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Starry skies of Britain: 10 of the best places to go stargazing in the UK

Country Life

Britain's starry skies can be spectacular, but you need to be in the right place to avoid light pollution. Julie Harding has some tips.

On a clear night, Britain’s dark skies are out of this world. They appear peppered with shining stars, constellations, meteors and planets. The burgeoning popularity of these starry skies is mirrored by an ever-expanding calendar of star-gazing events in March there is the Isle of Wight Star Party, while coming up soon are AstroCamp (April 22–25 in the Brecon Beacons) and Jodrell Bank’s Bluedot Festival, from July 7–9.

The clarity of the night skies, however, is dependent on earthly location. In an area of low light pollution, as many as 3,000 stars may be seen, but, in urban locations, that number can plummet to just 20. In the past half century, Britain’s night skies have deteriorated dramatically, often with disastrous consequences for the environment and wildlife. Millions of migrating birds, for example, die every year after becoming disoriented by bright lights.

In an attempt to reverse this trend, areas within the UK have been seeking to gain prestigious dark-sky status from the International Dark-Sky Association. There are stringent criteria to fulfil, but ten parts of Britain have qualified for some form of recognised status:

Northumberland National Park (Dark Sky Park)

Elan Valley (Dark Sky Park)

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Galloway Forest Park (Dark Sky Park)

Brecon Beacons (Dark Sky Reserve)

Exmoor (Dark Sky Reserve)

Snowdonia (Dark Sky Reserve)

South Downs National Park (Dark Sky Reserve)

Moffat (Dark Sky Community)

Isle of Coll (Dark Sky Community)

Sark (Dark Sky Community)

 

‘It’s incredible to see how areas with a dark-sky status have made such a difference, not only in terms of protecting the last areas of truly dark skies in the UK, but reversing the damaging effects of light pollution—which is light that’s wasted by not shining on the ground,’ says Ruth Coulthard, Dark Sky Reserve manager for the Brecon Beacons, who is also assisting with the Cranborne Chase AONB’s bid for Dark Sky Reserve status.

‘The fact that people now flock to these destinations to enjoy star parties and amateur astronomy and that ecologists have witnessed an improvement in biodiversity is certain proof that protecting our night sky is a “win-win” for everyone.’