Galloway Forest Park

The park covers around seven hundred and seventy square kilometres of conifer plantation, moor and hill in southwest Scotland, rising to Merrick at 843 metres, the highest point in southern Scotland. In 2009 it became the first Dark Sky Park in Britain and one of the first in the world, certified by the International Dark-Sky Association: the sky quality readings here are among the darkest measured in Europe, the Milky Way is plainly visible without optical aid, and on the best nights several thousand stars can be counted. The remoteness that gives the darkness also gives it wild goats, red deer and one of Britain's few populations of red squirrels in the south. Bruce's Stone at Glen Trool marks a fourteenth-century skirmish. Loch Trool and Clatteringshaws Loch are the main visitor points.

What you actually see

• The dark sky - among the darkest measured in Europe, Milky Way visible unaided.
• Merrick - southern Scotland's highest hill at 843 metres.
• The wild goats - a feral herd ranging the forest and hill.
• Loch Trool - a glacial loch with the Bruce's Stone viewpoint above it.

When to go

October to March for stargazing, when nights are long and the moon phase matters more than the season; the sky is best around new moon. April to October for walking and cycling, when midges are the main complaint.

Honest expectations

Cloud cover in southwest Scotland is high and many nights are unusable. The park is remote with no lighting, poor phone signal and long distances between facilities. Much of the forest is commercial plantation with felling operations closing roads and trails.

Nearby

Newton Stewart and Wigtown are south; the Galloway coast lies beyond.