A tawny owl screeches nearby in the dark and\u00a0her mate replies, hooting eerily from the forest below. A white dome floats in the gloaming above a plain black doorway outlined with red light, like a portal to another dimension. I\u2019m in Grizedale Forest, far from any light-polluting cities, to visit the Lake District\u2019s first public observatory and planetarium, which opened in May.<\/p>\n
The Guardian\u2019s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.\u00a0Learn more<\/a>.<\/p>\n Grizedale Observatory<\/a> offers immersive films in the planetarium and three-hour stargazing events that go on late into the night. There are sessions on astrophotography and, on moonless nights, dark sky astronomy with the chance to see \u201ca glittering tapestry of stars, galaxies, nebulae and star clusters\u201d. Its director, Gary Fildes, is a veteran in the field, having founded and led three UK observatories over two decades. The goal at Grizedale, he\u00a0says, is to create \u201can immersive, year-round astronomy and science destination that brings the beauty of\u00a0the Lake District skies to visitors\u201d.<\/p>\n The observatory\u2019s regular evenings form part of Cumbria\u2019s annual dark skies festival<\/a> in late October and November. The festival offers owl- and\u00a0bat-spotting walks and chances to\u00a0swim or canoe after dark<\/a>. But the observatory does more than dip a toe in the cosmic lake \u2013 it\u2019s a permanent centre for studying the stars. A group of 60 schoolkids is arriving in the morning.<\/p>\n I\u2019m here for an Aurora Night, timed to coincide with a period of high solar activity, but the heavens are stubbornly blanketed with cloud. The\u00a0first drops of rain are falling as we\u00a0head into Mission Control, with its\u00a0little cafe tables,hand-painted otherworldly mural, inflatable alien and row of model rockets, built to scale by the observatory\u2019s manager, Ben Marshall, a spaceflight obsessive.<\/p>\n Robert Bryce Muir\u2019s warrior sculpture in Grizedale Forest. Photograph: Stan Pritchard\/Alamy<\/p>\n A couple of hours later, we\u2019re all staring up in wonder at a bejewelled night sky with shooting stars \u2013 thanks to the centre\u2019s planetarium. An illustrated talk about auroras in the Stargazers\u2019 Lounge combines detailed explanations with a sense of cosmic wonder. In the Meteorite Lab next door, there are microscopes and little space rocks \u2013 including actual pieces of the moon and Mars.<\/p>\n After hot drinks in Mission Control, Gary leads us through torrential rain to the new cedar-smelling observatory he helped build. He shows us extraordinary photos of the spiralling Andromeda galaxy and the dark Horsehead nebula, silhouetted against a glowing red dust and gas cloud, all taken by the robotic telescope in the retractable custom-built dome. For nights when the weather won\u2019t cooperate, Grizedale gives out a free clear-sky pass so visitors can come back and stargaze another time.<\/p>\n For me, astronomy isn\u2019t just about science and telescopes. It\u2019s about people, and realising that we\u2019re all part of something far bigger<\/p>\n The observatory\u2019s team are clearly enthusiasts. Gary has been fascinated by the night sky \u201cever since I was a kid growing up in Sunderland, standing in\u00a0the back garden and looking up, wondering what all those stars were\u201d. His life story is remarkable. He tells me: \u201cI was a bricklayer for years, but that curiosity about the universe never really went away. Eventually, I decided to take a massive leap and follow that passion properly \u2013 and it changed my life. I built Kielder Observatory<\/a> in Northumberland from scratch, then Grassholme Observatory<\/a> in Teesdale, and now I\u2019m working in Saudi Arabia developing the Al-Ula Manara Space Observatory, one of the most exciting astronomy projects in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Gary describes how one observatory visitor wept when she first saw Saturn through a telescope, explaining that her father used to draw planets in a wartime air raid shelter and ringed Saturn was her favourite. \u201cFor me, astronomy isn\u2019t just about science and telescopes,\u201d says Gary. \u201cIt\u2019s about people. It\u2019s about perspective, wonder, and realising that we\u2019re all part of something far bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hawkshead valley looking towards the Old Man of Coniston and Tarn Hows. Photograph: Martin Bache\/Alamy<\/p>\n No buses run to Grizedale Forest, but getting here without a car has been surprisingly easy. After an early start from Essex into London, the train up to Oxenholme takes less than three hours, racing past the Chilterns woods and Midlands canals to the cloud-capped Cumbrian fells. The branch line to Windermere is a 20-minute ride through tussocky fields of Herdwick sheep and slate-roofed, whitewashed villages. Finally, bus 505 from outside Windermere station loops round the lake and winds through hilly beech woods to reach the village of Hawkshead by lunchtime.