Double sunset

Such phenomena may have been regarded as significant in prehistoric times, and double sunsets have been discussed in the context of archaeoastronomy by researchers such as Alexander Thom.

[4][5][6] The first published mention of the Leek double sunset was made in 1686 by Dr Robert Plot in his book The Natural History Of Stafford-Shire.

[8][a] The traditional location for observing the phenomenon, as described by Plot, is the churchyard belonging to the parish church of St Edward the Confessor.

[15] Better viewing points, though, are from the A 523, above Rudyard Lake,[16] and Woodhouse Green,[17] both of which are nearer to The Cloud and therefore enable a larger proportion of the sun to reappear.

Euan MacKie, recognising that Thom's theories needed to be tested, excavated at the site in 1970 and 1971, and found evidence for an observation platform.