Stargazing by region · Yorkshire · Updated 6 November 2026

Stargazing in Yorkshire: Where to Go and What You'll See

The best stargazing in Yorkshire is at Tan Hill Inn in the northern Dales (Bortle 2 to 3, a Dark Sky Discovery Site), Malham Tarn in the Yorkshire Dales Dark Sky Reserve (Bortle 3) and Sutton Bank in the North York Moors Dark Sky Reserve (Bortle 3 to 4). The two national parks became International Dark Sky Reserves together in December 2020, and both are under 90 minutes from Leeds and York. Enter a postcode to rank the five Yorkshire sites by distance.

Dark sky sites in Yorkshire: map

5 sites in Yorkshire. Enter a postcode above to rank them by distance from you.

Driving times are rough estimates and distances are straight-line. Check access and opening before you travel; most Discovery Sites are simple car parks with no facilities.

Best dark sky sites in Yorkshire

Yorkshire has two International Dark Sky Reserves, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, both certified in December 2020, and the darkest spot in the county is Tan Hill, Britain's highest pub, at Bortle 2 to 3. The five sites below are pulled from our UK dark sky sites map, sorted darkest first.

The Yorkshire Dales reserve covers the whole national park, and the darkest parts are the northern dales, Swaledale, Arkengarthdale and the high road over to Tan Hill, where the only lights for miles are the inn's. Malham Tarn, above Malham Cove, is the park's main Dark Sky Discovery hub, with the Field Studies Centre running events and the village car park open overnight. Malham Cove itself is a 20-minute walk from the car park and a fine place to lie back under the limestone with the Milky Way overhead.

The North York Moors reserve has three Dark Sky Discovery hubs at Sutton Bank, Dalby Forest and The Moors National Park Centre at Danby. Sutton Bank's Star Hub viewing area is on the edge of the escarpment with a view west across the Vale of York, Dalby Forest's toll-road car parks are inside the forest and reach Milky Way class, and the coast at Ravenscar and Robin Hood's Bay looks north over the sea for the aurora. Both parks run a joint Dark Skies Festival every February and early March, with guided walks, talks and telescope nights.

SiteDesignationBortleGetting thereMap
Tan Hill Inn
Discovery Site		Dark Sky Discovery Site2-3Britain's highest pub, on the Pennine Way; parking at the inn.Directions
Yorkshire Dales National Park (Malham Tarn)
Reserve		International Dark Sky Reserve (2020)3Malham Tarn Field Studies Centre; the nearby Malham village car park does not charge overnight for stargazers.Directions
Malham Cove
Discovery Site		Popular stargazing spot within the Yorkshire Dales Dark Sky Reserve320-minute walk from Malham village car park; free overnight parking for stargazers.Directions
North York Moors National Park (Sutton Bank)
Reserve		International Dark Sky Reserve (2020)3-4Sutton Bank National Park Centre car park; Star Hub viewing area with a heated pavilion.Directions
Dalby Forest
Discovery Site		Dark Sky Discovery Site (Milky Way class)3-4Dalby Forest Drive toll-road car parks, YO18 7LR.Directions

Bortle ratings are typical for a clear moonless night; designations are as listed on DarkSky International's register.

When is the best time to go stargazing in Yorkshire?

The best time to go stargazing in Yorkshire is from September to March, when the nights are long and both reserves reach full darkness. At Yorkshire's latitude the sky never gets fully dark from mid May to late July, so a midsummer trip to Tan Hill gives you a fine twilight and bright planets but not the Bortle 2 to 3 sky it is rated for. The February Dark Skies Festival is a good way in if you have never been to a dark site before.

The Milky Way season for Yorkshire runs from late July to October. On August and September evenings the bright band through Cygnus passes overhead, and from the northern Dales it shows real structure to the naked eye. The galactic core in Sagittarius stays over the southern horizon, so a site with an open view south, such as Sutton Bank's escarpment or the high road near Tan Hill, shows it best. Our guide to how to see the Milky Way from the UK covers the method.

