South Downs national park, Hampshire, West and East Sussex



The South Downs became an international dark sky reserve in May 2016, with 66% of the park having bronze-level skies (as assessed by the International Dark Sky Association), which means the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxy can be seen. It has seven stargazing hotspots: Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium, Old Winchester Hill, Butser Hill, Iping Common, Devil’s Dyke, Ditchling Beacon and Birling Gap. To celebrate its new designation, the park is taking part in the second annual Dark Skies festival (until 26 February), with star parties, night hikes, astrophotography sessions and comet-making workshops. A fitting place to stay nearby, open from April, is Big Sky Tipi Holidays near Eastbourne (three nights from £240, sleeps up to six, bigskytipiholidays.co.uk), a glampsite with very little light pollution, close to the Observatory Science Centre at Herstmonceux Castle.

• southdowns.gov.uk

Exmoor national park, Somerset and Devon



The night sky over Porlock Weir, Somerset. Photograph: Alamy

On the clearest nights on the north Devon moors the human eye can detect about 3,000 stars, with the best sites at Holdstone Hill, County Gate, Brendon Two Gates, Webbers Post, Anstey Gate, Haddon Hill and Wimbleball Lake. Events this year include a 12-hour night run; forest and full-moon walks; and summer family campouts. Exmoor national park became Europe’s first international dark sky reserve in November 2011.

• exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk

Brecon Beacons national park, south Wales



Corn Du and Pen y Fan from Mynydd Illtud. Photograph: Alamy

In the Brecon Beacons, a dark sky reserve since February 2013, the best spots to set up a telescope are Usk Reservoir, the ruins of Llanthony Priory, Carreg Cennen castle and the national park visitor centre. The Stargazers Retreat is a converted stable sleeping two between Trecastle and Crai, and has its own observatory (from £50 a night).

• breconbeacons.org

Snowdonia national park, Gwynedd and Conwy



Photograph: Alamy

Five of the top spots in this dark sky reserve are the lakes Llyn y Dywarchen, Llyn Geirionydd and Llynnau Cregennen; Tŷ Cipar, a former gamekeeper’s house; and Bwlch y Groes, a mountain pass. The North Wales Astronomy Society organises monthly observing nights.

• eryri-npa.gov.uk

North York Moors national park



Notice at the North York Moors dark sky discovery site. Photograph: Alamy

The park has three dark sky discovery sites, where the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye and up to 2,000 stars can be seen: Danby, Sutton Bank and the observatories in Dalby Forest. Other great sites for stargazing are Rievaulx Terrace, Old Saltburn, Boulby Cliff, Kettleness and Ravenscar. Celestial shows to look out for this year include the Perseid meteor shower (peaks 12-13 August), the Orionids meteor shower (peaks 20-22 October), the supermoon (when the moon appears larger than normal because of its proximity to the Earth, 3 December) and the Gemini meteor showers (13-14 December). The Scarborough and Ryedale Astronomical Society holds monthly public stargazing events in Dalby Forest (8-10pm, first Friday of the month, October to March), and Starfest is a three-night camp there each August. Hidden Horizons runs celestial exploring events along the coast, where the northern lights sometimes appear, and the whole region is another Dark Skies festival venue.

• northyorkmoors.org.uk

Yorkshire dales national park, North Yorkshire



England’s highest pub, the Tan Hill inn is also a dark sky discovery site. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

This park has four dark sky discovery sites: Hawes and Malham national park centres, Buckden car park and Tan Hill inn. It is the third location of the Dark Skies festival, and will host a pop-up planetarium in Grassington, rocket-making workshops across the park, and stargazing events and talks in and around Sedbergh. Three holiday cottages in West Burton and Newbiggin supply free kit for stargazing guests, including a telescope and binoculars, a guidebook, deckchairs, picnic basket and blankets (cottageinthedales.co.uk).

• yorkshiredales.org.uk

Northumberland national park, Northumberland



Telescope at Kielder Observatory. Photograph: Alamy

Together with Kielder Water and Forest park, this international dark sky park has gold-tier status, which means “the full array of visible sky phenomena” can be viewed, such as the northern lights, airglow (atmospheric light), the Milky Way, zodiacal light (sunlight scattered by space dust) and meteors. There are 12 dark sky discovery sites, including Battlesteads hotel and observatory (doubles from £100 B&B), which holds weekly events including shooting star suppers, and Stonehaugh, which has a stargazing pavilion. Kielder Observatory has daily events such as night sky safaris, aurora nights and full-moon parties, while Kielder Waterside Park (lodges sleeping four from £304 a week) has new luxury lodges with their own stargazing pods.

• visitnorthumberland.com

Galloway forest park, Dumfries and Galloway



Clatteringshaws Loch. Photograph: Alamy

More than 7,000 stars and planets are visible with the naked eye from this first UK dark sky park (designated in 2009), and it has a sky quality reading of 21-23.6 (the scale is 0-25; Edinburgh would be eight and a photographer’s darkroom 24). The best places to stargaze are Clatteringshaws vistor centre, which overlooks the darkest part of the park, and the panoramic viewing points at either end of the Carrick Forest Drive. Clatteringshaws and Kirroughtree visitor centres run stargazing events with talks by dark sky rangers. The Scottish Dark Sky Observatory near Dalmellington also hosts events, and visitors can observe the sky through its research-grade telescope.

