Sunset, December 25th, Nr Burley, New Forest, Hants

Christmas Day gave the usual average conditions this year with some rain in the morning and overcast skies. Just towards sunset however, the cold front was approaching from the west, allowing a brief 3 minute glimpse of the sun and a spectacular sunset:

The front could be seen clearly as a ruler-straight edge to the west:

The sun began to illuminate the underside of the cloud sheet above:

As the sun went below the horizon, the scene became more spectacular:

To the south, mammatus formations were made visible as the whole sky turned red/orange:

At it's peak the whole sky was turned bright orange: