One of the most ravishing sights on Earth should be the night sky – the brightest stars from the billions in our Milky Way, the streak of meteors, planetary neighbours such as Venus and Jupiter, the glow of other galaxies such as Andromeda. Light pollution, however, means few experience this free glory.

"The night sky is an amazing spectacle that 90 per cent of the population doesn't get to see," says Royal Observatory astronomer Marek Kukula. Astronomer Steve Owens agrees: "People have been looking at the night sky, telling stories, for the entirety of recorded human history. But when we moved into cities, we lost that deep connection with the universe."

Luckily, you don't have to go so far to find the dark side. With readings just a step up from the world's remotest places, the IDSA have designated Galloway Forest Park in Scotland Britain's first Dark Sky Park – 300 square miles of tree-robed majesty whose sky shimmers with maybe 50 times more stars than you'd spot from a major city.

In fact, there are enticing dark sky oases all over Britain. Several national parks offer superb stellar vistas which, though darkest in winter, are still spectacular on warmer nights. And while it's true that the remotest parts of Scotland or Wales have the lowest light pollution, you can get closer to a true glimpse of celestial glory without having to go to quite such geographical extremes.

Below I've picked out a stargazer's First XI, along with cosy nooks to retreat to after the celestial show. Some tips: take hot drinks and extra layers plus a deckchair if you can. Binoculars are good for stargazing, but use the naked eye to scan for meteors. Try to use red lights for reading as they affect night vision much less than white light. Check astronomy books and websites for an inkling of what might be twinkling overhead, as well as for advance notice of the year's recurring meteor showers (summer ones, see below). Online dark-sky maps can also help choose locations (see below).

*Editor's note*

This is an updated version of an article first written by Norman Miller in 2010. Details were checked and updated in early 2014. Further details and location suggestions are included at the bottom of the article.

Galloway Forest Park

Galloway is a couple of hours from Glasgow and an hour from Carlisle. The park's most popular spot for stargazing is Loch Trool, but the Wigtownshire Astronomical Society also recommends The Machars, the sparsely populated hills and moorland south of the 17th-century market town of Newton Stewart.

The cosy Craiglemine Cottage (01988 500594; www.gallowayastro.com; doubles from £30 per person) just outside the park offers b & b plus the Galloway Astronomy Centre, and there are a handful of b & bs within the park in the villages of Glentrool and Bargrennan (see www.visitsouthernscotland.co.uk for further information).

Glenmalloch Lodge (01628 825925; www.landmarktrust.org.uk), meanwhile, is an 1840s Landmark Trust schoolhouse conversion above the Solway Firth that sleeps two from £187 for four nights.

Exmoor and around

Exmoor was granted International Dark-Sky Reserve status by the International Dark-Sky Association in 2011. Light pollution is managed to make the area more appealing to amateur astronomers.

The rugged interior and dramatic coast of the area inspired Coleridge and Wordsworth, while the villages of Lynmouth and Lynton, linked by a funicular railway, vie with nearby Ilfracombe for daytime attention.

A week at one of the Leys Cottages (08456 805 431; www.leyscottages.co.uk; sleeps six; from £350 per week) sits high on Exmoor, while the nearby Sportsman's Inn (01643 831109; www.sportsmansinn.co.uk) at Sandyway hosts regular stargazing events and has double rooms from £30 per person.

Another fine stargazing location is the neighbouring Blackdown Hills, where astronomer Simon Ould runs stargazing events (for further information, call 01823 680681 or visit www.blackdownhillsaonb.org.uk). Or you can contact him directly. He has his own portable planetarium and company called Space Odyssey (spaceodyssey.co.uk), which is based at Hemyock.

Ten miles off the Exmoor coast, the stargazing idyll of Lundy Island has quirky Landmark Trust accommodation that includes a fisherman's hut, a Georgian house and the atmospheric, gaslit Tibbets cottage (01628 825925; www.landmarktrust.org.uk) right in the middle of the island.

Perthshire

Galloway's forests can boast about their Dark Sky Park status, but Perthshire probably gets the nod as Scotland's finest arboreal landscape. At the remotest end of Loch Tay, Ardeonaig Hotel & Restaurant (01567 820400; www.ardeonaighotel.co.uk) offers varied resting places – the hotel itself, African-style rondavels in the grounds or spectacular isolation at a luxurious bothy 30 minutes into the hills.

Around Loch Rannoch, stargazing locations include the Tay Forest Park and Rannoch Moor. By day, explore Dunkeld and Pitlochry, Blair Athol palace, or catch a train at Rannoch Station for the spectacular journey to Fort William.

Mid-Wales

Powys has some of the lowest light pollution in Britain, and Lake Vyrnwy Hotel & Spa (01691 870692; www.lakevyrnwy.com; double b & b from £144) is a charming Victorian hideaway above a reservoir where The Dam Busters was filmed. Airborne action now comes courtesy of the surrounding RSPB bird reserve, while non-twitchers can canoe, abseil or clay-pigeon shoot.

Queen Victoria, meanwhile, may well have gazed upward from Ynyshir Hall (01654 781209; www.ynyshirhall.co.uk; double b & b £205, rising steeply from April) – her former Welsh hideaway perched above the Dyfi Estuary.

Read more: the best hotels in Wales

Romney Marsh

Night once provided cover for smugglers known as Owlers, but today Romney Marsh offers celestial bounty, arching over a landscape adorned with the spires of ancient churches. After exploring the marsh villages, the stunning shingle expanse of Dungeness or the bustling Saxon town of Hythe, stay at Romney Bay House (01797 364747; www.romneybayhousehotel.co.uk; double b & b from £95), built for Twenties actress Hedda Hopper.

