In fact, only 2% of people in Great Britain can experience a truly dark sky at night. Dark skies are increasingly recognised as being important for nature, cultural heritage and our health.

Unlike many parts of the UK, Nidderdale National Landscape is fortunate to be characterised by its dark skies.

Our work focuses on

• Designating some of the best places to see the night time skies as dark sky discovery sites.
• Working to reduce light pollution by providing advice and support to farmers to encourage the retro fitting of outside lights on farms.
• Producing supplementary planning guidance that ensures new developments work to conserve our dark skies.
• Working with Lime Tree Observatory on a regular dark skies events programme.

Where should I go to experience dark skies?

You can get amazing views of the night sky pretty much anywhere in the National Landscape, but the more remote you are, and further away from light sources, the better.

One third of Nidderdale National Landscape is open moorland with no light pollution and uninterrupted views of the night sky.

There are four official dark skies discovery sites – Fewston Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir, Toft Gate Lime Kiln and Thruscross Reservoir.

What can I see?

On a clear night the sky will be filled with thousands of stars but if you look carefully you could also see the Milky Way, the planets and the moon. If you are really lucky you might even see shooting stars or the northern lights.

You don’t need fancy equipment to see an amazing array of stars – you can see a lot of stars and even the Milky Way with the naked eye or a pair of binoculars – so why not give stargazing a go!

When’s the best time to look?

Depending on the time of year or direction you are looking in different things will be visible. In high summer the sky doesn’t usually get dark enough so the best time for stargazing is from mid-August through to early May.