Dark blue night sky with lots of stars behind stone farm house
Red and green aurora above buildings
Red and Green Aurora in night sky above trees

The night skies over Appleton Le Moors are truly epic. We’ve written many times about the dark skies we are lucky to live beneath in our village. They blew us away the first time we saw the Milky Way from the Long Barn courtyard. And in the last 12 months, we’ve been lucky to see the Northern Lights twice here. Who need to go to Iceland?

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the North York Moors Dark Skies Festival. It’s packed with events, kicking off on 8th February. Here are our top three recommendations:

  1. Star Gazing with Astro-dog

Explore the wonders of the universe with Astro Dog’s interactive stargazing sessions in Dalby Forest. Enjoy guided tours of the night sky, use telescopes to observe celestial objects, and journey through space in a 360° planetarium.

Group of people looking at map in dark wood
Stars in night sky about farmhouse and barn
Milky Way and Perseid Meteor shower above Sutton Bank

2. Sutton Bank Dark Skies walk

Experience the magic of Sutton Bank at night with Walk Yorkshire. The walk descends to the famous White Horse of Kilburn and visits White Mare Crag, where legend says Sir Harry De Scriven met his fate. We’ve taken a night walk here, and it is quite magical.

3. Starry Night Painting Workshop

Jacke’s enjoyed several of Ione’s workshops; she’s wonderful. You don’t need to be a painter; Ione supplies all the materials. You’ll be amazed at what you create.

 

 

People looking through telescope at night sky in a court yard
Night sky over man lit in forest clearing
Milky way in purple sky over a small market town

The North York Moors recognizes us as Dark Skies friendly accommodation. We provide all sorts of extras to enhance your dark sky gazing. From star gazing apps on the Long Barn’s iPad, to binoculars and bean bags to sit out on in the courtyard.

We’ll even message you with an Aurora alert if you let us know that you are interested during your stay.

You can read more about it in our digital guide.

So, happy star gazing. And you never know, you may even see the Northern Lights.

(Thanks to the North York Moors for providing the photos (other than those in Appleton Le Moors which are ours)

Credit to the photographers Steve Bell and Russ Norman,