Itinerary Planner

Dark Skies Weekend | Two Nights of Stars in the Elan Valley and Cambrian Mountains

A two-night stargazing weekend based in the Elan Valley near Rhayader, one of the darkest places in Britain. Walk by day, look up by night, and plan your dates around the new moon for the darkest skies. Autumn and winter are the best seasons, with long nights and often clear, cold skies.

Friday: arrive and get your bearings

Arrive in Rhayader in daylight if you can, and settle into somewhere with no lights around it. There are self-catering lodges and glamping pods just outside Rhayader with very little light around. On your first clear evening, step outside after dark, give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust and use a red torch.

Saturday: the Elan Valley by day and night

Spend the morning in the Elan Valley. Cwm Elan, the Elan Valley Visitor Centre, has maps and a cafe, and the paths around the reservoirs are good for a walk before lunch. At 2pm in winter, watch the red kite feeding at Gigrin Farm near Rhayader. After dinner, drive back up the valley to one of the reservoir car parks. The Elan Valley is an International Dark Sky Park, and on a moonless night the Milky Way stretches overhead.

Sunday: guided stars or an observatory

For a guided session, Serydda runs stargazing experiences and night photography workshops near Tregaron in Ceredigion, west of the Cambrian Mountains, and Y Talbot in Tregaron has rooms and food if you'd rather stay west.

What you might see

In autumn, look for the Andromeda Galaxy high overhead, and the Orionid (around 21 October) and Leonid (around 17 November) meteor showers. In winter, Orion, the Pleiades and the Geminid meteor shower (13 to 14 December) are the highlights.

Where to stay

Choose somewhere away from street lights, with a garden or field you can step out into. Around Rhayader, Clyn Cottages sits in the Elan Valley itself, Nannerth Country Holidays has farm cottages in the Wye valley, and Graig Fawr Wildastay is a dog-friendly barn for two in the Cambrian Mountains near Beulah. Cottages with a wood burner are worth it for warming up after a long session outside.

Good to know

Bring warm layers, a hat, a flask and something to sit on. Check the forecast and the moon phase before you book, and keep to car parks and paths after dark.