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I've left it a little late to plan for the wife's birthday (January) and could do with a guiding hand or two.
She has previously noted an interest in getting away from light pollution and enjoying the night sky. For this, I figured we would simply head north to the Lake District or maybe even in to Scotland.
Can anyone recommend any accommodation/activities that fit the bill? Big proviso; I expect she'll be bored within the hour so a taxi ride to some drinking establishments would be ideal.
Google lead me to the Galloway Dark Sky Park but the website is awful so I can't see if we have to book on to a tour, whether there is accommodation etc.
I also went to an observatory which was near Edinburgh (I think); long rough drive in a vauxhall astra coupe from the road to the observatory but I can't remember its name or location. So if someone has any inkling based on this (lack of) information, that would be great.
It's only a staycation when you stay at home. I think the word you are looking for is a holiday.
Northumbria is nice. Dark sky park and some nice bits of Hadrian's wall. We stayed at the Twice Brewed Inn. Easy walk into park, good food and very nice beer. Would happily go back.
A bit more left field would be Wild Nephin. Ferry over to Ireland then head to the west coast. Stunning scenery and something a bit different. Things do shut down a bit in winter though.
@simonbarnes +10000000
How the hell did we go on holiday in the same country as your house before someone invented staycation! I mean in this country we don't even used the word vacation...
Sorry, as it's heading in the wrong direction but still... The South Downs is apparently a really good choice for star gazing due to lack of light pollution. It was on TV a while back for this very reason.
Just throwing it into the mix!
In May 2016 the South Downs National Park became the world’s 13th International Dark Sky Reserve (IDSR).
https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/dark-night-skies/where-to-stargaze/
Not quite a staycation, poss not the best location as lots of nearby light, but if you’re down sarf
Near ridgeway, pubs, woods behind Swindon, and other exotic and extensive facilities.
(*did one with the mrs and going again)
Top tip *don’t be hungry (* or for extra mrs brownie points get A SHED LOAD of celebrations or whatever they are, mini mars, , galaxy, milky way etc etc as they will get LOADS of mentions and you can treat her on each invocation)
Ps they can get cancelled if weather unsuitable
Listen guys, I get it, change is scary. HOWEVER, the Oxford dictionary tells me a Staycation is at home OR in one's country of residence. If it'll help you sleep a little easier, I'll not cross the border into Scotland so as to qualify.
Might be a bit far but Coll is a designated dark sky spot. Apparently the hotel and food are both very good and there’s some great beaches too.
Isles of Scilly, you can be minutes from a pub/restaurant but see some amazing skies. I've seen more shooting stars in 30 minutes than I've seen in 30 years.
Kielder can be awesome for stargazing. Just go with an acceptance that the reservoirs were built there for a reason and it wasn’t for the night sky. <br /><br />As for accomodation, there’s only one place if you find a weekend where it’s available. Stayed here a few times. It’s as stunning as you’d imagine.
edit: to book you now need to speak to the Calvert trust.
The “near” Edinburgh observatory mentioned might be the one in Moffat.
Listen guys, I get it, change is scary. HOWEVER, the Oxford dictionary tells me a Staycation is at home OR in one’s country of residence
Change is only scary when it's driven by stupid people. Like in this case.
Has anyone been watching the meteor shower this week? Wednesday was brilliant
Galloway -
It's a very cool area - have a look for accommodation at Newton Stewart / Kirroughtree.
Whitby is small enough that a very full sky is available. Plus for daytime stuff to do you are in Whitby. Plenty of places to stay, but this place is quite fun for a HOLIDAY.
Has anyone been watching the meteor shower this week? Wednesday was brilliant
Too right,was lucky enough last night to see loads between the gaps in the clouds.
Every year Dec 12th - 14th The Geminids 👍
No specific recommends, but seeing the South Downs recommended got me thinking, well it is pretty good here but it’s not a patch on the time I spent in the inner Hebrides for dark skies. So I googled and found this useful map:
https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/
As mentioned, Northumberland to the central belt is dark with isolated light bits. North of Perth is dark. I'm just south of Edinburgh and that's where the darker bit starts.
Kielder observatory is good. We stayed in the yurts near it which was cool.
This map is all you need
https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#google_vignette
Oh and a moon phase calendar. A dark sky is waisted off the moon is bright
https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/moon-phases-calendar/2024/1.html
Grassholme Observatory in Teesdale.
https://www.grassholmeobservatory.com/
High Force Hotel for local drinking with waterfall walks or there's always Barnard Castle for all kinds of optics. Bowes Museum for a bit of culture.
Twice Brewed Inn in Northumberland do great stargazing/accommodation deals. And beer. And great food.
When I went to a caravan part near Lowestoft as a kid that was in no shape or form a staycation.
You want the east side of the country rather than the west as there's simply that much less rain and cloud. Northumberland makes sense
A long way north, but the food here will be top drawer. Not sure if they are actually open for bookings yet though…
take the ferry from Birkenhead to Belfast, then drive to the Sperrin Mountains and stay here:
https://www.sperrinviewglamping.com/
and visit:
of course, the chances are it'll be cloudy but that's true for almost anywhere in 'these islands' in January I guess...
you could even chuck your bike on/in the motor and have a spin here:
https://www.mountainbikeni.com/davagh-forest
might be best to bring your own booze though, it's pretty remote 😉
Have to admit I've just skim read this but have you tried asking on stargazers lounge? Very good forum with lots of helpful folk
Dalby Forest has an observatory to take advantage of the dark skies on the North York Moors.
https://astro-dog.co.uk/pages/our-venues
Also lots of off road cycling possibilities.
Teesdale is also well worth a visit and I didn't know it had an observatory.
Trough of Bowl and
https://www.forestofbowland.com/star-gazing
Take your bikes, ride day and night. Stargaze
Then or whenever head to a gastro pub....
Parkers Arms
Spread Eagle
I haven’t been, but there are hot tubs, and dark sky discovery stuff nearby, and it’s won awards. It landed in my inbox earlier this year, thought it looked nice, and I failed to wangle myself a press trip there!
https://www.herdinghillfarm.co.uk/location/dark-skies
Disappointids
As always cloudy for me....
Jupiter is cool, and great to bore people with 🙂
but the food here will be top drawer
Astro-nommy