Stargazing in Caithness
Caithness (and the northern Highlands of Scotland in general) is lucky enough to have many dark areas, where little in the way of light pollution allows the true beauty of the night sky to be enjoyed in all its glory.
No matter where you are in the county you don't have to travel far to get to a dark location. This page will be developed to include details of popular stargazing locations in the area. Please come back again at a future date to see new details as they are added.
If you want a selection of good stargazing locations in the northern Highlands have a look at the map and information leaflet in the Library section. A printable pdf of this leaflet can be downloaded on the North Highlands website here.
Caithness Astronomy Group regularly hold events at the designated Dark Sky Discovery Site at Castlehill. This spot is easily accessible and is located 0.7km from the centre of the village of Castletown.
Caithness & Sutherland are fast becoming recognised as wonderful places for stargazing and catching sight of the Northern Lights.
A small selection of Caithness Astronomy Group members images of the night sky have been compiled into a short video by one of our members - well known astrophotographer Maciej Winiarczyk......
This gives an idea of the wonderful views that can be enjoyed from our corner of the country, and the sort of images that can be obtained with basic equipment and a little bit of know-how.
Caithness and Sutherland has plenty to offer visitors keen on experiencing the dark unpolluted skies in the area. Check out the weblinks below for ideas of what to do during the daytime, or if the skies are cloudy, or the northern lights don't make an appearance.
