AuroracastUKViewing guide
Best Viewing Locations
The dark sky spots worth knowing about across the UK and Ireland, with what each one is good for and how to use it. Updated every 30 minutes with current cloud.
Planning a night out
Cloudy at home? Clear Skies works out which of these spots is clear tonight, and which nights are worth going out over the next couple of weeks. It checks the cloud at each spot rather than where you live, and you choose how far you are willing to travel, from five miles up.
Find clear skies near meWhat the number means
The number is how clear the sky is at that spot right now, from the low and mid cloud measured there. High cloud is left out because it dims a view rather than hiding it. Cloud from Open-Meteo, updated every 30 minutes.
43 locations in the UK and Ireland · scored at 21:42
Dunnet Head
The UK mainland's most northerly point, outstanding northern horizon.
Sherwood Forest
Nottinghamshire woodland with clearings well away from the city, a genuine option for the wider East Midlands.
Dartmoor
Gold-tier Dark Sky Park, highest ground in southern England with panoramic sky.
South Downs
Dark Sky Discovery sites along the chalk ridge, during Hp30 7+ aurora reaches this far south.
New Forest
Ancient woodland with several dark clearings away from Southampton and Bournemouth.
Chilterns
AONB ridge north-west of London, the closest realistic option for the Home Counties, though London's glow limits it.
Wicklow Mountains
The nearest high, dark ground to Dublin.
Brecon Beacons
International Dark Sky Reserve in the heart of South Wales.
Yorkshire Dales
Dark Sky Discovery site; high limestone plateau with excellent northern views.
Cape Wrath
Remote Atlantic headland; one of the least light-polluted mainland spots.
Forest of Bowland
AONB with rolling moors away from Preston and Blackburn glow, good low-horizon views.
Bradgate Park
Charnwood Forest country park a few miles outside Leicester, the closest realistic option for the East Midlands.
Mayo Dark Sky Park
Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park, among the darkest skies in Ireland.
Lincolnshire Wolds
AONB chalk hills; flat agricultural land keeps horizons wide and skies dark.
Northumberland National Park
England's darkest county; Kielder Observatory is based here.
Malvern Hills
AONB ridge on the Worcestershire/Herefordshire border, elevated, open, and away from the West Midlands conurbation.
Elan Valley
Mid-Wales reservoir valley with genuine International Dark Sky Park status, one of the darkest places in Britain.
Ashdown Forest
Open heathland in the Sussex Weald, away from the worst of the London and Brighton light domes.
Norfolk Broads
Flat wetland landscape with near-zero obstruction, wide north horizon ideal for low aurora.
West Pennine Moors
Open moorland between Manchester, Bolton and Blackburn, the closest realistic dark sky for Greater Manchester.
Peak District (Dark Peak)
Kinder Scout and Bleaklow give high exposed moorland, the best Midlands viewing spot during strong events.
Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park
Scotland's original Gold-tier Dark Sky Park; good southern coverage too.
Mullaghmore Head
A headland on the Sligo coast looking north across Donegal Bay.
Orkney Islands
Ancient landscape with minimal light pollution and wide open skies.
Kerry Dark Sky Reserve
On the Iveragh Peninsula, with some of the darkest skies in Ireland.
Scottish Borders
Rolling hills between Edinburgh and Northumberland, accessible dark skies without the Highland drive.
Rutland Water
Open reservoir landscape in England's smallest county, surprisingly dark eastern Midlands site.
Eryri (Snowdonia)
Gold-tier Dark Sky Reserve, clear mountain nights away from coastal haze.
Malin Head
Ireland's most northerly point, looking straight out over the Atlantic with nothing to the north.
Sperrin Mountains
AONB upland plateau in County Tyrone, one of Northern Ireland's darkest areas.
Lake District
Dark skies above Ennerdale and Wastwater, clear of city glow with high fell horizon.
Cannock Chase
AONB forest dark sky site in Staffordshire, popular with Midlands aurora chasers.
North York Moors
Dark Sky Discovery site with unobstructed northern horizon from the moors.
Shropshire Hills
Long Mynd and Stiperstones ridgelines give clear west and north horizons away from city light.
Isle of Man
Crown dependency in the Irish Sea with Gold-tier Dark Sky Island status, surrounded by dark water.
Kinver Edge
National Trust heathland ridge on the Staffordshire/Worcestershire border, close to Birmingham and the Black Country.
Bodmin Moor
Granite upland in Cornwall, isolated from city glow and surprisingly dark for southern England.
Pembrokeshire Coast
Dark Sky Discovery site on the Atlantic coast, minimal eastward glow, open north horizon.
Shetland Islands
Britain's northernmost outpost, some of the darkest skies in the UK.
Causeway Coast
North-facing Atlantic coastline with spectacular basalt cliffs and minimal light pollution.
Exmoor
Gold-tier Dark Sky Reserve; coastal ridge gives clear northern horizon over the Bristol Channel.
The Brecks
Dark sky forest heathland on the Norfolk/Suffolk border; one of England's darkest lowland areas.
Cairngorms National Park
Gold-tier Dark Sky Park, high plateau, crisp Highland air.