Location description
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
Dark sky discovery site
Designated as a Dark Sky Discovery Site this location is accessible by members of the public and are officially recognised as excellent places to stargaze. Such locations often have free overnight car parking, some have toilet facilities however rarely allow overnight camping.
Tonight's weather forecast
Location light pollution
This location is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to a rural setting based on satellite data from CPRE.
When to stargaze at Hamsterley Forest Visitor Centre
This location's rural setting means it benefits from dark skies depending on the time of the year and lunar cycle. In the calendar below where you can see stars indicates when the skies will be dark and the best time to stargaze. Yellow areas show the adverse effects of daylight (bold) and moonlight (faded). Hover over a day to see darkness times or click on a date for more information.
Stargazing events at this location
There are no known forthcoming events at this location. Previously there has been 3 events with the last one being on 28th March 2017 organised by Go Stargazing.