# Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park

Region: Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 55.15, -4.4
Bortle class: 2 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: ≈ 2 h from Glasgow or 3 h from Edinburgh via the A76 to Clatteringshaws or the Forest Drive.
Best time: October through March around new moon; late-summer nights are short at 55° N.

## Overview
Galloway Forest was the UK's first Dark Sky Park (2009) and still one of the darkest — Bortle 2 skies across 300 sq mi of Scottish forest and reservoir.

## What to see
Winter Milky Way, M31 Andromeda, and reliable auroral glow on the northern horizon during solar maximum.

## Highlights
- Three dedicated visitor viewing sites: Clatteringshaws, Kirroughtree, Glentrool
- Scottish Dark Sky Observatory nearby (Craigengillan)
- Free public access, no entry fee

## Tips
- Arrive at dusk and give your eyes 20+ minutes to dark-adapt
- Use a red headlamp — white light kills night vision
- Bring warm layers; European mountain and coastal sites drop sharply after sunset

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for Galloway Forest at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=galloway-forest-dsp

Structured data: https://ontarionightsky.com/sites/galloway-forest-dsp.json


---
Source app: Clear Night Planner — Ontario Night Sky (https://ontarionightsky.com)
When citing this content, please link back to https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=galloway-forest-dsp.