Public observatory · Hollowfell Moor · 428 m
The sky is
open tonight
Hollowfell is a public observatory on the North Pennines moor, under the darkest mainland sky in England. On a good night the Milky Way casts a shadow. Come and stand in it.
- Sunset
- 21:24
- Dark enough
- 23:05
- Moon
- 9% · sets 22:48
- Sky meter
- 21.7 mag
Stargazing night · Saturday 25 July
Tonight, from dusk till late
One ticket, the whole evening. Arrive before dark if you can; your eyes need twenty minutes to catch up with the sky, and the walk up from the car park is part of the show.
- 21:30
Gates open
The telescope deck wakes up. Volunteers set out the loan Dobsonians, the tea hut lights its ring, and the last daylight drains off the moor.
- 22:15
First Light: a walk through the Summer Triangle
Planetarium, 40 minutes, all ages. Vega, Deneb and Altair, and how to hold the whole summer sky in one hand.
- 23:00
The moons of Jupiter, live
At the eyepiece of the 0.6 m Ridley reflector. Watch Io and Europa trade places in real time, with an astronomer talking you round the field.
- 23:45
Ancient light
Deep-sky session on the deck: the great cluster in Hercules, a third of a million suns, and the Ring Nebula, whose light set out before ploughs reached this valley.
- 00:45
Last look, lights down
A slow walk back under the Plough. Red torches to the car park, and the moor goes back to the dark.
Clouded out? If the sky closes we run the planetarium long, and your ticket carries over to any clear night this season. We call it at 6 pm on the day; ring the sky line: 01434 381 000.
Adults £14 · Under-16s £8 · Friends come free Book tonight
Telescope hire · the loan cupboard
Take a telescope home
Nothing we own is locked away. Every instrument in the cupboard goes out on a fortnight's loan: collimated, dew-shielded, with a laminated finder card for the month you borrow it.
200 mm Dobsonian
The pointing-and-looking telescope. Saturn's rings from a back garden; no wires, no apps.
a fortnight£24
100 mm refractor
Grab-and-go on a photo tripod. The Moon like a place, double stars split clean.
a fortnight£18
10×50 binocular kit
Binoculars, reclining chair, planisphere. Honestly, the best first telescope isn't one.
a fortnight£10
Or book the big one. The 0.6 m Ridley reflector works every open night: twenty minutes at the eyepiece with an astronomer beside you, £6 on arrival.
Finding us in the dark
Visit Hollowfell
Opening
Stargazing nights run Thursday to Saturday, sunset till 1 am, April to September; the winter season is Wednesday to Sunday from 6 pm. Planetarium matinées show Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 and 14:00, whatever the weather is doing.
Getting here
Hollowfell Moor, off the B6277 two miles south of Garrigill, CA9 3FL. The last mile is single-track: passing places, sheep, no hurry. From the cattle grid onwards, dip your headlights; the deck can see them.
Dark-sky etiquette
- Red torches only past the gate.
- No flash photography, ever.
- Give your eyes twenty minutes; they will astonish you.
- Phones face-down or in a pocket.
- Dress for the summit, not the forecast. It is 428 m up here, even in July.
Friends of Hollowfell
Keep the sky dark
The observatory is a charity, and the Friends keep it pointed upwards. Membership pays for the dome motors, the loan cupboard, and the dark-sky covenant with the four farms around us.
Stargazer
Every stargazing night free, member rates in the loan cupboard, and the Hollowfell Almanac quarterly.
a year£42
Household
All of that for two adults and every child at home, plus priority booking on meteor-shower nights.
a year£68
Patron
Everything above, a named seat in the planetarium, and first light on every new instrument we commission.
a year£150
Registered charity no. 1104728 Become a Friend