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Stars at Night

Stargazing Adventures

Forest of Bowland dark Skys

Bowland Retreat is a recognised Dark Sky Friendly Business, meaning it has put certain things in place to reduce its light pollution and offer services to promote stargazing in the area. The Forest of Bowland has one of England's darkest skies making it a great destination for stargazing! You can enjoy viewing the impressive landscape from your own private lodge deck or visit a close by designated Dark Sky Discovery Site.  Bowland is lucky enough to have 4 of these sites providing good access to view the night skies at their best!  Beacon Fell Country Park, Crook O'Lune Picnic Site, Slaidburn and Gisburn Forest Hub. You can make holiday memories looking at the mesmerising Milky Way as it arches across a clear evening sky.

pendle lake trails stargazing bowland

Coming Soon!

COSY STARGAZING KIT

Hire out a bundle to enjoy star gazing on your lodge balcony.

Perfect for couples wanting to cosy up under the stars.

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Kit includes:

  • Blankets

  • Flasks

  • Hot Chocolate

  • Binoculars

  • Telescope

Bowland Knotts Milkyway by Astronomer Robert Ince  

Bowland Dark Skies by Astronomer Robert Ince 

WHAT TO TAKE ON YOUR STARGAZING ADVENTURE

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  • Compass – if searching for particular stars or constellations

  • Star guide – Printed or electronic. Google sky map is good for android phones. 

  • Camera

  • Warm clothes

  • Refreshments

  • Blanket / camping mat – something good to lie back on.

  • Red torch – can cover torch with red sweet wrapper or film or even red nail polish

  • Binoculars but not essential – on a clear night the naked eye can see plenty!

Barley Picnic Site East by Astronomer Robert Ince 

dark sky discovery site

ASTRO APPS 

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There are many astro apps for iPhones, smartphones and tablets running Android and Windows that can help you understand the night sky and keep up with events.

Sky Week – regularly updated digest of what's in the sky 

Pocket Universe – plenty of features and star maps 

Google Skymap – identifies the stars using GPS when you hold up the phone to the sky (Android)

Meteor Shower Calendar – tells you which showers are due and whether the moon will spoil the show (designed for ipad)

ISS Detector and ISS Spotter – both will alert you when the ISS is due to pass overhead - Detector (Android) and Spotter (Apple)

Aurora Alert – predicts possible Northern Lights displays (Android)

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