Chaos at beauty spots as thousands flock to glimpse Northern Lights - but see only car headlights

Thousands of people flocking to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights on Saturday night led to chaos at a number of beauty spots across Greater Manchester and the north west, it was reported today.

Cloud cover hampered another stunning aurora borealis light show after Friday night's dazzling display, leaving star-gazers disappointed and met with only car headlights.

Picturesque Rivington, high above Bolton, was said to be 'rammed' with people who travelled to the area to try and see the lights. One report on social media on Sunday claimed it was 'bloody carnage' as thousands flocked to the rural location.

READ MORE: BBC weather presenter explains 'what happened' with Northern Lights on Saturday night as Greater Manchester left disappointed

"Gridlocked and more light pollution up there than down in the cities with all the headlights still on whilst parked up," said X poster @politicsranter.

"It's absolutely rammed at Rivington, so much so that the fire service can't get through to a fire because someone abandoned their car in the middle of the road, preventing them from getting through," added another, @ATroalic.

Traffic surrounding Blackstone Edge, moorland near Rochdale on the boundary between Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, was also said to be 'ridiculous'

X poster @JosephMGriffin2 wrote on Saturday night: "The traffic on the A58 over Blackstone Edge is just ridiculous - almost at a standstill - because a photo of the lights from up there last night went massive. It's windy and quite cool, misty and really those headlights are not helping. Blooming people, eh?"

Thousands also reportedly flocked to the Peak District.

X user @Helenintgarden posted: "So many people driving around the peak district last night...