We are very excited about our new stargazers for 2021
Our brand new Stargazer tents are perfect for a few nights away under a blanket of stars. All Stargazer tents have a telescope and star gazing guide for you to enjoy the night sky at your own leisure. (as well as a private bathroom, kitchen, garden and outdoor bath tub)
Pembrokeshire is a designated Dark Sky reserve and is one of the leading places in the UK for stargazing and dark skies due to low light pollution and tranquility. You are are well placed to spot a shooting star or a glittering meteor shower and even the Milky Way.
On our retreats and at events throughout the year we also work with the team at Dark Sky Wales who put on Dark Sky events where they show you the constellations and relay tales of welsh folklore and Greek mythology based on our historic understanding of the stars. They provide telescope astronomy sessions as well as a pop up Planetarium.
The National Trust car park at Broadhaven South is a designated Dark Sky area - this means its protected from light pollution and there are no buildings or trees that will disturb your sightline to the stars. Pop along to the car park as the sun goes down and delight at the sky lighting up like few other locations in the UK. It’s about a 35-minute drive from Lawrenny.
The Broadhaven South car park is a particular highlight as it is certified as being one of the few places where the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye on a clear night.
Our top tips for stargazing from The Little Retreat are :-
1., Download a stargazing app on your smartphone that allows you to map the night sky from where you are currently standing- we love Skyview and Skywalk.
2.. Use your personal telescope and the stargazing guide to look for the more unique constellations.
3.. Stars twinkle and Planets don't.When you see the stars you are looking into the past. Because light takes time to travel and stars are many light years away from us you could be seeing a star that doesn’t even exist anymore.
4.. Look out for the International Space Station - NASA has a website dedicated to tracking where it is.
5. Use your own telescope to map the craters on the moon- On a clear night, it’s easy to see its craters and bumpy edges. Only 12 people have ever set foot there. But because there is no wind, if you visited the moon today you would still see their footprints.
6. The night sky is constantly changing, depending on the time of year and the time of night. Try stargazing at different times in the year to spot seasonal constellation changes.
7. Make sure you turn off all the lights.
8. If you want to try capturing the starts at night then you need to bring a tripod with you. Its worth listening to the National Trusts video on night time photography
Look out for our Starry Night wild swim events and our constellation nights with Dark Sky Wales.