Living next to a Dark Sky Park

Northumberland International Dark Sky Park covers Kielder Water and Forest Park and much of Northumberland National Park. It was designated by DarkSky International in 2013.

A designation is a promise about lights

DarkSky International, founded in 1988 as the International Dark-Sky Association, certifies Dark Sky Places: parks, reserves, sanctuaries and communities that keep their outdoor lighting under a management plan and measure their skies.

Kielder Observatory, on Black Fell above Kielder Water, opened in April 2008 and now has tens of thousands of visitors a year. Many of them stay in the farms, cottages and campsites around the park.

What it asks of the neighbours

Nothing is compulsory outside the park boundary. But skyglow travels: a floodlit yard ten miles away shows on the horizon from Black Fell. Shielded, warm, switched-off lights are the cheapest thing a neighbour can do for the park, and they usually cost less to run.

If you run a holiday let or campsite near the park, guests are already coming for the sky. Your lights are part of what they paid for.