Getting to this location is an adventure in itself however any effort is well rewarded with the castle ruins making an amazing foreground to any Aurora photo and dark skies above. Note this location is poorly signposted so plan your trip thoroughly and arrive during daylight.
Weather forecast
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02/05/26
15° 5% -
02/05/26
15° 5% -
02/05/26
14° 16% -
03/05/26
10° 17%
Weather forecast for Thornhill (dumfries & Galloway) (2.1 miles away) updated 02/05/26 at 12:01. Powered by Met Office data.
Local light pollution
Morton Castle and Loch 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.
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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 2nd May
Sun 3rd May
Mon 4th May
Tue 5th May
Wed 6th May
Thu 7th May
Fri 8th May
Find more dates
If you are planning to visit this location check our dark sky calendar to find out when is best!
Calendar