Brockholes Nature Reserve
Brockholes Nature reserve, Preston, Lancashire, PR5 0AG, North West
Brockholes is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside and has hosted over 500,000 visitors since they opened in April 2011.
Based on the site of an old quarry, the Trust has used their expertise to create habitats for lots of different wildlife. You can explore the 250 acre reserve with it’s network of trails and hides, not to mention the fantastic views offered overlooking the River Ribble. You can also explore the woods or enjoy the lakes on site, which have all been specially designed to attract all kinds of wildlife for you to see.
The spectacular floating Visitor Village is the first of its kind in the UK, bringing you as close to nature as possible. The Visitor Village hosts the Welcome Centre, an activity room, the lakeside Reed Bed Restaurant, The Nest gift shop and Coots, which is the perfect place to get a quick snack or one of the many flavours of ice cream!
Stargazing is done at an area off the floating village, only a few yards from the car park yet in a sheltered area with low surrounding horizons.
Weather forecast
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13/06/26
15° 10% -
13/06/26
15° 6% -
13/06/26
15° 1% -
14/06/26
13° 4%
Weather forecast for Preston (3.2 miles away) updated 12/06/26 at 12:01. Powered by Met Office data.
Local light pollution
Brockholes Nature Reserve is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to a suburban location based on the latest data from the VIIRS satellite. For more advanced light pollution data, view this location on DarkSkySites.
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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.
Sat 13th Jun
Sun 14th Jun
Mon 15th Jun
Tue 16th Jun
Wed 17th Jun
Thu 18th Jun
Fri 19th Jun
Find more dates
If you are planning to visit this location check our dark sky calendar to find out when is best!
CalendarEvents nearby
Stay and gaze nearby
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