Us Brits have been treated to a bunch of spectacular night-sky events over the past year or so. We’re currently in the midst of a lengthy ‘once-in-a-decade’ peak of northern lights and in recent months the aurora borealis has been spotted as far south as London. But now it’s time to gear up for another night-sky event all about stargazing: the UK’s annual Dark Skies Festival is about to return for 2025.
Dark Skies Festivals are organised so that stargazers around the country can get together and appreciate intergalactic wonders in places with minimal light pollution. According to the official Dark Skies Festivals websites, the events are ‘all about discovering, learning and enjoying the dark and the stars you can see as a result’. The events celebrate the stars with activities like walking or cycling through national parks at night, as these tend to be the very darkest places in Britain – and thus have the clearest views of the night sky.
Dark Skies Festivals take place up and down the country, and exact programmes vary. For instance, at Dartmoor you can try out some dark skies yoga, whereas Whitby locals will be treated to a talk from space scientist and broadcaster Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock.
These celebrations generally span a few weeks and multiple parks in a given region, and they all take place in the months of late winter and (very) early spring. If there’s one good thing about 5pm sunsets, it’s that they give you way more time to appreciate everything going on beyond this planet.
There are currently three Dark Skies Festivals planned for February 2025. Here’s everything you need to know about exactly where to go to meet some likeminded, starry-eyed astronomers.
Dark Skies Festivals 2025
Yorkshire: February 13-March 2
This is the 10th anniversary of the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales Dark Skies Festival, so it’s a biggie. You can catch Dr Maggie’s talk, ‘Reaching for the Stars – an exploration of the night sky’, at Sneaton Castle for the big launch on Feb 13, and then there will walks, talks, and ‘mindfulness exercises’ pretty much daily for the remaining duration of the festival.
You can find the complete event listings for the North York Moors here, and for the Yorkshire Dales here.
South Downs: February 13-23
This year, South Downs’s stargazing festival has a theme of ‘glimmers’, which means it will be ‘celebrating the sparkling lights of the stars, planets, meteors and moon in the night sky, the flashes of encounters with nocturnal wildlife, [and] the bioluminescence of glow worms.’ Sounds pretty exciting, right?
Their events will be held both online and in-person. You can find their full listings here.
Welsh Dark Skies Week: February, exact dates TBC
Wales takes this very seriously; all three of the country’s national parks and all five of its Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty will be getting involved. The events are bringing mobile observatories, pop-up planetariums, hosting expert talks, and even putting on astrophotography workshops.
You can discover exactly where and when each Welsh event will take place here.
Later this year there will also be festivals in Exeter and Cumbria, which are still in the planning stages. More information on them, including exact dates and what they will consist of, will likely be available in early summer.
Eyes on the night skies
You don’t need to wait for a stargazing festival to enjoy the night sky – you can just look up (provided the weather’s clear, obvs). If you’re looking for the very best stargazing experience in Britain you could try out one of our top spots, or this Northumberland dark sky park, which was voted the best in the country.
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