As mentioned on the Cairngorms Dark Sky Park website this rural car park has excellent visibility to the northern, eastern and southern horizons under very dark skies and is recommended for spotting Aurora from September to March along with superb views of the Milky Way in autumn and early winter.
Weather forecast
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20/09/25
7° 49% -
20/09/25
5° 8% -
21/09/25
5° 52% -
21/09/25
5° 75%
Weather forecast for Tomintoul (2.3 miles away) updated 20/09/25 at 04:02.
Local light pollution
Gleconglass Car Park is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to a dark site 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.
Sat 20th Sep
Sun 21st Sep
Mon 22nd Sep
Tue 23rd Sep
Wed 24th Sep
Thu 25th Sep
Fri 26th Sep
Find more dates
If you are planning to visit this location check our dark sky calendar to find out when is best!
Calendar