Starring role for Shropshire skies
It's official – Shropshire is stargazer friendly. Four sites in the county have been recognised as ideal for astronomers, with an official seal of approval that it is hoped will bring in tourism and protect rural areas from light pollution.
The night sky hot-spots, across Carding Mill Valley and the Long Mynd hill range near Church Stretton, have been awarded "Milky Way"class Dark Sky Discovery Site (DSDS) status. It means that Shropshire now joins areas in Northumberland, South Wales and the Isle of Man as an official mecca for telescope buffs.
It comes nearly a year after the National Trust, which owns all four sites, put a bid in for the designation with support from local astronomers and Shropshire Council.
Emily Knight, visitor experience and conservation manager at Carding Mill Valley said: "This recognition is a great achievement for us. To celebrate we are holding a launch day where visitors can find out more about what they can see in the sky and have a go at stargazing."
The launch day is on Saturday at the Chalet Pavilion tea room. From 12pm visitors will be able to find out more about the night sky, then once it gets dark there will be stargazing until 6.30pm.
The sites that have received the designation include car parks by the tea room in Carding Mill Valley, at the top of the Burway overlooking Townbrook Hollow, near the Shooting Box barrow and at Pole Cottage. All four of the sites on Long Mynd are in the Milky Way class as it is possible to see the Milky Way with the naked eye there.
Any planning applications nearby that might have an impact on the light at the sites would have to take the DSDS status into consideration.
