This week, we've been very fortunate to have seen the Aurora dancing across our skies again. Best seen in the winter month due to the longer period of darkness, it usually looks green, but intensifies to a red glow if the sun burst hitting earth's magnetic field is sizeable - as happened this week.
We are very lucky to not only live in the North where we have a greater chance of seeing the Northern Lights than in the south of England, but also to have incredibly dark skies here. Granted, there is a small amount of light pollution over the smaller towns, but nothing compared to the cities which blocks out all but the brightest stars.
Out here in the countryside, we enjoy very low levels of light pollution and excellent visibility of the stars and constellations in the night sky. This makes it perfect for stargazing and night sky photography alike. Last year, one of our guests booked a week's stay with us especially during a new moon phase, so he could maximise his chances of photographing the Milky Way. I am happy to report he succeeded!
These are the favourite viewing and photography spots of some of our friends and guests:
Castlerigg Stone Circle, nr Keswick
Beloved by photographers aligning the standing stones with the Milky Way, it also proved to be a great foreground to the Northern lights this week.
Photo credit: Gosia Nienczura
The Solway Coast
Photographing the night sky on the coast is not as daft as it sounds - facing the Solway you will look north towards Scotland, which is great for midsummer sunsets, and of course catching the Aurora. People have reported success from anywhere between Maryport and Silloth. The dune landscape between these two places, along the coast, can give a lovely eerie foreground to any night sky shots.
Photo credit: Lorraine Degraff
Bassenthwaite Lake or Derwent Water, looking north
If it's a still night, you might get lucky seeing not only the stars above, but also the reflections in the water.
photo credit; Hannah Beddoe
The fells above Buttermere and Crummock Water
Sometimes spending the night on the fells is the price worth paying to see the stars and the Milky Way rising over the lake.
Photo credit: Paul Byers
Just outside Penny End, Mosser
Sometimes, just sometimes, I capture something worth sharing - this one taken from just 50 yards up the road (to be out of the 'light pollution' of our singular street light) - a lovely constellation between Jupiter, Venus and the crescent Moon.
Sadly, my own photography skills are sorely lacking, but this is certainly a good incentive to get a decent camera and learn how to capture these beautiful spectacles. And if your camera skills, like mine, are not up to scratch (yet), then just raise your eyes to the sky and commit what you can to your memory bank. It's certainly a huge difference from seeing only the brightest stars in the city night sky!
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