Over the years, we’ve worked alongside some incredibly talented astrophotographers who have shared their knowledge, passion, and stunning images with us. The magic of the night sky, combined with the breath-taking beauty of the Yorkshire Dales, has made for some picture-perfect skies. From the Milky Way stretching across the Ribblehead Viaduct to comets shooting over Bolton Castle. These photographers have captured moments that leave us in awe. We hope their images with descriptions in their own word will inspire you.
If you would like to see some of these sights with your own eyes, our Dark Skies Festival (its 10th anniversary!!) creates fantastic opportunities to get under the stars and learn more about our night sky. Events are held by local businesses all across the Yorkshire Dales National Park and offer unique ways to enjoy the night sky – canoeing under the stars and night hikes to astronomy suppers with expert astronomers.
Living in the North-West of England, the Yorkshire Dales offers what many areas fall short on: large expanses of unpolluted night sky. This, combined with dramatic features such as the limestone pavements, rolling hills and interesting architecture, makes a great recipe for photography. Night-time photography is made hugely more likeable by the mystery of what you’re going to capture each time you head out, and for all the ideal conditions to line up in itself is already a success.
When capturing this photograph (1) I was solely focused on maintaining symmetry. The silhouetted edges lead you to the centred, lone tree paired below with its own reflection and above with the aligned stars.
1. Winterburn, copyright Matthew Savage
This capture (2) shows one of the more dominant, man-made structures in the North of England clashing with the natural beauty of the night sky. Both giants almost align in the sky providing the photograph with a strong, main focal point. The arches of the viaduct also lead out of frame whilst the far away light pollution leaks into the sky; this aspect of the photograph provides a strong entry or exit to the scene.
2. Ribblehead, copyright Matthew Savage
Paul Clark
This image called ‘Vanlife’ (1) encapsulates the reasons why I love night time photography. High up in a secluded location above Swaledale. Cosy. Underneath an immense, almost fathomless and serene night sky. A friend put it simply – ‘would love to be there’!
1. Vanlife, copyright Paul Clark
Perched high above Gunnerside at Merryfield Top is the Stone Breaker (2), a rusting relic of the lead mining industry. Yorkshire’s lunar rover sits on a barren ‘regolith’ of mining spoil. An amazing display of the Aurora Borealis – Northern Lights – last May, lit up the sky and landscape. Fantastic!
2. Stone Breaker, copyright Paul Clark
Moonlight illuminates Old Gang Smelt Mill and beck (3). Abandoned in the late 1800s, this ruin and surrounding area reminds us of the very hard times in the past. Above the rotation of the earth is shown with about 2 hours of the stars ‘circling’ the pole star. Spectacular!
3. Moonlit Cosmos, copyright Paul Clark
Pete Collins
I’ve had a lifelong interest in astronomy and love the landscapes of the Dales, so it seemed only natural to put the two together. Being a bit more of an astronomer than a photographer, I pretty much know what’s going to be in the night sky at the time of year and time of night. It’s then a question of identifying a scenic foreground lying in the same direction as whatever I want to capture in the sky, like the Milky Way, constellation of Orion, or the planets.
My favourite Dales nightscape to date (1), and my favourite location, I planned this shot for when the waxing crescent Moon was rising, just out of shot on the left, which lit up the viaduct nicely. Bright moonlight is good for lighting up landscapes, but washes out the sky so far less stars are visible. In this image, Pen-y-ghent is on the far left and planet Mars is over Park Fell.
1. Ribblehead Viaduct, copyright Pete Collins
This image (2) shows that even in Dales villages and smaller towns close by, you are likely to see far more stars than you can in countryside close to large conurbations. In this scene, there was a big difference in brightness between the foreground and the sky, so, unlike most of my images, this was a composite of two shots blended together – a long exposure for the sky, and a much shorter one for the foreground. The Milky Way is just about visible.
2. Sleepless night in Settle, copyright Pete Collins
Being out in the countryside on my own, in the middle of the night, just me and the Milky Way, is quite a spiritual experience (3). It makes me feel very insignificant against the immensity of the universe.
