If you have not been to Kielder then you have to go!
International Dark Skies Association has awarded Gold Tier Dark Sky Park status to 1500 sq km of Northumberland incorporating Northumberland National Park and Kielder Water & Forest Park.
The Northumberland Dark Sky Park is the largest in Europe and the first of its kind in England. It is also one of the largest in the World alongside Death Valley and Big Bend Dark Sky Parks in the USA. Gold tier designation is the highest accolade that the IDA can bestow.
This award is the result of two years of hard work by Northumberland National Park, Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust and the Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society in partnership with local communities, tourism businesses and people.
Although the Dark Sky Park doesn’t cover the whole of Northumberland, Visit Northumberland will be strongly promoting the ‘Dark Sky County’ and hope the benefits will be felt from the Cheviots to the Coast as more visitors come during the autumn and winter to experience our pristine starry skies and rural tranquillity, and to see the spectacular night-time tableau only Northumberland can offer.
Northumberland National Park has so much to offer: check out some of these links
http://www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk/visiting/thingstodo/stargazing
www.youtube.com/user/NorthumberlandNP/videos
http://www.visitkielder.com/play/discover/dark-skies
Kielder Observatory
www.kielderobservatory.org
Find out about our new Landscape Discovery Centre at Hadrian's Wall
www.thesill.org.uk
