Dark Skies Festival
Our Dark Skies Festival is over for 2020 but will return in 2021. For a flavour of the 2020 Festival, please see below.
Dark Skies Festival 2020
The North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales are a stargazer’s paradise, with some of the best night skies in the country.
In an urban area you'll be lucky to see 20 stars on a clear night, but in an area of low light pollution, such as our National Parks, you could see as many as 2,000.
2020 is the year space travel becomes a reality, but you don't need to leave Earth to do it! Join us on for our own nebula adventure as we explore the cosmos for the fifth Dark Skies Festival, teamed once again with the Yorkshire Dales, bringing headline acts and celestial events from 14 February to 1 March.
Highlights for 2020 include:
- A special talk and stargazing session at Castle Howard: Exploring the dynamic universe by Professor Andy Newsam, Liverpool John Moores University
- BBC The Sky at Night presenter, Chris Lintott will talk about his recently published book - ‘The Crowd & The Cosmos - Adventures in the Zooniverse’
- Explore the dark skies like never before with virtual reality specialists View It 360
- Go Ape! Night Zip
- Yoga, dark skies and mindfulness experiences
- Stay and gaze experiences
- In search of the elusive Aurora presentation and stargazing
- Dark Skies gravel biking challenge with Yorkshire True Grit
- A multimedia, indoor planetarium pop-up experience, a 360 degree journey through the stars
- Moonrock geocache, galactic treasure hunts, Young Artist Starry Night Workshop and other crafty activities at our National Park Centres
- Stargazing safaris
- Romantic Valentines breaks with your own stargazing equipment
- Ghost walks through Robin Hood's Bay
- Dark Runs and Night Navigation Expeditions
- Night time photography workshops
For the full programme of events and to book your tickets, visit the Dark Skies Festival website.