Dark skies and stargazing - our galactic guide

Have you been stargazing in Northumberland yet?

It's been two years since we cheered congratulations, felicitations and a big celebratory whoop to Northumberland National Park and Kielder Water & Forest Park, for landing the status of Dark Sky Park for 580 square miles, to become the biggest Dark Sky Park in Europe.

(We almost said it ‘eclipses’ all the others, but we made enough astronomically bad puns in our guide to World Space Week a couple of years back that we thought we shouldn’t. But such fun. Siriusly.)

The International Dark Skies Association (IDA) in the US awarded the area the status of Gold Tier Dark Sky Park, meaning it’s recognised for the quality of its starry nights and is a nocturnal environment that’s protected for its scientific and natural heritage (so there). We think having Britain’s biggest public observatory, Kielder Observatory, couldn’t have hurt the bid either…

If you haven't been to see the north-eastern skies for yourself, take a squint at our campsites in Northumberland to bag a stargazing stay.

Elsewhere in the land, here’s how to get your stargazing groove on:

Space (man) centres

World Space Week may be over, but science centres in the UK are open all year round and run events for all ages in the art of astronomy, alongside an impressive amount of exhibitions and interactive displays to entice all ages.

The award-winning National Space Centre in Leicestershire is home to the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium and also has a planets gallery, Tranquillity Base for trainee astronauts and stacks of spacey events.

Full list of UK space centres here

Campsites in Leicestershire

Galloway Forest Park

Galloway Forest Park was the first Dark Sky Park in the UK, awarded in 2009. The car parks at the Red Deer Range, Clatteringshaws Visitor Centre and Loch Doon West are among the best Galloway stargazing spots.

Campsites in Dumfries and Galloway

Exmoor National Park

While not a Dark Sky Park, Exmoor is nevertheless an International Dark Sky Reserve (do keep up), and was the first to be given this status in Europe. The park peeps have put together a handy guide to dark sky seeking in the park (we particularly like the Star Wars designed page) – pick it up in any of the park visitor centres.

Campsites in Somerset

Campsites in Devon

Brecon Beacons National Park

The Brecon Beacons became the world’s fifth International Dark Sky Reserve in 2013, covering an area of 520m2 – wahey to Wales.

Stargazers can see meteors, major constellations and the Milky Way from various parts of the park: the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority sister site has put together a stargazing top ten to get you started.

Campsites in Brecon

Campsites in Powys

Dark Sky Discovery Sites

The UK has dozens of Dark Sky Discovery Sites, such as Fort Victoria Country Park on the Isle of Wight and Cow Green Reservoir in Cumbria, grouped by location, as well as by where you can see the Orion constellation and the Milky Way. 

National Trust Stargazing Trails

Yay to the National Trust and its ‘Night walks for dark skies’ info, with details of starry strolls in Suffolk, the Lake District and Peak District and more. There’s also a walk around Cardigan: stars by night, dolphins by day...

First published December 2013; updated August 2015.