Hamsterley Forest Visitor Centre
Hamsterley Forest, Bedburn, County Durham, DL13 3NL
This location is a dark sky discovery site freely accessible to the public with 24 hour toilet facilities (overnight parking charges apply). The site is surrounded by trees which block out most nearby light pollution leaving the Milky Way clearly visible in the skies above. Stargazing events are often organised by the Forestry Commission with the support of local astronomers including some from the Go Stargazing team! Hamsterley Forest is a great place to go stargazing and not to far from civilisation!
Above image by John Patrick
Licensed under a Creative Commons License
Weather forecast
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28/11/23
0° 0% -
28/11/23
1° 1% -
29/11/23
0° 4% -
29/11/23
-1° 6%
Weather forecast for Hamsterley (0.5 miles away) updated 28/11/23 at 20:00.
Local light pollution
Hamsterley Forest Visitor Centre is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to arural rural location based on the latest data from the VIIRS satellite.
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Urban
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Suburban
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Semi-rural
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Rural
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Dark site
The above demonstrates the estimated effect of light pollution - graphics created using Stellarium.
Best time to visit
The below chart shows when the skies will be at their darkest at this location and therefore the best time to visit. Moonlight is shown in light yellow and the Sun's twilight in light blue. Midnight on the date shown is shown as a white line with sunset to the left and sunrise the next morning to the right. A black background with stars shows the best times for stargazing. See our dark sky calendar for more details.
Tue 28th Nov
Wed 29th Nov
Thu 30th Nov
Fri 1st Dec
Sat 2nd Dec
Sun 3rd Dec
Mon 4th Dec
Find more dates
If you are planning to visit this location check our dark sky calendar to find out when is best!
CalendarForthcoming events
Below is a list of events at Hamsterley Forest Visitor Centre. View these events on our calendar, add them to your calendar or Google Calendar.
Stay and gaze nearby
Stay at one of these stargazing-friendly accommodation providers.