Bring on the Stargazing Staycation
1st June 2020Fancy a stargazing staycation? This week’s historic launch of America’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to send humans into space for the first time in nine years – and the opportunity to spot the International Space Station as it flies overhead – has had everyone stargazing and looking up.
Staycations are looking up.
At the same time, this year’s plans for holidays abroad have been more or less scuppered by Covid-19 and we need to look closer to home to get away from it all. Bring on the staycation. In fact bring on the stargazing staycation.
A trend for holidaying closer to home without the stress, time and cost of flying abroad, the term ‘staycation’ has been popular since the early 2000s.
Stargazing in the forest
By their very nature, forests are the ideal place to see the stars. They tend to be located far from light-polluted towns and cities for obvious reasons, and are recognised for being the perfect vantage point to marvel at the wonders of the night sky.
Take it a step further and look up one of the International Dark Sky Parks with its associated benefits including dark sky observatories, wildlife and accommodation. Scotland’s very own Dark Sky Park is the Galloway Forest Park.
Galloway International Dark Sky Park
A Dark Sky Park is a place with exceptionally dark night skies, a place where people have committed to keeping those skies dark, by controlling light pollution. There are now more than 100 Dark Sky Parks worldwide. Since 2009, Galloway Forest Park has been designated by the International Dark Sky Association as the fourth Dark Sky Park in the world, and was the first in the UK, awarded the status for its rare stargazing conditions.
The park is one of the very best places to observe the night sky in the UK, and its management recognises the dark skies as a valuable resource and is committed to protecting and preserving them. The remoteness and sparse population of the area combined with a lighting plan ensure that Galloway Forest Park’s skies will remain protected for generations to come.
Staycations are looking up!
More information: Galloway Dark Sky Park
