Dieppe is a popular seaside resort with Parisians, and this is August, so don’t dally on that score.Hoverspeed fast ferries run three times a day from Newhaven, near Brighton, but, again, I should book sooner rather than later; all the day-trip tickets have already gone.As it’s on the coast, there is more chance of having a Sun to be eclipsed – unless there is one of the area’s dense sea fogs (not impossible), in which case head inland at once. It’s far closer to London and the South- east than Cornwall is and, if you book now, possibly more plentiful in hotel rooms. But don’t get your hopes too high; there is a 55 per cent chance that 11 August won’t even be a clear day.Ann TrenemanDieppeWith a little bit of luck, the French will be as uninterested in the total eclipse of the Sun passing through the north of their country as they were by a certain World Cup that came this way last summer (they were slightly more interested after they’d won it, of course, but that’s a different matter).The charming Normandy port of Dieppe, about 20 miles north of the central line of totality, but well within the total eclipse zone, would be a handy spot to experience things. Still within the band of totality, Plymouth will get one minute and 30 seconds, and Padstow across to Torquay will have one minute. “Bring supplies with you, just to be on the safe side,” says Penny Moss of the tourist board. “Be prepared.”Virtually everyone in the county will be expecting VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) but if you can’t find a long-lost relative, there is still availability – even on the central line of totality that cuts between Penzance and St Ives and extends east to Falmouth (eclipse time, two minutes, six seconds).

Local farmers and residents have teamed up to form a consortium offering temporary campsites and B&B (contact On-Track Accommodation, 01326 574098), while a company called Cornwall Eclipse 99 Ltd (06407 11 8 99) says it can handle a million visitors on temporary sites.”Come early, stay long, leave late” is the slogan being used by the Cornwall tourist board, which, of course, is concerned to minimise congestion and maximise revenue for local businesses. Given that the promise of fine weather nearer the date could lead to a surge of last-minute visitors, there are plans to hire clowns to entertain stalled motorists. Perhaps this is because the county’s full-time eclipse co-ordinator is a retired brigadier, or perhaps it is just that the county expects anything between 750,000 and 4 million visitors. This year, sod the eclipse; we’re off to Canada.Martin ScudamoreCornwallEngland’s westernmost county is treating the eclipse like a military exercise. Those lucky enough to be there will be the first in the British Isles to see a total eclipse, just after 11:09 BST – although being south of the centre of its path, they won’t see a “maximum”; Hugh Town’s eclipse will last one minute 46 seconds, compared with just over two minutes in places such as Falmouth on the mainland.Consider that a bonus; more time to spend wandering around these unspoilt islands and, if you can’t make it to Scilly this time, book up early for your next holiday. But if you try to book now you’ve no chance – even camping – although a few nights remain either side of the day itself.This doesn’t mean that the islands will be crowded; accommodation is strictly limited. That discovery was well over a year ago, but already we were too late: the hotel we wanted was booked up and it soon became clear that smart people had been making eclipse plans for as long as 15 years.The clear skies and unpolluted air of the islands – 28 miles south-west of Land’s End – make them an ideal viewing platform.

“The idea of seeing a total eclipse with the sort of sunsets they get there is breathtaking,” says Mr McGee.Simon CalderThe Isles of ScillyWe couldn’t believe our luck when we realised that the eclipse would fall on our 20th wedding anniversary – 11 August 1999 – and be viewable from the Isles of Scilly, one of our favourite holiday haunts. “We’ve got one observation site in the northern part of Zimbabwe, and another in Mozambique. It’s a great time of year to visit southern Africa.” Or hang on for 2002, which, curiously, covers much of the same ground but then ends in the desert of western Australia. Luckily, the new millennium offers plenty more opportunities. The Moon is taking a year off in 2000, but already Brian McGee of Explorers Tours is working on the June 2001 eclipse.

Alternatively, a cheap ferry, plane or train ticket can take you all sorts of places on the line of totality.Those who elect to stay in Britain should take no notice of people like the tourism officials in Bath and Bristol who are claiming: “Our eclipse is 96 per cent total” – a claim akin to telling a teetotaller “this beer is only 4 per cent alcohol” Nothing compares with a full solar eclipse. “It is a dreadful situation,” says Penny Moss.Should Cornwall turn out to be cloudy on the day, though, this could be a silver lining for the traveller who decides to go further afield. As our map shows, the eclipse will travel diagonally across continental Europe, across the Black Sea and on through Turkey, Iraq and Iran before sinking with the Sun in northern India. Almost anywhere east of Cornwall has a better chance of a fine day.

The company Explorers Tours (01753 681999) has been taking people to eclipses since the Kenyan event 20 years ago, and still has availability for August in Turkey (where the party will stay in the unworldly landscape of Cappadocia, pictured above), and Iran. “You can try every couple of weeks, but I wouldn’t think there’ll be anything until May,” says a reservations agent for Wales & West; Virgin’s staff tell all callers that trains to Cornwall in eclipse week cannot be booked until some, unspecified, time in June. Yet anyone seeking to avoid this crowded cul-de-sac by buying a rail ticket is out of luck: train operators are refusing to sell seats until nearer the event. These media reports mostly concern incidents of high charges by accommodation- providers, such as one case of pounds 15,000 for the crucial week for self-catering accommodation. Not by the regulars, says Ms Moss: “Our advice to our members has been basically `yes, obviously you can expect to put your prices up, maybe by 10 per cent’, but a lot of people have come in to try to `piggy- back’ the event.” A concerned resident ascribes an alternative reason: “Would you book a holiday in a region where 12 to 18 music festivals are advertised on the Internet for the eclipse week?”
Then there is the additional problem of access The main A30 is a road to nowhere, by way of Bodmin Moor. At the British Travel Trade Fair this week, Ms Moss blamed “the adverse publicity we’ve been receiving recently”.