<\/p>\n On a nocturnal trip to the loo, up a leaf-covered slope, I see a handful of stars finally winking through a gap in the clouds<\/p>\n There are various ways of getting from Hawkshead to the observatory, about 3 miles south: by bike<\/a>, taxi<\/a> or\u00a0on foot. I decide to walk there over the fells near Esthwaite Water<\/a> and back via Hawkshead Moor. There are streams to hop and boggy hills to climb, but the views are worth it. Home to the UK\u2019s first forest sculpture park<\/a>, Grizedale has a huge collection of site-specific art. With a map of the walking trails<\/a>, I\u00a0follow one waterlogged path to see Andy Goldsworthy\u2019s sinuous dry-stone wall, Taking a Wall for a Walk<\/a>. Created in 1990, it\u2019s dressed in thick moss and hidden among dense fir trees. There\u2019s no sound other than rushing water and the calls of tiny, pine-loving goldcrests.<\/p>\n Forestry England lets out a little cabin<\/a> next door to the observatory, and I\u2019m sleeping there tonight. It\u2019s a\u00a0real log cabin, immaculately clean, with walls of thick pine trunks, tartan wool curtains and furry blankets. Umbrellas stand by the cabin door, on hand for the changeable Cumbrian weather. On a nocturnal trip to the loo, up a leaf-covered slope, I see a handful of stars finally winking through a gap in the clouds.<\/p>\n Heading back towards Hawkshead the next day, I find one of Grizedale\u2019s newer works of art. On a grassy promontory between two waterfalls, Saad Qureshi\u2019s Flight<\/a> (2021) involves what looks like stained glass on steel filigree, creating iridescent dragonfly wings. Overnight rain has made the tumbling becks spectacular. Robert Bryce Muir\u2019s powerful metal warriors<\/a> struggle, roped together, in the trees nearby. Squelching through fields, I\u00a0detour to Esthwaite, Hawkshead\u2019s wildlife-rich lake. Redwings startle from berry-laden bushes and a cormorant skims over the water. Two swans fly overhead, their whirring wings loud in the quiet valley.<\/p>\n A presentation on constellations inside the planetarium<\/p>\n I\u2019m staying tonight in the cosy, 17th-century King\u2019s Arms<\/a>, which reopened in August after an exquisitely tasteful refurb. My room, with its gnarled oak beams and cushioned bay window overlooking the village square, is all dusky rose and moss green, with elegant watercolours and floral fabrics. Downstairs, there\u2019s a log-burner and local real ales in the slate-floored bar, and elegant plates in the dining room (the jalape\u00f1o jam alongside my onion bhaji is garnished with a purple pansy).<\/p>\n With its choice of pubs and cafes, picnic-ready delis, a well-stocked outdoor shop and a cake-filled honesty stall, fell-ringed Hawkshead is a walkers\u2019 paradise. The former Beatrix Potter gallery (which was once her husband\u2019s office) reopened in August as the National Trust\u2019s first stand-alone secondhand bookshop<\/a>. There\u2019s a craft fair in the village hall and local ghost walks<\/a> (\u00a38 adults, \u00a36 under-12s, usually on Wednesdays and Sundays).<\/p>\n The original Grasmere Gingerbread<\/a> shop started in the mid-19th century, next to the quiet riverside churchyard where William Wordsworth lies buried. Now, 170 years later, a sister shop<\/a> has appeared on Hawkshead\u2019s pretty village square. There\u2019s a plan to produce star-shaped cakes in support of the observatory. I stock up with chutneys from Hawkshead Relish<\/a> and fresh gingerbread to take home tomorrow. Above the square, the cloudy skies are clearing and the stars are coming out.<\/p>\n Entrance to Grizedale Observatory<\/a> is \u00a313 adults, \u00a38 concessions, \u00a335 families; three-hour stargazing is \u00a330 adults, \u00a325 concessions, \u00a389 families. Accommodation was provided by the King\u2019s Arms<\/a> in Hawkshead (doubles from \u00a3112.50) and the Cabin in Grizedale (from \u00a3117 a night, airbnb.co.uk<\/a>). Transport was provided by Avanti West Coast<\/a> (London to Oxenholme from about \u00a335 one-way) and Stagecoach<\/a>. Further information at visitlakedistrict.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tawny owl screeches nearby in the dark and\u00a0her mate replies, hooting eerily from the forest below. 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