Go in the week either side of new moon and check is it a full moon tonight before you book, because a full moon turns a Bortle 3 dale into a Bortle 6 one. The Perseids in August and the Geminids in December are the two meteor showers worth a special trip, and the open moor at Sutton Bank or Dalby suits them; our calendar of the next meteor shower in the UK has every peak date.

Yorkshire sees the northern lights several times a year in strong geomagnetic storms. The North York Moors coast between Whitby, Ravenscar and Robin Hood's Bay looks north over open sea and is the best place in the county to catch a green glow on the horizon; the high ground of the northern Dales around Tan Hill works too, with nothing but Durham's fells to the north. Check northern lights tonight for the live reading and our UK aurora forecast for the nights ahead. Activity peaks around the September and March equinoxes.

What can you see from Yorkshire's dark skies?

From Tan Hill or Malham on a clear moonless night you can see the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy and the Double Cluster in Perseus with the naked eye, and in spring and autumn the zodiacal light as a faint cone after dusk or before dawn. A couple of thousand stars are visible, enough that Cassiopeia and the Plough in Ursa Major take a moment to pick out against the background.

Binoculars show the Pleiades, the Beehive Cluster and the star clouds of the summer Milky Way. A small telescope adds Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons, the Orion Nebula in winter and the brighter globular clusters in summer. For what is up on any given night, our stargazing tonight page is recalculated for the UK every day, and ISS passes tonight lists when the space station crosses the sky.

Astronomy clubs in Yorkshire

There are 18 astronomy societies across Yorkshire in our directory, from Whitby to Sheffield and Hull to Keighley. All hold monthly talks through the winter, most run public observing nights, and all welcome beginners without a telescope.

Reeth Informal Astronomy Group meets in Swaledale inside the Dales reserve, Scarborough and Ryedale and Whitby societies cover the North York Moors, York Astronomical Society has its own observatory at Murton, and West Yorkshire Astronomical Society runs the Rosse Observatory at Carleton near Pontefract. The full list, with a map, is on our astronomy clubs UK directory.

Where to stay for stargazing in Yorkshire

Both national parks list dark-sky-friendly accommodation, and the choice is wide. In the Dales, Tan Hill Inn itself has rooms and a campsite, and Reeth, Muker, Hawes and Malham have inns, B&Bs, bunkhouses and campsites; several Swaledale farms advertise outside lights off and loan binoculars. In the North York Moors, Helmsley, Thirsk and Sutton Bank's own camping pods work for the Star Hub, Thornton-le-Dale and Pickering for Dalby, and Danby, Goathland and Rosedale for the central moors. On the coast, Robin Hood's Bay and Ravenscar have B&Bs and a youth hostel a short walk from the cliff top.

Practical points: the Dales get Pennine weather, wetter in the west and drier in the east, so Wensleydale and Swaledale are often clear when Ribblesdale is not. The road over to Tan Hill is high, unfenced and closes in snow. The North York Moors are drier but prone to sea fret on the coast on still nights; the inland hubs are usually clear when Whitby is not. Mobile signal is patchy in the dales; download maps and star charts first. Our stargazing tips page covers clothing, dark adaptation and red light.

What to take to a dark sky site

Kit we've reviewed in full

A dark sky is the biggest upgrade there is, and the Milky Way needs no kit at all. These three cover the first few trips: binoculars that show hundreds of extra stars, a telescope that fits in a boot, and a red torch so you keep your night vision. See our best binoculars for stargazing guide for more.

Start here

Opticron Adventurer 10×50

4.7

A 10×50 hangs round your neck all night and shows the Andromeda Galaxy, the Double Cluster and the star clouds of the Milky Way from any Bortle 2 or 3 site.

~£84
See price at FLO In stock at FLO Full review
Best small telescope

Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P

4.6

Collapses to fit a car boot or a rucksack. 130mm of aperture shows Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons and dozens of deep-sky objects from a dark site.

~£194
See price at FLO In stock at FLO Full review
Dark-site etiquette

Lepro Rechargeable Head Torch with Red Light (2 pack)

Two red modes on their own switch, USB rechargeable, hands free. White light is the one thing that gets you tutted at in a dark sky car park.

