North Yorkshire village transformed by 'awe-inspiring' dark skies

The stars light up the night sky around South Farm in Hawnby

Residents in a North Yorkshire village now have "incredible views" of the stars thanks to a new dark sky project.

Hawnby is one of the first places in England to alter the outdoor lighting on people's homes and public spaces to reduce light pollution. 

Some of the changes to the lighting include simply pointing existing lights more towards the ground.

Hawnby resident Tom Storra said seeing the stars and constellations above his home was "totally awe-inspiring".

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Mr Storra, who works for Mexborough Estates which manages the land around Hawnby, praised people in the community for getting on board with the idea and helping the village become one of the first in the North Yorkshire Moors - and country - to do so.

"I think there was a bit of nervousness at the start, thinking we were going to be banning light," he said.

"But it's actually about getting the light at the right angle, the right warmth and colour and just on at the right times, so they've been very reassured," he said.

The project is part of the Dark Skies Friendly scheme to reduce light pollution and was first launched by the North York Moors National Park in 2019.

The Milky Way above the Mexborough Estate

Mike Hawtin, the North York Moors National Park's Head of Nature Recovery Projects and Dark Skies lead officer, said the project was not about being "anti-light" but aimed to use light in a "more targeted" way.

"We know much of the local population is passionate about protecting the tranquillity of their area and stopping the march of light pollution, and through the Hawnby project we have learnt so much about the suitable new lighting technology that now exists," he said. To become dark skies friendly under the National Park's scheme communities need to show that at least 60% of exterior lighting is suitable.

The National Park provides templates to allow villages to carry out a mini-audit to assess the lighting and identify where improvements are needed.