# Star gazing on Dartmoor



## Doctor Carrot (Feb 8, 2010)

I made a thread a couple of years ago about a good place to see the stars near London, I never did find a place.  As I now live in Bristol i'm thinking of going camping on Dartmoor for a couple of nights because, according to the national trust, it's one of the best places to see the stars.  Just wondering whether anyone here has done this and can the stars be seen as well as in this pic?







That's from the dark sky park in Scotland.


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## Voley (Feb 8, 2010)

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with this.

We're blessed with minimal light pollution here at Land's End and have had a couple of beautifully clear nights recently. Last Saturday was spectacular.


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## Doctor Carrot (Feb 8, 2010)

NVP said:


> I'd be interested to hear how you get on with this.
> 
> We're blessed with minimal light pollution here at Land's End and have had a couple of beautifully clear nights recently. Last Saturday was spectacular.



Yeah the Lizard Peninsula is supposed to be one of the best places in the country for star gazing, in fact round Cornwall/Devon way in general because there's the least light pollution and a higher chance of a clear night.  I'm planning on going in August as there's an annual meteor shower that peaks early in the month.  Was the clear night you had as good, or nearly as good, as the picture I posted? Seeing the stars like that with my own eyes really is something I want to do before I shuffle off this mortal coil.


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## Maggot (Feb 8, 2010)

I expect you will get great views from Dartmoor, but it can also get very cold, windy and wet up there so be careful.


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## heinous seamus (Feb 8, 2010)

I have a similar plan to go camping/stargazing in Galloway Forest Park. I bet it'll be fucking cloudy.


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## Doctor Carrot (Feb 8, 2010)

heinous seamus said:


> I have a similar plan to go camping/stargazing in Galloway Forest Park. I bet it'll be fucking cloudy.



Yeah see I was going to go there but Scotland's fucking miles away from me and I can't see it being all that darker than the Devon countryside.  Also the fact cloud is likely is another deterrent.

This map is very handy:






As you can see Scotland has very few clear nights where as Devon, although not strictly as dark as Galloway, has more clear nights and sod all light pollution.

I think I need to take my anorak off


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## heinous seamus (Feb 8, 2010)

Interesting map. I'm in Scotland but it's still about a 3 hour drive to Galloway Forest Park. 

I've saw some pretty good night skies. Once down in Campbeltown and once up past Inverness. I'm not sure it was as good as the pic in the OP but I could definitely see the milky way! Once I was with a girl from New York, she was absolutely amazed at how many stars we could see


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## fractionMan (Feb 8, 2010)

Depends where you are on dartmoor.

The middle of north dartmoor will probably be the best.  It's also the hardest to get to as it's furthest from any roads.


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## Doctor Carrot (Feb 8, 2010)

fractionMan said:


> Depends where you are on dartmoor.
> 
> The middle of north dartmoor will probably be the best.  It's also the hardest to get to as it's furthest from any roads.



I intend going near Drogo Castle if that's any use? There's a walk near there recommended by the National Trust here, it's the Teign Valley one.


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## Voley (Feb 8, 2010)

Doctor Carrot said:


> Yeah the Lizard Peninsula is supposed to be one of the best places in the country for star gazing, in fact round Cornwall/Devon way in general because there's the least light pollution and a higher chance of a clear night.  I'm planning on going in August as there's an annual meteor shower that peaks early in the month.  Was the clear night you had as good, or nearly as good, as the picture I posted? Seeing the stars like that with my own eyes really is something I want to do before I shuffle off this mortal coil.



I wouldn't say it was as good as that photo - there was a bit of intermittent cloud cover and even when it was fully clear it was some way off that pic - but it had some great moments. The Perseid meteor shower is fantastic from down here provided there's a good clear sky. I've kipped out in the garden in an Arctic sleeping bag to watch it before now.


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## Voley (Feb 8, 2010)

Also, if you were coming down as far as our end of the country, it might be worth paying the extra to go to the Scilly Isles. You get some stunning starry nights there - particularly on the smaller off-islands - it's marked as black on that map because of the lack of light pollution.


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## story (Feb 8, 2010)

heinous seamus said:


> Once I was with a girl from New York, she was absolutely amazed at how many stars we could see




There was that wonderful silly story about Manhattanites calling 911 to report legions of UFOS standing overhead when they had that powercut a few years ago, because they'd never seen stars before.


