What Is The Dark Skies Festival?

2 months ago

Plus: all the 2025 details

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Stargazing and Dark Sky tourism are on the rise, with travellers across the globe on the hunt for breathtaking sights thanks to the universe around us. Here in the UK, there are plenty of hotels perfecting for stargazing adventures, but nowhere better than the annual Dark Skies Festival. Here’s what to expect.

What Is The Dark Skies Festival?

The Dark Skies Festival is an annual celebration of the night sky held across the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Providing stunning, remote landscapes and clear skies, this natural area is the perfect place to stargaze, moongaze and celebrate the wonders of the universe.

The festival dates back to 2016 when it was first held, and it has been hosted every February half term ever since. In 2020, Covid forced the festival online but, if anything, this increased the festival’s popularity.

The Yorkshire Dales is a designated Dark Sky Reserve (certified by DarkSky International), and is home to some of the darkest skies in the country. This means you can see the Milky Way, planets, meteors and sometimes even the Northern Lights from here. Places like the North York Moors, South Downs, Eyiri (Snowdonia), Brecon Beacons and Exmoor are also Dark Sky Reserves, but the real lack of light pollution in the Yorkshire Dales means the skies here are typically the darkest of them all.

When Is It?

The Dark Skies Festival will return from 14 February until 2 March 2025 for a special bumper 10th anniversary edition. The opening ceremony will be held at Broughton Sanctuary (Broughton Hall Estate, Skipton BD23 3AE), a 3,000 acre recovery project offering accommodation and retreats on the outskirts of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, commencing a three-day programme hosted by astrophysicist and zen teacher Mark Wesmoquette. The full line-up is yet to be announced, but visitors can expect plenty of stargazing, yoga sessions, guided ecology tours, planetarium experiences and more. Learn more at yorkshiredales.org.uk

If you just can’t wait until then, the Dark Skies Fringe Festival will take place from 25 October to 3 November 2024, with a stellar line-up of autumnal events to explore, from special weekend breaks to star gazing sessions. See the full line-up here.