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Kelling Heath - Autumn 2018

daz

By daz
in Star Parties & Astro Events

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geoflewis

geoflewis

Posted
Posted

My wife and I have one of the nightjars from 8th to 15th. I'm not bringing any gear (well other than 15x70 binos) with me, but will be walking the fields hoping to catch up with old friends and make new acquantances...

I hope to see some of you there and fingers crossed for clear skies... ?

Geof

 

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carastro

carastro

Posted
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Quote

My wife and I have one of the nightjars from 8th to 15th. I'm not bringing any gear (well other than 15x70 binos) with me, but will be walking the fields hoping to catch up with old friends and make new acquantances..  I hope to see some of you there and fingers crossed for clear skies... ?

Geof

Do come and say hello Geoff as we have often chatted on the forums.

Carole 

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JOC

JOC

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Hypothetically can someone pay a visit to this event if they don't stay over?  Say I were to find myself in the area on the 12th September which is a 'hypothetical possibility' if I pulled the right strings, got permission from home to get the livestock covered and added a couple of hours to my journey, could I visit this event to say 'hello' in the evening?  It's just a half an idea at the moment so I won't get excited just yet.

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geoflewis

geoflewis

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28 minutes ago, JOC said:

Hypothetically can someone pay a visit to this event if they don't stay over?  Say I were to find myself in the area on the 12th September which is a 'hypothetical possibility' if I pulled the right strings, got permission from home to get the livestock covered and added a couple of hours to my journey, could I visit this event to say 'hello' in the evening?  It's just a half an idea at the moment so I won't get excited just yet.

Yes, you can do that, I have done it myself in the past. There is a car park near the park's central hub of reception, shop, bar, restaurant, etc, so you can park there and then walk the 3 fields of pitches where folks will be set up with their scopes. If visiting at night you will need a red light torch  - NO WHITE LIGHTS please.

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JOC

JOC

Posted
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21 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

Yes, you can do that, I have done it myself in the past. There is a car park near the park's central hub of reception, shop, bar, restaurant, etc, so you can park there and then walk the 3 fields of pitches where folks will be set up with their scopes. If visiting at night you will need a red light torch  - NO WHITE LIGHTS please.

Excellent, I'll have to see how things pan out.  Red torch - got it - I've got a couple here so I'll remember to put one in - though how late I will be able to stay I don't know.  It's been a long while since my parents took us to Kelling Heath, but when I was young we camped there lots of times.

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carastro

carastro

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can someone pay a visit to this event if they don't stay over?  Say I were to find myself in the area on the 12th September which is a 'hypothetical possibility'

Whilst stated above it is possible to visit, unfortunately most people will have gone home by 12th, as the main weekend is 7th - 10th, there will be a few people stopping on but it has lost its atmosphere by then.

Would be great if you could get up earlier.

Carole 

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JOC

JOC

Posted
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13 hours ago, carastro said:

Would be great if you could get up earlier

That's nice of you Carole, unfortunately I only get to the local-ish area one week in two and then it's only for one day and its in the middle of the week!

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Guest

Guest

Posted
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On 14/08/2018 at 14:18, daz said:

looking forward to this - as much for the break as anything - from 6th to 14th on Red 351. Hoping to see some of you there :)

 

Hi Daz, Nick is on 352, I'm on 353, should be a good time again! ? ...although I think I literally "busted a gut" laughing last time, I was on the physio waiting list for 3 weeks LOL!

David

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geoflewis

geoflewis

Posted
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2 hours ago, djpaul said:

I was also considering poping over one night. Maybe on the Saturday.

Is that allowed.?

Paul

Hi Paul, yes it it is, just park your vehicle in the car park by reception then walk down to the camping/caravan pitches where all the observers (and imagers) will be set up. Make sure you bring a red light torch as white light is a total NO NO once it’s dark..!! Hope you can make it, it’s fun to see so much gear in one place and if it’s a clear night I’m sure you’ll get to take a look through some of the scopes.

Geof

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djpaul

djpaul

Posted
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Thats great

I live approx 2 hours away and was considering staying untill about 2am .

I just wanted to get a feel for it and come along with my own kit next time.

I will however bring my binos

And it will be good to chat and get ideas from others

Paul

 

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paulastro

paulastro

Posted
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1 hour ago, Peter Drew said:

I'm hoping to arrive Thursday afternoon. I'm planning to bring my 6" F10 Ha scope, a 5" F15 triplet, 20x80ED binoscope and a 6" F5 SW refractor. Middle'ish of Yellow field if anyone would like a look.   ?

You're on pitch number T138 Peter !!  ?

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paulastro

paulastro

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Weather forecast for September at Kelling, click on any date and it gives your the forecast for the night as well.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/gb/kelling/nr25-7/september-weather/712822?monyr=9/1/2018&view=table

It looks fairly hopeful of getting some observing in to me!  (we are there from 6th-13th).  Mind you I live in deepest Yorkshire, so nearly any forecast is likely to be an improvement on the weather I actually get at home :smile:.

At Kelling (as anywhere really) it's surprising how often there are some good clear breaks in the early hours, even when the forecast is not  favourable.  For this reason I check the weather every hour through most of the night unless it's forecast to rain all night and I can hear the rain on the tent when the alarm goes off for me to check!!

Very often when there is an unexpected break in the early hours we are the only ones observing.   I think many people are too quick to abandon the night  if it's not a good forecast and head for the bar.  Nothing wrong with this of course, but on the other hand if you've bothered to travel very far to get to Kelling for the good skies, it seems a waste not to make the best of any clear periods.  :smile:

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paulastro

paulastro

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I've just checked the many aps and computer based forecasts I use to look at the weather for Kelling from Sept 6 to 13th when I will be there.  Not surprisingly there are some differences from those which look like it's a fairly good week for some clear nights with others which could make me wonder if it's worth the trip - that is if I believe one of the 'pessimistic' forecasts.  How can they be so diifferent?  Well, I asked Google and it came up with an article from The Guardian and it does give some insight.  I found it quite illuminating, and helpful.

The end result - I'm still optimistic for a good week :smile:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/30/weather-forecast-apps-smartphone-predictions-forecasting

 

 

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gooseholla

gooseholla

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I went five years ago and discovered I hated camping, and spent most of the time seeing family on the other side of Norfolk. Did no observing, but can't fault the site, people or the darkness during this event! Really worth it, but alas, probaby not for me to try again.

John

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