Romantic Stargazing Getaways in UK
Image: The Quiet Site
Surprise your partner this year with a trip to a remote region. Stargazing is on trend - when was the last time you saw the Milky Way?
VISIT DARK SKIES - a new way to enjoy the night
VISIT DARK SKIES is all about a new way of experiencing the night sky. A journey for the senses with a strong distance to daily urban life is our focus.
We support you to create a romantic stargazing weekend with the Guided Stargazing method and our tips for accomodations in well suited regions (see below).
Our recommended activities
Stargazing tours, a walk, a dinner outside
We recommend to book several days to increase the chance of a clear starry sky. Then enjoy the night with a nice dinner, a walk, maybe even an overnight stay outside if you dare. Many nature parks offer tours with a guide and dark sky festivals that are a good place to start.
Guided Stargazing as your own small event
If you prefer to host your own private event, you might enjoy stargazing during one evening using the VISIT DARK SKIES Guided Stargazing method.
Guided Stargazing means lying on your back for half an hour and have your gaze guided by a speaker voice and music. ©VISIT DARK SKIES
With our audio-file on your phone, you have a small event in your pocket that the two of you can enjoy whenever and wherever the stars show up. Together you will then sink into the stars for half an hour - maybe even hours. With the audio experience, you have something to look forward to. Have it ready when the right moment has arrived. Listen to the teaser and book it here in advance.
Make sure to have enough comfort
If you want to try Guided Stargazing, dress as if it were a season ahead. It can get nippy on the ground in the summer, and in the fall anyway - with the right preparation, you won't get distracted.
A heated stargazing pillow is the luxury version of a good preparation in spring or autumn - a heated water bottle is useful as well. © VISIT DARK SKIES
How to find a good place to stay?
Use our Guided Stargazing method to create your own romantic stargazing weekend. To give you a head start, we have selected comfortable and unique stargazing friendly accommodation for two people from the Go Stargazing website.
Romantic accomodations close to nature, with hot tub
Most of them feature an outdoor bath tub and create a feeling of natural luxury. The selected accommodations make minimal impact to the night sky and offer to sleep close to nature. All hosts are curated by our partner Go Stargazing and take care not to unnecessarily pollute the precious night under the stars with light, especially at housing level.
Use gostargazing.co.uk to find great hosts
Screenshot GoStargazing
Go Stargazing is the website to go if you want to find out where you can see the most stars in the UK. The website also features public stargazing events and dark sky locations, as well as places to stay overnight. It also offers advice on when is best to stargaze (spoiler: around a New Moon!)
Light Pollution levels vary from site to site - a rural or dark site category is recommended to make the most out of the trip. Screenshot GoStargazing.
Our selection of Go Stargazing Hosts:
Romantic getaways under the stars
1. Climate Neutral Glamping, Ullswater
Image: The Quite Site / Dan Nightingale
Finding the perfect romantic getaway with a clear conscience - that's what The Quiet Site climate-neutral accommodation offers. It overlooks Ullswater with its unique landscape. The hosts offer a wide variation of their accommodations for couples and families, taking care to have minimal impact on global warming and little light entering the night sky.
To find the spot, we recommend to use the system of the innovative company What3words - three word adress helps to identify spots around the world without mistake. The Quiet site can be found under the following address:
negotiators.imperious.unfilled
2. Glamping in Wooden Cabins, Nidderdale Valley.
Photo: Little Seed Field
Little Seed Field Glamping in the middle of the Nidderdale Valley gives its visitors the opportunity to explore the beautiful countryside with historic trails by day. But that's not all, because also the night becomes an experience with this accommodation: stars directly in front of your door, without any light pollution. The hosts take great care to keep lighting to a minimum, making it easy to admire a fantastic night sky even right by the accommodation.
3. Shepherd's hut, Snowdonia
Image: Snowdonia Glamping Holidays
In the mountains of Snowdonia National Park you will find an idyllic landscape during the day. Experience the nature park's untouched nature - lakes, rivers, waterfalls. At night it's the same - a pristine starry sky, perfect for romantic stargazing. Snowdonia Glamping Holidays offer an original overnight stay in a shephards hut, close to nature. If you want more comfort, you can also find beautiful vacation homes.
4. Tree house with bathtub, Northumberland
Image: Wild Northumbrian
Staying in a treehouse, enjoying fresh stone-baked pizza under the stars, and ending the night in an outdoor bathtub sounds almost too good. With Wild Northumbrian in the Northumberland Dark Skies Reserve, this experience is guaranteed. The treehouse is one option, otherwise yurt tents, a shepherd's hut and other great overnight options are also available.
5. Hot tub in Ryedale
Image: Humble Bee Farm
Alone and as a couple, an overnight stay at Humble Bee Farm is a good idea, especially at the time of a dark sky event. Moreover it offers: wide beaches, a hot tub outside next to the accommodation under the Ryedale sky and endless conversations around the campfire - a real distance from everyday life.
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6. Yurt in Yorkshire Dales
Image: The Wensleydale Experience
Yurt overnights are becoming increasingly popular and are an original change of pace for couples and families. The Wensleydale Experience is located in one of the most popular stargazing parks in the UK: Yorkshire Dales Dark Skies Reserve. The "Temple Folly" is unlike the tents made of stone and booked up quickly. Hot tubs make the experience even more attractive for couples.
7. Cabin in the woods, North York Moors
At Cropton Cabins Holiday Park just inside North York Moors National Park, dark nights are guaranteed. The cabins are spaced among the trees in the woods and the lighting is especially shielded. Many of the cabins are equipped with a hot tub. It's worth tackling a night hike in the woods without a flashlight - your eyes can see far more in the dark than you might think.
8. Train carriage, Brecon Breacons
Image: Crickhowell Railway Carriage
At VISIT DARK SKIES we love falling asleep under the stars. In the Crickhowell Railway Carriage, such an experience is possible. An unusual concept: converted train carriages with glass roofs in the Brecon Breacons Nature Reserve. Perfect as a surprise gift.
More accomodations, events and stargazing locations for UK can be found on the stargazing locations map.
Why is stargazing romantic?
"I want to spend my life with you" - why only say it, when you can show it by taking someone to a remote location? Nature shows itself in grand gestures during the day, and at night we encounter an infinite expanse. With a little luck, stars and shooting stars show themselves and create a moment we can look back on for a long time, maybe even forever.