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## Ads79 (Mar 3, 2010)

x


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## teuchter (Mar 3, 2010)

katef1 said:


> If you're visiting dartmoor it may be nice to spend an afternoon in Tavistock. Here's a list of the 'Top 10 Things to do' whilst there
> 
> http://www.tavistockpeople.co.uk/news/THINGS-TAVISTOCK/article-1873630-detail/article.html



How helpful


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## fractionMan (Mar 3, 2010)

I must say it's an utter delight to find others posting up links to their websites without having to be asked.  Very thoughtful.


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## Mrs Magpie (Mar 3, 2010)

Best stars I've ever seen are off the beaten track in Co. Cork


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## Hocus Eye. (Mar 3, 2010)

Dartmoor might be very good from a light pollution point of view, but it is subject to regular cloud cover and also the rain that comes with cloud.  Dartmoor is a giant sponge full of rainwater that drains into the rivers.  You had better get an updated weather report before travelling.

I would think that a good place to see the night sky would be from the deck of a boat in the English Channel.  It would not be very good for photographing though unless it was eerily calm.


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## teuchter (Mar 3, 2010)

story said:


> There was that wonderful silly story about Manhattanites calling 911 to report legions of UFOS standing overhead when they had that powercut a few years ago, because they'd never seen stars before.



I grew up with somewhere with fairly much zero light pollution, and didn't really think twice about the fact that you could see the stars on a clear night.

But then I lived in London for ten years, and now, when I go back home, I'm pretty much bowled over when I see a proper clear night sky.


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## rowan (Jun 27, 2010)

Doctor Carrot said:


> I intend going near Drogo Castle if that's any use? There's a walk near there recommended by the National Trust here, it's the Teign Valley one.



Have you been yet? If not, try and get to the Fingle Bridge Inn, the most perfect setting for a pub right on the river beside the Bridge, and there is a path from Castle Drogo if you don't mind hills.

http://www.finglebridgeinn.com/index.html


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## mpeniak (Aug 4, 2010)

Hi there, I came across this forum by chance because I was organising a stargazing trip to Dartmoor. I just wanted to let you know that all of my astro images were take from Dartmoor so by looking at them you might get some idea about the level of light pollution.

There is a astroimagining gallery on my site as well as compilation video with some of the pics. Check 'my amateur astrophotos' from here:http://www.martinpeniak.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=100&Itemid=116

Kind Regards,
Martin Peniak
www.martinpeniak.com


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## mattyjc (Aug 14, 2010)

I have just got back from a week on the Lizard, I can honestly say it was THE most amazing sky I have ever seen at night! without wanting to sound like an Orb track, the skies went on forever and the stars had a real "depth" to them. Not very good at describing it TBH but well worth a trip down there. Of course it was cloudy for the metorite shower but the night before I saw 8 shooting stars in 30 mins, which has never happened to me before.


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## Meltingpot (Aug 15, 2010)

mpeniak said:


> Hi there, I came across this forum by chance because I was organising a stargazing trip to Dartmoor. I just wanted to let you know that all of my astro images were take from Dartmoor so by looking at them you might get some idea about the level of light pollution.
> 
> There is a astroimagining gallery on my site as well as compilation video with some of the pics. Check 'my amateur astrophotos' from here:http://www.martinpeniak.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=100&Itemid=116
> 
> ...



Hi Martin. Thanks for this link to your site, the photos look great.

Best wishes,

MP.


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## Doctor Carrot (Aug 30, 2010)

Due to me being a disorganised lazy arse I failed to get down there this summer.  No excuse really.  Big thanks to the link to the pictures, they're breathtaking, if the stars are that visible there then I really have to go.

Next year i'm going, even if I have to go alone and end up getting eaten by some kind of cat beast, i'm going.


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## toggle (Aug 30, 2010)

Doctor Carrot said:


> Due to me being a disorganised lazy arse I failed to get down there this summer.  No excuse really.  Big thanks to the link to the pictures, they're breathtaking, if the stars are that visible there then I really have to go.
> 
> Next year i'm going, even if I have to go alone and end up getting eaten by some kind of cat beast, i'm going.


 
i'm a few miles out of truro and the sky is still fantastic. bit hazy in the directions of the towns, but still amazing looking up. the night of the peak of the shower was cloudy, but the night before and the night after were great, let the kids stay up and we saw absolutely loads, plus lying down on the grass, the bats and owls flew over and ignored us so were only a few feet away.


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## Rebeca (Aug 1, 2013)

Speaking of stargazing in London, read here that Tottenham marshes have been nominated as one of the "Dark spots", where you get to see seven of Orion's main stars with a naked eye. That's as far as urban stargazing goes, I guess.


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## lizzieloo (Aug 1, 2013)

Watch out for the wobblers!!!


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