Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park
The Galloway Forest Park in southwest Scotland is the largest forest park in Britain and one of the finest Dark Sky Parks in Europe, a vast area of forest, moorland, lochs and mountains in Dumfries and Galloway whose extreme remoteness from urban light pollution creates conditions for astronomical observation among the darkest in the British Isles. The Gold Tier status awarded by the International Dark-Sky Association recognises the exceptional quality of the night skies over Galloway and the combination of the forest park landscape by day and the star-filled skies by night creates a visitor experience of remarkable variety and quality.
The Galloway Dark Sky Park covers approximately 1,800 square kilometres of the forest park and surrounding land, an area large enough to provide genuinely dark conditions across a wide region rather than at a single isolated site. The observatories and dark sky discovery sites at various points in the park provide interpretation and equipment for astronomers of all levels, and the combination of the interpretation and the excellent sky conditions attracts both serious astronomers and casual stargazers throughout the year.
The Galloway Forest Park by day provides excellent walking, mountain biking and wildlife watching in a landscape of considerable natural quality, the combination of the mature conifer forest, the moorland and the lochs supporting red deer, red kite, otter and a range of upland bird species. The seven lochs of the Raiders Road forest drive provide accessible wildlife watching in a pleasant touring circuit through the heart of the forest.