See it on Amazon Sold on Amazon.co.uk

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A dark dale needs no equipment, and for a first trip we would take binoculars rather than a telescope. The Opticron Adventurer 10x50, around £84, shows more from Tan Hill than a telescope shows from Leeds. If you want a telescope that travels, the Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P collapses to fit a boot and sets up in a minute. Taking children? Our guide to the best telescope for a child covers options that survive a campsite, and stargazing for beginners explains the first things to find.

Related Guides

UK dark sky sites map →
Every designated site with a postcode search
Stargazing tonight →
What you can see in the sky tonight from the UK
Astronomy clubs UK →
Map and directory of 288 societies
How to see the Milky Way →
Where, when and how from the UK
Next meteor shower in the UK →
Peak dates for every shower this year
Stargazing for beginners →
Your first night under the stars
Stargazing in Scotland →
Galloway Forest Park, the Isle of Rum Sanctuary and the Cairngorms, plus the best aurora odds in the UK.
Stargazing in Wales →
Elan Valley, Bannau Brycheiniog, Eryri and Ynys Enlli: more protected dark sky than anywhere else in Britain.
Stargazing in Northern Ireland →
OM Dark Sky Park in the Sperrins, the Mournes, Fermanagh's lakes and the north coast for the aurora.
Stargazing in the Lake District →
Ennerdale, Wasdale Head and Grizedale Forest: Bortle 2 to 3 valleys with a mountain horizon.
Stargazing in Northumberland →
Kielder and the largest Gold Tier Dark Sky Park in Europe, Hadrian's Wall, the Cheviots and the coast.
Stargazing in Devon and Cornwall →
Exmoor, Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor and West Penwith: four moors and a coast with Bortle 3 skies.
Stargazing in the Peak District →
Surprise View, Higger Tor and Lyme Park: Bortle 4 skies an hour from Sheffield and Manchester, honestly rated.

Frequently Asked Questions

The best place for stargazing in Yorkshire is the northern Yorkshire Dales around Tan Hill, Britain's highest pub, a Dark Sky Discovery Site rated Bortle 2 to 3 with no lights for miles. Malham Tarn, the Dales reserve's main Discovery hub, is Bortle 3 and easier to reach from Leeds and Bradford. In the North York Moors, Sutton Bank's Star Hub and Dalby Forest are Bortle 3 to 4 and closest to York and Teesside.
Yes. The Yorkshire Dales National Park became an International Dark Sky Reserve in December 2020, certified on the same day as the North York Moors, so Yorkshire gained two reserves at once. The reserve covers the whole national park; the darkest parts are Swaledale, Arkengarthdale and the high ground around Tan Hill. Malham Tarn, Hawes and Buckden are the Dark Sky Discovery hubs.
Yes. The Milky Way is visible from the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors on a clear moonless night, and from the northern Dales it shows real structure to the naked eye. The best months are late July to October, when the bright band through Cygnus passes overhead in the evening. Yorkshire's sky never gets fully dark from mid May to late July, so avoid midsummer if the Milky Way is the goal.
The Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors Dark Skies Festival runs every February into early March, timed for the long winter nights and the new moon. The two national parks host guided night walks, talks, telescope sessions, stargazing suppers and family events at the Dark Sky Discovery hubs including Malham Tarn, Sutton Bank, Dalby Forest and Danby. Dates and bookings are published on the national park websites each winter.
Yes, several times a year in strong geomagnetic storms. The best places are the North York Moors coast between Whitby, Ravenscar and Robin Hood's Bay, which looks north over open sea, and the high ground of the northern Dales around Tan Hill. Activity peaks around the September and March equinoxes. Check the live northern lights tonight reading on WatchTheStars before you drive, as the aurora rarely lasts all night.
Yorkshire has 18 astronomy societies in the WatchTheStars directory, including York, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Hull and East Riding, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Keighley, Harrogate, Doncaster, Scarborough and Ryedale, Whitby, and Reeth Informal Astronomy Group in Swaledale. York Astronomical Society and West Yorkshire Astronomical Society both run their own observatories. Most hold monthly talks through the winter and public observing nights that beginners can join.

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