A decade under the stars

Shane Harris, Engagement Lead with the North Pennines National Landscape team, looks back over ten years of the North Pennines Stargazing Festival.

Happy birthday

This year we celebrate ten years of dark skies, cosmic discovery, and countless unforgettable nights under the fabulous dark night skies in the North Pennines. Since 2017, events in the North Pennines Stargazing Festival have been providing opportunities for local people and visitors to look up, discover the wonders of the universe, and experience the magic of some of the darkest skies in the country.

Nightscape

The North Pennines is an incredibly special place during the day but also after dark, when the area’s nightscape comes into its own. Away from light-polluted urban areas, the night sky in the North Pennines reveals thousands of stars and the Milky Way, our home galaxy, on a clear night.

Throughout the festival’s history, a varied programme has offered many ways for people to immerse themselves in the dark night skies of the North Pennines. From guided sky watches, observatory visits, family-friendly activities and night trains to star camps, astrophotography, stargazing suppers and night e-bike rides to art competitions, dark sky strolls, night running events and celestial crafts – there has been a multitude of ways to celebrate the dark.

Whether discovering Saturn through a telescope for the first time, recognising constellations or simply revelling underneath the Milky Way’s river of stars, these experiences have engaged more than 8,000 people on over 300 events.

It is all about the people

The festival is an initiative from the North Pennines National Landscape team, but a decade of North Pennines Stargazing Festivals would not have been possible without the dedication, enthusiasm, and hard work of astronomers, event organisers, volunteers, businesses and venues that are instrumental in bringing the programme to life each year.

In addition, the festival encourages people to discover the wider North Pennines, which supports local communities, the local economy and helps people appreciate the area’s stunning nature, geology, community, and historic environment.

Right light, right place, right time…

The festival is about more than simply looking at stars. It is also about appreciating and understanding why dark skies matter, in a broader context.

Too much artificial light at night can lead to light pollution, which can hide the stars and negatively affect nocturnal wildlife. By providing opportunities for people to experience a truly dark sky, the festival helps build appreciation for this precious natural resource and hopefully inspires everyone to take positive steps to protect it – now and forever.

Looking forward

So, wrap up warm, book onto an event, and celebrate ten years of starry nights in the North Pennines – the darkest mainland National Landscape. Here’s to ten years of looking up at the area’s nightscape – and to many more memorable nights under our dark skies.

Discover the full programme at northpenninesstarfest.org