Our top ten tips for stargazing walks
The Cairngorms National Park has vast areas of low light pollution and amazing vantage points, making it one of the best places in the world for stargazing. Home to the most northerly designated “International Dark Sky Park,” the Cairngorms vast landscape has stunning venues for stargazing and astrophotography. The same can be said for a lot of areas in Aberdeenshire and the Highlands too, you just need to find somewhere as dark as possible!
Our top ten tips for stargazing walks:
Ideally pick a clear weather day but a night walk can still be good fun in the rain! Night walks are often good for wildlife too, especially around dusk.
Download an app where you can check when astronomical twilight is (PhotoPills is a good one), then work back on timings for when to start walking!
Download a star gazing app to help you point out the constellations. The apps usually have a constellation guide included.
Try and fit in the “golden hour” to start your walk, if you can get to a vantage point for the sunset then even better. Your sunset photos will look amazing!
Check for celestial events, like meteor showers or planetary alignments and time your trip around them. A full moon is great to see but can reduce the star count.
Wrap up warmly, wear extra layers, duvet jackets etc. Bring a hot drink too.
A roll mat to lie down on really saves neck pain.
If you want those amazing star photos, bring a tripod and SLR type camera, although some phones take great astrophotography shots now too.
Preserve your night vision. Try to keep torches off when static. It will take a good few minutes for your eyes to settle. If you have one, use the red-light function.
Be safe! If you intend on going somewhere remote have the skills to get there and back, darkness can be disorientating! Tell someone where you are going and when you are going to be back.
Hillgoers can help you create an unforgettable experience in the Cairngorms or in one of Scotland’s other dark sky locations. Join one of our planned Dark Skies Walks or get in touch to create a bespoke event.
You can also sign up for our “Last Minute Dark Sky Events.” We will notify those signed up to the waiting list a few days beforehand about an event which has a clear weather / aurora forecast opportunity.
Hillgoers' founder, Garry, is a certified "Star Ranger" and looks forward to sharing his knowledge of the night sky with you on any of our stargazing events!
All of the dark sky photos within this blog have been taken by professional astrophotographer Simon White of WhiteSky Photographics. Based just a few miles from our base in Aberdeenshire, Simon and his wife Jen own a shop / gallery at the Milton of Crathes, well worth a visit. If you are looking for professional astrophotography tuition we can organise this for you. We hope to run astrophotography courses together over the winter too. All of the images featured here and on their website are available as framed prints from their shop. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
