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Martin Down National Nature Reserve Car Park

Martin Down National Nature Reserve Car Park

Near East Woodyates, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP5

Best time to visit

Easy accessed car park a few miles outside of Salisbury and away from the bright lights.  The location is an officially recognised Dark Sky Discovery Site in the Cranbourne Chase Dark Sky Reserve.

Martin Down National Nature Reserve Car Park is a Dark Sky Discovery Site, an officially recognised place where anyone can stargaze. Most such locations have overnight parking (sometimes with a fee); however, many do not allow overnight camping. There may or may not be toilet facilities.

Location events organiser

Dark Night Skies Cranborne Chase National Landscape

Dark Night Skies Cranborne Chase National Landscape organises events at this location

Please contact Dark Night Skies Cranborne Chase National Landscape directly with any enquiries relating to visiting this location

Email: [email protected]
Website: Dark Night Skies Cranborne Chase National Landscape
Twitter: @CranborneChase
Facebook: Dark Night Skies Cranborne Chase National Landscape

Weather forecast

  • 03/04/26

    14° 10%

  • 03/04/26

    14° 50%

  • 03/04/26

    13° 9%

  • 04/04/26

    11° 2%

Weather forecast for Fordingbridge (7.8 miles away) updated 03/04/26 at 12:00. Powered by Met Office data.

Local light pollution

Martin Down National Nature Reserve Car Park is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to a rural location based on the latest data from the VIIRS satellite. For more advanced light pollution data, view this location on DarkSkySites.

The above demonstrates the estimated effect of light pollution - graphics created using Stellarium.

Light pollution map of Martin Down National Nature Reserve Car Park

Best time to visit

The Moon has a big impact on the visibility of celestial bodies in the night sky. Try to plan your stargazing when there is no bright Moon at night as this is when the skies will be at their darkest.

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.

Moon phase on Fri 3rd Apr

Fri 3rd Apr

Full Moon
99 % illuminated
Dark from 19:57 to 20:51
Dark for 0h 53m
Moon phase on Sat 4th Apr

Sat 4th Apr

Full Moon
96 % illuminated
Dark from 19:59 to 22:06
Dark for 2h 6m
Moon phase on Sun 5th Apr

Sun 5th Apr

Waning Gibbous
92 % illuminated
Dark from 20:01 to 23:19
Dark for 3h 17m
Moon phase on Mon 6th Apr

Mon 6th Apr

Waning Gibbous
86 % illuminated
Dark from 20:03 to 00:27
Dark for 4h 23m
Moon phase on Tue 7th Apr

Tue 7th Apr

Waning Gibbous
79 % illuminated
Dark from 20:05 to 01:27
Dark for 5h 21m
Moon phase on Wed 8th Apr

Wed 8th Apr

Waning Gibbous
70 % illuminated
Dark from 20:07 to 02:13
Dark for 6h 5m
Moon phase on Thu 9th Apr

Thu 9th Apr

Third Quarter
61 % illuminated
Dark from 20:09 to 02:49
Dark for 6h 39m

Find more dates

If you are planning to visit this location check our dark sky calendar to find out when is best!

Calendar

Events nearby

Display nearby events on a calendar

  • Exploration of South America and Antartica with Fred. Olsen and Go Stargazing

    Wednesday 28th January 2026 from 12:00pm to Tuesday 14th April 2026 12:00pm

    Southampton Cruise Terminal, Southampton, SO14 3GG (24.7 miles away)

    More info

  • Stargazing at the Island Planetarium

    Tuesday 7th April 2026 from 19:30pm to 21:30pm

    Island Planetarium, Yarmouth, PO41 0RR (26.5 miles away)

    More info

  • Cranborne Chase Astronomy Club meeting

    Wednesday 8th April 2026 from 19:15pm to 21:00pm

    Grosvenor Arms Hotel - Shaftesbury, Shaftesbury, SP7 8JA (11.0 miles away)

    More info

  • Star Gazing in the New Forest

    Wednesday 8th April 2026 from 21:15pm to 23:15pm

    Tilefield Equestrian, Brockenhurst, SO42 7UE (20.1 miles away)

    More info

  • Starquest Astronomy Club meeting and stargazing

    Thursday 9th April 2026 from 19:00pm to 21:00pm

    Sutton Veny Village Hall, Sutton Veny, BA12 7AP (15.9 miles away)

    More info

Stay and gaze nearby

Stay at one of these stargazing-friendly accommodation providers.

  • Cosy Oak Yurt – Cranborne Chase

    Coombe Bissett, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP5 4LP (4.7 miles away)

    Stay & Gaze

    More info

  • Old Harry – Swanage

    Burlington Road, Swanage, Dorset, BH19 1LT, South West England (24.8 miles away)

    Stay & Gaze

    More info

  • Wild Camping Wiltshire

    Dark Lane, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 3FZ, South West England (29.0 miles away)

    Stay & Gaze

    More info