The Northumberland Dark Sky Festival is a celebration of Northumberland’s pristine dark skies, held every year during the February half term.

Northumberland is home to England’s first and England’s largest Dark Sky Park as certified by the International Dark Sky Association, and we thought that’s worth celebrating.  There is a wide variety of things to see and do – from fireside chats with Northumberland astronomers, night sky guides, and interactive livestreams. Due to current restrictions, we have focused on online events but fingers crossed we get to see you in person too at one of the many venues dotted around Northumberland. 

Previous Festivals

Northumberland’s Dark Sky Festival 2021

The festival was entirely online and live streamed via YouTube and you can browse the events here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL85tgyJSwNsb_VDpkdBN1F6d-LZZclGG2

Kielder Observatory’s astrophotography art project, Escape Velocity, funded by Northumberland County Council, was launched during the week, encouraging children to image the dark skies with mobile phones. 

The Northumberland Dark Sky Festival was created and is managed by Roy Alexander, the Director of Learning at AstroVentures CIC and it is a collaboration between the Battlesteads/Kielder/Twice Brewed/Stonehaugh Observatories and the Northumberland National Park Authority.  Click here to see the current years events listings and book tickets for the Northumberland Dark Sky Festival.