Kielder

Kielder Forest is officially the darkest place in England – 250 square miles of wooded beauty where Northumberland brushes against Scotland. It has its own fabulous, modern, wood-clad observatory on the slopes of Black Fell above Kielder Water (see www.kielderobservatory.org for details of opening on any particular day).

The 17th-century Pheasant Inn (01434 240382; www.thepheasantinn.com; double b & b from £90) is a few minutes' drive away in Stannersburn, while Hexham boasts a breathtaking abbey and Roman history, as well as plenty of accommodation.

North York Moors

As well as stunning night skies, the North York Moors boast historic market towns such as Helmsley and Pickering, plus appealing coastal spots, including Scarborough and Whitby.

The Scarborough and Ryedale Astronomical Society's favourite rendezvous is Dalby Forest, close to Flamborough Rigg Cottage b & b (01751 475263; www.flamboroughriggcottage.co.uk; double b & b from £85) and The Hayloft self-catering cottage (thehayloftatflamboroughrigg.co.uk); Hayloft from £275 for three nights, sleeps four).

In Helmsley, stay at the award-winning Feversham Hotel and Spa (01439 770766; www.fevershamarmshotel.com; double b & b from £110) and wander the town lanes or walk to the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey.

Sussex Downs

The South Downs Planetarium is a feature of the gentle hills around East Dean and Upwaltham. The area has superb alternative distractions, including the Cass Sculpture Foundation and West Dean gardens.

Stay at Deer Cottage (020 7401 1086; www.cvvillas.com; sleeps four), outside East Dean (home to the excellent Star & Garter gastropub (thestarandgarter.co.uk); or Ruben's Barn (01243 818187; www.rubensbarn.co.uk; double b & b from £180) near Upwaltham. West Stoke House (01243 575226; www.weststokehouse.co.uk) in West Dean offers a Georgian house with a highly regarded restaurant.

Read more: the best hotels in West Sussex

Lake District

The Lakes spoil visitors with dramatic viewpoints. Grizedale Forest Park offers superb stargazing by night and the pleasures of Coniston Water, Windermere and the Grizedale Sculpture Park by day. Stay at The Old Rectory (01539 441353; www.theoldrectoryhotel.com; double b & b from £78) near Coniston village.

In the wilder northern section of the national park around Derwentwater, Keswick is a good base from which to visit Friar's Crag, a view 19th-century art critic John Ruskin described as one of the three most beautiful in Europe. Choose from the village b & bs or hunker down in a valley at Low Nest Farm (01768 772378; www.dogfriendlylakedistrict.co.uk; b & b from £32.50 per person per night).

Read more: the best hotels in Lake District

North Norfolk

Norfolk is described as “a great place to observe” and "star parties" are held at the Kelling Heath campsite (01263 588181; kellingheath.co.uk; lodge from £343 for four nights, sleeps six). Cley Beach is also recommended for its salty ambience as well as stellar vistas.

If you want to go stargazing on the beach, Cley Windmill (01263 740209; cleywindmill.com; double b & b from £110) is a gorgeous historic conversion close by.

Read more: the best hotels in Norfolk

Cornwall/Isles of Scilly

The powerful telescope at the Roseland Observatory (01726 813602; roselandobservatory.com) is handily set in the grounds of Court Farm Camping and Caravanning (01726 823684; www.courtfarmcornwall.co.uk; two-berth tents from £11 per night, cottages from £353 a week). Newquay, Truro, Fowey and Mevagissey are all nearby, as are the Lost Gardens of Heligan and Bodmin Moor, the latter another good stargazing possibility. The adjacent Lizard Peninsula also has great dark skies – stay at The Bay Hotel (01326 280464; www.thebayhotel.co.uk, half board £75) in Coverack.

For the darkest skies, though, take the helicopter from Penzance to the Isles of Scilly for a combination of ravishing seascapes and numerous clear nights. St Mary's has the perfect astronomers' hotel: the 16th-century Star Castle (01720 422317; www.star-castle.co.uk; half board from £99 per person), built, as the name suggests, in the shape of a star.

Or head for the wilder Bryher, where cottages include Glenhope High (01720 423136; www.visitbryher.co.uk; from £550 per week, sleeps four), or check into the island's Hell Bay Hotel (01720 422947; www.hellbay.co.uk; from £135 per person per night, full board), which has artwork by Barbara Hepworth and Patrick Heron, along with a stunning location.

Or head for the wilder Bryher, where cottages include Glenhope High (01720 423136; www.visitbryher.co.uk; from £200 per week or £35 per night, sleeps four), or check into the island's Hell Bay Hotel (01720 422947; www.hellbay.co.uk), which has artwork by Barbara Hepworth and Patrick Heron, along with a stunning location.

Read more: the best hotels in Cornwall

Other suggestions

Jodrell Bank Observatory

The Stargazing Live team broadcast their programmes previously this year from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Manchester. Its visitor centre is open from 10am to 5pm daily (£7/5 adult/child).

www.jodrellbank.net; 01477 571 766

Isle of Man

The island apparently has the largest concentration of Dark Sky sites in Britain. Dark Sky Discovery Network announced in 2014 that the island has a total of 26 designated “Dark Sky Discovery Sites”.

The Regency Hotel, Douglas (01624 680680; www.regency.im) is hosting stargazing weekends this year.

Throughout 2014 the Isle of Man Astronomical Society (www.iomastronomy.org) will be hosting a number of stargazing suppers at the top of the Islands highest mountain, Snaefell.

National Trust properties

The National Trust has also published a list of its own properties with Dark Sky Discovery Status, and how to visit them. They range from Bedruthan Steps in Cornwall to Broad Haven car park in Pembrokeshire.

Read more details here

Jolyon Attwooll

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