STARGAZING IN SCOTLAND

WHILE the dark nights last, make the most of them by learning to stargaze with a new guide created by Visit Scotland. Aimed at families, A Stargazer’s Guide to Scotland’s Dark Skies includes guides, videos, activities and quizzes to check your knowledge.

Scotland itself is home to several great stargazing spots, if you’re planning to pack your telescope later in the year. Galloway Forest Park was the UK’s first Dark Sky Park, where you can spot over 7,000 stars by night, or Tomintoul and Glenlivet in the Cairngorms is the most northerly Dark Sky Park in the world.

Venture off the mainland to the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and you could also discover one of Scotland’s earliest astronomical observatories, the Calanais Standing Stones, while Shetland and Orkney are great if you’re hoping to see the Northern Lights. Download the guide at static. visitscotland.com/pdf/gardenastronomy-for-kids.pdf