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Andrew Griffiths, MP for Arundel and South Downs, cast his eyes to the dark skies over Bignor on a night walk across the South Downs.

Led by Richard and Kirstie Betts of the award-winning West Sussex adventure firm Pied A Tierre Adventures, the walk took place as part of this year’s Dark Skies Festival, which aims to celebrate the beauty of the South Downs by night.

The South Downs became the world’s newest international Dark Skies reserve back in May 2016, and the festival features a host of nocturnal events, including wildlife walks and stargazing parties.

It took place in the South Downs from February 4 to 17, with concurrent events taking place in the Yorkshire Dales and Wales. Further events are scheduled in Northumberland, Exmoor, Cumbria and other parts of the UK as the year continues.

The walk took place on Bignor Place, a Dark Skies discovery site on Slindon Estate - an officially recognised place for some of the best views of the night sky, but less-than-ideal viewing conditions meant the sights weren’t what they could have been.

“It was great to get out on the South Downs at night where (usually) we have some of the best views of the night skies. I recommend to anyone to try it. I am passionate about protecting our dark skies so that future generations may still be able to see the stars and the Milky Way - something that is already impossible in many parts of West Sussex.

“The extremely foggy evening meant that the only extra-terrestrial object we saw looming out of the darkness was an ITV camera crew!”

In 2020, Mr Griffiths founded the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dark Skies in a bid to protect the night sky from further pollution. Since then, the group has consulted on a range of Dark Sky reservation projects designed to identify threats, and devise actionable plans to prevent further pollution. It has attracted the attention of academics, national parks, astronomers and engineers who, together, provided input to a report on ten dark sky policies for the government.

To find out more about the Dark Skies Festival, visit www.darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk

MP experiences the South Downs at night as part of Dark Skies Festival

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