• scotland.forestry.gov.uk

Coll, Inner Hebrides



Photograph: Alamy

Coll was the world’s second dark sky island (after Sark in the Channel Islands), and has three dark sky discovery sites: Arinagour, RSPB Totronold and Cliad football pitch. Deep-sky objects that are visible in far more detail to the naked eye than in urban areas include star clusters such as the Beehive and the Double Cluster, and the Great Orion Nebula. New hostel the Coll Bunkhouse (dorm beds from £21 a night) holds three stargazing weekends a year (from £81 adult, £67 young person if booked two months ahead, 18-19 March, 16-17 September, 14-15 October) with a mobile Cosmos Planetarium. The course includes 10 hours of tuition with astronomers.

• darkskycoll.co.uk

Elan valley, Powys



Graig Goch resevoir and dam. Photograph: Alamy

In 2015, Elan valley became the first privately owned (by Welsh Water) dark sky park. Graig Goch and Claerwen Dam car parks are good places to stargaze, as is the area around Cwmdauddwr Common, where the northern lights were seen in 2016. There are plans to develop astronomy and dark sky hubs in future. Events at the visitor centre include an astronomy day on 26 February. Accommodation on the estate ranges from a self-catering longhouse to farm cottages and a B&B (currently being refurbished).

• elanvalley.org.uk

Shetland, Northern Isles



The northern lights over Shetland. Photograph: Alamy

For obvious reasons Shetland offers the best chance of spotting the northern lights in the UK. The season runs from mid-October to mid-March, and Shetland’s fire festivals take place between January and March, so visitors can combine the two. Most of the archipelago – excluding Lerwick, the capital – has very little light pollution, and wild camping is allowed, for those who want to get right off the beaten track. for those who don’t want to go quite so far, the isle of Skye has nine dark sky discovery sites.

• shetland.org

Carrick-a-Rede and Oxford Island national nature reserve, Northern Ireland



Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Photograph: David Soanes Photography/Getty Images

Of the more than 150 dark sky discovery sites in the UK, just two are in Northern Ireland. Carrick-a-Rede island near Ballintoy in County Antrim, is reached by a rope bridge first set up by fisherman in 1755. It is now owned by the National Trust, and periodically hosts stargazing evenings with the Northern Ireland Amateur Astronomy Society. Oxford Island, on Lough Neagh in County Armagh,holds occasional stargazing events at its discovery centre.

• nationaltrust.org.uk/carrick-a-rede, oxfordisland.com

Grizedale Forest, Cumbria



This dark sky discovery site has lots of events and activities, including a beginner’s stargazing trail (until 31 March), a Valentine’s night under the stars and an Earth Hour walk (25 March) with astronomer Robert Ince. Other Forestry Commission sites with dark-sky status include Hamsterley Forest in County Durham, and Sherwood Pines in Nottinghamshire.

• forestry.gov.uk

Isle of Wight



The Milky Way over Compton Bay, Isle of Wight. Photograph: Kurt Calleja/Getty Images

The Isle of Wight doesn’t have full dark-sky designation because the larger towns in the north-east are too bright, but much of the rest of the island is great for stargazing. Two of the best clifftop locations are Atherfield and Compton. The Vectis Astronomical Society has weekly stargazing nights at an observatory in Newchurch, and gives monthly talks in Newport. There is an annual star party in Brighstone in March, and stargazing weekends at the Island Planetarium in Freshwater (24 February and 24 March).

• redfunnel.co.uk

Kelling Heath, Norfolk



Twice-yearly star parties at Kelling Heath holiday park, north Norfolk, attract hundreds of astronomers from all over the country – the autumn event is thought to be Europe’s largest star party. The next one is 19-26 April.

• kellingheath.co.uk

National Botanic Garden of Wales, Carmarthenshire



Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

The National Botanic Garden of Wales is spread across 560 acres of countryside, far away from light pollution. The Swansea Astronomical Society holds regular star parties here, and the garden organises astronomical events for children during school holidays.

• botanicgarden.wales

Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales



The borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf has eight dark sky discovery sites – including two pubs. The Red Lion is a 12th-century drovers’ inn high on a hill with views over the village of Penderyn. The Rose and Crown sits above Pontypridd and has a panorama of the south Wales valleys as far as the Severn estuary.

• rctcbc.gov.uk

Stackpole Estate, Pembrokeshire



Photograph: Alamy

Stackpole is a stretch of coastline in the Pembrokeshire Coast national park, owned by the National Trust and run as a nature reserve. The beach at Broadhaven South is a dark sky discovery site, and the Stackpole Centre runs stargazing nights in a mobile planetarium. The next one is on 24 February. Elsewhere, the National Trust recommends six dark-sky walks, from the Peak District to Devon.

• nationaltrust.org.uk/stackpole

Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway



Moffat, a historic spa town in the Annandale valley, became Europe’s first dark sky town in February 2016. The town has installed special street lighting to keep light pollution to a minimum.

• visitscotland.com

Low Gillerthwaite Field Centre, Cumbria



This centre, in remote Ennerdale, runs occasional dark-sky events, with a planetarium in an 18th-century barn, presentations from the Cockermouth Astronomical Society and, of course, stargazing. Activities for children could include making star umbrellas or turning the meadow into a model planetarium. The next event is on 25 February – and there will be free hot soup.

• lgfc.org.uk

See a map of UK dark sky sites at darkskydiscovery.org.uk. There are four international dark sky reserves in the UK (Brecon, Exmoor, Snowdonia and South Downs) and an international dark sky park (Northumberland).