern Ireland, so the weekend's display, which reached parts of central and southern England, was a rare occurrence.

They were spotted from Orkney down to Stonehenge, for two nights in a row.

How to see the northern lights in the UK.

When the dazzling display is predicted to visit your area, there are a few things to consider. First up, conditions in the sky need to be as clear and cloud-free as possible.

Try to find a dark location with as little light pollution as possible. For optimum viewing, face the northern horizon. 

What’s the best time to see the aurora? 

Midnight is generally the best time, due to that being when the sky tends to be darkest. 

When will the northern lights be visible again?

The chance to see this wonder of nature doesn’t come around too often and the lights are notoriously hard to predict.

Predictions change for different parts of the Northern Hemisphere, too. But it's worth knowing that late September to mid-March is typically considered the best period to see the lights and is what some like to call ‘aurora season’.