England’s north stars
When it comes to seeing stars, there are few places as stellar as Northumberland, the location of England’s only International Dark Sky Park and, now, home to the first hotel in the UK with its own observatory. Newly built at Battlesteads hotel, an 18th-century farmstead in the picturesque village of Wark on Tyne, the facility offers state-of-the-art telescopes for stargazers, whatever their astronomical knowledge. Though it’s open to the public, guests at the hotel’s five new eco-lodges have exclusive access during the night, and can gaze up at the area’s clear, constellation-dusted skies any time they want. For a bit of help making sense of it all – from spotting the basics to aurora hunting – there’s a programme of talks and workshops with an astronomer.
10 A starlit sky above Sycamore Gap in Northumberland National Park