Elan Valley brings hundreds of people together to celebrate dark skies in the first Elan Dark Sky Festival
Elan Valley brings hundreds of people together to celebrate dark skies in the first Elan Dark Sky Festival
Hundreds of residents and visitors flocked to Elan Valley and Rhayader to experience one of the best stargazing sites in the world recently.
The Elan Valley Trust hosted the first ever Elan Dark Sky Festival, with two nights and a day of activities relating to dark skies, including astrophotography, expert talks, stargazing opportunities, crafts and much more.
Some of the highlights of the event included artist Zoe Matthews held lantern making workshops with the Llanidloes Cubs and Scouts and other local residents at the Lost Arc on Saturday day.
In the evening, over 100 people gathered in the Elan Valley and paraded their lanterns underneath Caban Coch dam, accompanied by the Aberystwyth samba band.
They also hosted two wildlife walks with local experts Sorcha Lewis, Hazel Lee, Janice Vincett and Hsin-Jung Lu, where audiences were invited to step out in the dark to hear birds and bats, and learn about other nocturnal creatures who benefit from the dark sky.
On Friday night Holly Blackshaw and Toby Hay performed an acoustic set in Nantgwyllt Church, which was lit by lanterns, candles and fairylights.
Storyteller and harpist Mair Tomos Ifans held an outdoor storytelling event under the moon on Saturday night, sharing stories from Welsh and other European traditions relating to the moon, the stars and the night sky.
The Elan Valley Trust Dark Sky team held three sell-out planetarium shows at Community Arts Rhayader And District in Rhayader, where audiences of all ages, the youngest audience member was just one year old, could enjoy the night sky and learn about the solar system, constellations and myths.
Alongside all of this was an open day at the Elan Valley Visitor Centre, where visitors could take part in solar observation with First Light Optics, build a puff powered rocket with Mid Wales Astronomy, make your own stone circle to line up with the solstice, paint a glass lantern and find out about New Zealand’s night sky via a livestream talk with Gareth Davies, renowned astronomer.
The event was organised by the Elan Valley Trust, with partial funding from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, supported by Powys County Council.
The event is supported by partners Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Tŷ Penbont, Lost Arc and CARAD.
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.