3. Beam me up! Kingsdale, copyright Pete Collins
This image (4) sums up what I love about nightscape photography in the Yorkshire Dales – a combination of beautiful landscapes and nice dark skies.
Orion and the Lone Tree, Twistleton Scar, copyright Pete Collins
As for the night sky, I find it so much more interesting and awe inspiring when you know what you’re looking at. The little blob on some of my photos is M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. At 2.5 million light years away, the farthest you can see by naked eye, it is bigger than our own Milky Way galaxy and home to a trillion stars. The Pleiades / Seven Sisters star cluster is quite young at about 100 million years and about 440 light years away, so their light, which we now see, left them when Galileo was a teenager. The red supergiant Betelgeuse, top left star in the constellation of Orion, could go supernova at any time in the next few hundred thousand years. When it does, it will be as bright as the full Moon and visible in daytime.
Ben Bush
I love night-time photography and feel Yorkshire has some of the best dark skies in the country. I visit often from my home in the Lake District and find new places to visit or locations to shoot every time. Be it Ribblehead Viaduct under the Galactic Core or the beautiful reflections, skies and calm of Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire is top of my list for a place to go and capture the stars.
Deep in the beautiful valley of Mallerstang lies Pendragon Castle (1). This beautiful ruin lies in a truly dark bit of Yorkshire. Here I was trying to capture the Milky Way arching across the sky while also capturing the ruin. Cassiopeia and the Double cluster are clear to see and it’s such an amazing location for some stargazing before heading further into the Dales and more beautiful sights.
1. Pendragon Castle, Mallerstang, copyright Ben Bush
Here you can see the beautiful ruin of Bolton Abbey (2) under a sky full of stars. It’s always such a special place to visit and, for me, at night is the best. I love the dark skies of Yorkshire and the multitude of amazing locations where I can spend time in the landscape, capturing it with a blanket of stars above. Bolton Abbey is a great place to come and have a go at astrophotography. The beautiful river and striking abbey allows for nice reflections and silhouettes while capturing the heavens above.
2. Bolton Abbey, copyright Ben Bush
A truly iconic Yorkshire view, the stunning Malham Cove (3). This is a place I love to visit at night to take photographs. The amazingly dark skies above and the beautiful landscape of the Yorkshire Dales allow an almost limitless amount of places to visit to capture beautiful photos of the night sky. Here you can see Malham Cove under a sky full of stars. In the sky, the Milky Way arches downwards, and just above the Cove you can see the constellation of Cassiopeia and the Double Cluster. A beautiful way to spend the night.
3. Malham Cove, copyright Ben Bush
James Allinson
A night of the Perseids over Thornton Steward Reservoir (1). When out on location at night I particularly enjoy how peaceful and calm everything is, I find it gives me time to slow down and relax. I enjoy looking at the back of the camera and seeing all the details it captures that are otherwise not easily visible to the human eye, including the tail of the Comet or the definition in the Milky Way.
1. A night of the Perseids, copyright James Allinson
2. I like how, when faced with the vastness of the night sky, it can put everything into perspective and make the problems of day to day life seem so insignificant.
2. copyright James Allinson
August’s ‘Sturgeon’ Moon rising over Wensleydale at Whipperdale Bank (3). I spent a few hours scouring the maps to find a suitable location to shoot the moonrise, until I eventually came across this straight 1km stretch of road that perfectly aligned with the rising moon.
3. August’s ‘Sturgeon’ Moon, copyright James Allinson
Comet NOEWISE drifting across the night sky over Bolton Castle (4). This is one of my favourite night sky images because I was able to plan and shoot this rare occurrence successfully, within a small window of clear skies!
4. Comet NOEWISE over Bolton Castle, copyright James Allinson
Astrophotography is a magical way to enjoy the wonders of the night sky. So, why not join a workshop or stargazing event for some top tips and advice on how to snap the night sky for yourself. As part of our Dark Skies Festival (14 Feb to 2 March) we have a number of astrophotograpy events you can book onto where you can learn how to take photos in the dark.
These images are taken by professionals and require a lot of skill and patience… but if you’re looking to start out it’s amazing what you can capture just from your phone!
