camping and stargazing ?

[Charlie_132]

I'm thinking of going camping one weekend, i dont want to go too far away .. sussex/essex would be ideal, i want a dark site where i will be able to see a lot more stars, i would be taking a dob 130p scope

Any sugestions ?

[Charlie_132]

im in stevenage (hertfordshire by the way)

a camp site as close as possible woud be nice

[Dreamweaver]

Hi Charlie,

I love the idea of camping under dark skies but you have to choose a suitable area that's not bathed in light. I've been to parts of Essex (near to Southend, it’s quite dark there surprisingly) and to places in Kent, near to Staplehurst as this area is smack bang in-between Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone and Ashford.

However the best place I’ve been to is between Oxford and Swindon, a place called Great Coxwell. This area was very dark indeed and the milky way could be seen, no problem at all.

Try this link for light pollution in the UK.

http://www.avex-asso.org/dossiers/pl/uk/index.html

It allows you to zoom in to a particular area, however the places I’ve been to (as mentioned above) do not appear to be that dark according to the map! It’s a useful guide I’m sure.

Oh, probably best to mention, I have not actually camped at any of these areas so don't know what's available there.

Hope this is of some use though