Extraordinary EXMOOR
As an International Dark Sky Reserve, the wilds of Exmoor are a wonderful place to turn your eye to the sky. Will Gater gives us a tour
On the northern coast of the West Country, where the rolling hills of West Somerset and North Devon meet, lies Exmoor National Park. A landscape that comprises everything from spectacular cliffs rising up out of the English Channel, to great tracts of windswept moorland and wooded valleys, Exmoor has long been a favourite place for those who love the outdoors and an adventure among picturesque surroundings. But now it’s also becoming famous for the splendour of its night-time skies. The heart of the moor is home to one of the few truly dark-sky areas in the UK, which is why, in 2011, a section of it was designated an International Dark Sky Reserve by the International Dark Sky Association.
To see why Exmoor has attracted the attention of astronomers one only needs to stand under a clear night sky in the core of the reserve. In the summer months the Milky Way is a magnificent sight, its rich star fields easily visible to the naked eye, with an obvious multitude of dark dust lanes winding through the glowing patches of light. In late winter and early spring the phenomenon of the zodiacal light is an easy spot with direct vision too, after the Sun has set. And as for astrophotography, the inky skies offer the chance to push the boundaries of what can be captured, being free from the strong gradients and skyglow associated with imaging the heavens from suburbia.
Searching for the best spots
Out on the moor, a handful of observing sites have been recommended after considering a wide range of requirements, says Dan James of the Exmoor National Park Authority: “As part of the International Dark Sky Reserve application we’d taken light readings at numerous points across the moor, so we knew which were our really dark spots. But sometimes the darkest areas aren’t necessarily the best places to be sending novices
at night because they tend to be extremely remote, extremely wild places,” he says. “So selecting a site meant taking on board the darkness of the sites, but also thinking a bit more practically about where can they pull off the road sensibly and safely; where is there a flat surface; where have they got an unobstructed view of the horizon.”
It’s fairly straightforward to get to Exmoor by car. If you’re travelling from further up the country you’ll want to leave the M5 at Taunton (Junction 25) and head in the direction of Bishop’s Lydeard. From there you can take the B3224 towards Wheddon Cross which will take you right into the heart of the national park and the region’s dark skies. If you have the time and are arriving in daylight, you can take a longer, but picturesque, coastal detour into the park via the A358 and A39. Similarly the drive into Exmoor from Junction 27 of the M5, via Tiverton and the A396, and you’ll find yourself winding through some of the West Country’s most beautiful wooded valleys; this route is also ideal if you want to stop into the town of Dulverton, on the edge of the moor, to pick up supplies.
At Dulverton, as well as in Dunster and Lynmouth in the northeast and northwest of the park, you’ll also find an Exmoor National Park visitor centre too. These centres have plenty of information about local attractions, hiking routes and wildlife, and – most importantly for astronomers – a leaflet that contains a map of the International Dark Sky Reserve and the suggested observing sites.
Homing in on the darkness
If you’re planning to stay in or around Exmoor for an extended stargazing break, there are plenty of hotels, guest houses and B&Bs to choose from. If you want to be really close to the very best dark skies Exmoor has to offer then you should aim to find accommodation close to Exford, Simonsbath or Wheddon Cross; from there you’ll be able to drive out onto the open moorland roads in just a few minutes. But even if you choose to stay on the coast, at Lynmouth or Porlock for example, you’ll only be a 15-minute drive from the darkest skies in the National Park.
Like many rural areas Exmoor has plenty of narrow, winding lanes – some very steep – so it’s
helpful if you are comfortable driving on and navigating this type of road at night.
The hills of Exmoor are generally very exposed too and, at night in winter especially, it can get bitterly cold at many of the best observing sites; warm clothing, sturdy shoes and a warm drink and some snacks are therefore essential on any Exmoor stargazing trip.
For astrophotographers the exposed moorland hills also present another challenge, in the form of breezes and wind that can vibrate an imaging setup and frustrate any autoguiding system you may be using. If you’re planning on doing longer focal length, high-resolution astrophotography from Exmoor, it’s particularly advisable to find a sheltered imaging location. For wide-field work wind vibration is slightly less of an issue, but is always something to bear in mind as a possibility and plan for accordingly; for example, if you have the option, you may want to bring a regular tracking mount with you rather than a lightweight, portable one, as it is likely to be heavier and therefore sturdier.
Although Exmoor’s night skies are generally wonderfully dark, there are a small number of light domes visible from within the National Park. The southern half of the sky has the darkest skies with only a few small light domes low on the horizon – most likely to come from distant towns in Devon – while the northern horizon is affected quite noticeably by the light pollution from South Wales.
By and large, though, observers and imagers alike will find exploring Exmoor’s night skies an absolute thrill. Binocular observing, for example, is a delight under the dark skies there. In the summer, especially, hours can be lost scanning the numerous bright nebulae and open star
“Observers and imagers alike will find exploring Exmoor's night skies an absolute thrill"
clusters in and around Sagittarius, Scutum and Serpens. And if you have a telescope with you, bright objects like the Orion Nebula (in winter) and the Lagoon Nebula (in summer) become truly breathtaking sights that just jump out against the inky black. You needn’t worry if you don’t have a telescope to bring with you either. At some of the park’s visitor centres it’s possible to hire a small Dobsonian telescope.
If you do get out onto the moor to observe or image don’t be surprised to find other stargazers and astrophotographers there – even in relatively remote spots; the increase in interest in Exmoor’s dark skies in recent years has been dramatic.
“Until we started this journey there wasn’t a lot of talk about the dark skies, whereas now it’s almost weekly,” says James. “It’s on people’s minds and we’re now much more proactive at thinking ‘okay, how can we not only protect these dark skies, but also encourage other people to enjoy them’.”
With talk of Exmoor potentially getting an observatory in the future too, there could be yet more astronomers making tracks for the moor to see what all the fuss is about. Perhaps, one day, you’ll be one of them.