Stargazing and Walking Weekend in Northumberland

Experience the night sky like never before with leisurely walks and an awe-inspiring stargazing experience at Kielder Observatory, hosted by expert guides from Large Outdoors.

Suggested Itinerary

Day 1

You can arrive at our accommodation at 5 pm, where your Large Outdoors host will greet you for the weekend. Northumberland National Park and the Gold Tier Northumberland International Dark Sky Park is exceptional – recognised for the clarity of its night sky and lack of light pollution, making it the perfect place to get to know the stars overhead.

But this evening is all about getting to know your fellow walkers, too, unloading from the week’s stress and chatting about the weekend ahead. We’ll head out somewhere local for a group dinner (not included) around 8 pm and discuss the weekend’s walking and stargazing!

Day 2

Daytime Walk – Our walk today explores the area around our accommodation in Bellingham. This spot is often overlooked as walkers rush to get north to Scotland, yet it offers beautiful, varied scenery. We’ll be out for 4-6 hours, allowing us time to return to our accommodation to freshen up and enjoy an early evening meal (not included) somewhere local.

Evening Stargazing – After our early dinner, we’ll all have to drive up through the forest and into the darkness – to the world-famous Kielder Observatory for an incredible evening stargazing experience. We’ll enjoy an enlightening talk on astronomy. After that, we’ll be treated to a tour of the Observatory before getting a chance to peek at the stars through the powerful telescopes! Please note: Much of the Observatory visit is outside, so please wrap up warmly.

Amazing gazing will be in the offing if we have clear skies when you can expect to see distant galaxies, the Milky Way and star clusters. With experts on hand, there is plenty of time to ask questions, use some of the telescopes, and marvel at the stars. They also serve hot chocolate instead of cracking!

Day 3

Today, we’ll enjoy breakfast together, no doubt still excited from the last evening’s stargazing extravaganza, and then we’ll pack up our belongings, check out of the accommodation and head out for a lovely amble around the local area. There are some great options to choose from.

We’ll aim to finish our walk earlier today to give everybody a chance to travel home. If enough of the group has time, we’ll grab lunch together before saying our goodbyes.

Please Note: On some days, a drive will be required – where activities don’t start from the accommodation door. We don’t include transport, and participants typically share a car.