Last Minute Dark Sky Events

‘The Cairngorms National Park has vast areas of low light pollution and amazing vantage points, making it one of the best places in the world for stargazing’

Tuesday 7th November is looking just now like a good day for star gazing! Meet in the Ballater main car park for 6pm, pick available along Deeside. Full meet up details will be sent out after purchase.

Sign up on the waiting list above to join us for a last minute / good weather forecast adventure to hopefully see an amazing sunset, a starry night, and if we’re lucky: perhaps the aurora! This is not a booking for a specific date, instead if we see a good weather opportunity coming up, we will release 8 places on here and notify you if you have signed up. You can then return to this page and book and pay for a place, subject to availability.

Our star gazing events can be held anywhere with low light pollution and will typically involve a relaxed walk up a hill. The Cairngorms National Park has vast areas of low light pollution and amazing vantage points, making it one of the best places in the world for stargazing. Our minibus can pick up from Banchory, Aboyne and Ballater and transport you to the walk location.

Your Mountain Leader for this trip (Garry) has completed a “Star Ranger” course and will be delighted to pass on some knowledge of the night sky. He has also spent many days in the area and can pass on his local history and nature knowledge. Twilight is an excellent time to observe wildlife too.

Please note, if the weather forecast changes and we have agreed the date, the walk will still go ahead.

This is a Level 1 walk, for more information on walk grading click here.

Meet Time, Location and Estimated Walk Duration

Agreed before the event. The walk will start in the golden hour, the period just before sunset.

This trip duration is expected to be around 4-5 hours depending on the weather. If the display is good, or an Aurora is on we might want to stay longer!

Distance – approximately 8km, total ascent – 300m at a relaxed pace for photos.

Joining Details & Kit

Joining details, participation forms and kit lists will be sent out before the walk.

Please have a look in our shop, we can post or deliver items to you at the event. All participants receive a 15% discount on goods (except gift vouchers, sale items and books).

Limited to 8 participants.

Please contact us for any additional information.

Terms and Conditions apply.