Stargazing Experience for Two with Dark Sky Wales
Overview
Discover the magic of the night skies with a Stargazing Experience for Two with Dark Sky Wales. In the surroundings of the Brecon Beacons Observatory, the two of you can explore worlds little-known, with the use of portable telescopes. Astronomers will be on hand to talk you through your experience and to help you to spot the numerous celestial objects. Perfect for anybody with a passion for the art of astronomy or just looking for something a little bit ‘out of this world,’ this is a night you’ll never forget.
- SKU
- PDSWS2
- Locations
- 1 in the UK
- People
- For 2
- Validity
- 12 Months
- Rating
- 4.0 (40)
What's Included
- Experience the magic of stargazing with a lucky partner
- Learn all about the night sky from the expert astronomers at Dark Sky Wales
- Discover the Brecon Beacons Observatory
- Experience gift pack including personalised voucher and message card
What happens on the day?
On arrival at the location, you’ll meet with the Dark Sky Wales staff, who will provide you with an initial briefing of the area and what to expect from the evening.
You'll then be taken to the Brecon Beacons Observatory, where astronomers will use the observatory and assorted portable telescopes to show you numerous celestial objects and be on hand to answer any questions. In the event of bad visibility, you’ll be provided with informative astronomical talks in a warm room located near the observatory.
Participant guidelines
- Under 16s must be accompanied by a full paying adult
- The experience content, equipment used and restrictions may vary
Availability
Your stargazing experience is available throughout the month of July to May. Excluded dates may apply. The start time will vary according to the season but will be between 19.00 and 23.00.
Please note: Your stargazing experience will take place in a group of up to 40 participants.
We recommend you book at least four weeks in advance to ensure that dates are available. All bookings are subject to availability.
Please allow 1 hour 30 minutes for the full experience.
What about insurance?
The centres contracted with us hold public liability insurance. We also hold contingency liability cover. You will not be liable for accidental damage to equipment, except where damage has been caused as a result of recklessness or wilful negligence.
Please ensure you are familiar with the terms and conditions of the experience.
How it works
Customer Reviews
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
Find out what others have to say about this experience
5
Andrew
07/09/2021
Billing
We were unable to have our experience due to the weather, but had first class communications with our provider and it will happen at some time in the future.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Beverly
07/09/2021
So interesting and so much to see
Star gazing. So much to see we didn’t realise.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
V
28/09/2020
Brilliant evening
Had a great couple of hours with Alan and Martin after the initial cloud cover cleared. Saw Saturn, Jupiter and Mars to name just a few. Would recommend to all
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Patrick
27/01/2020
Dark Sky Wales
Sadly it was cloudy and we were unable to see any stars; however Alan gave a presentation instead which was fantastic. His enthusiasm for the subject was fabulous, and what he taalked about was really interesting. Some of the photos he showed taken from the site were literally out of this world, and made us want to return again, hopefully on a cloud-free night.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Barry
24/11/2019
Excellent evening
What an excellent evening - the weather was clear with a great view of the night sky over Brecon. Allans knowledge was very good and his delivery made the who evenings experience great catering for all levels of star gazing ... so much I did not know until pointed out and explained by Allan and augmented by the excellent equipment he had set up to give a detailed view of key aspects. a superb evening I would recommend to everyone.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Brian
24/10/2019
A grand evening out
two hours spent with an astronamer, looking at the stars and galaxies, explaining the dark sky over the Center. His knoledge and enthusiasm was exceptional. Luckily it was cloudless part of the time so he could explain the real sky. A really enjoyable experience.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Teresa
24/10/2019
Wonderful experience
Allan was amazing, so caring, thoughtful and knowledgeable a great experience. Fortunately the sky cleared enough for us to see some of the stary evening. 😊
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Michael
24/10/2019
Amazing !
Amazing knowledge and very welcoming! Thanks for a great evening of exploring the stars.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Pamela and Robert
04/10/2019
Stargazing in the Brecon Beacons
Alan our expert was very knowledgable, entertaining and patient. We learned a lot during our experience and saw things we have only ever seen in photographs. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Wrap up warmly as it can get a bit chilly.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
Find out what others have to say about this experience
5
SteveSas
28/08/2019
Great evening - perfect weather
If we could have chosen the weather, it could not have been better for being outside late in the evening to look at the stars. Great location and this gang of nerdy starmen were very informative and friendly. All in all, very memorable.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Emily
26/08/2019
An excellent evening!
My boyfriend brought us tickets to this Stargazing Experience for Christmas ‘18. We travelled for a few hours (from the Midlands) to get to Wales - and it was so worth it! The weather was clear which meant it was the perfect night to watch the stars; and hearing all about the different constellations and their histories, plus learning info about different planets, etc was all so interesting! The guides were all super friendly and helpful, and we’d definitely recommend this experience!
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Lucia
26/08/2019
What a fantastic night!
Allan and his team were incredible hosts, passionate about astronomy, great story tellers and very professionals. If you are in the area this experience is not to be missed!
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Ash
18/07/2019
Great Experience
Surprised GF with a partial lunar eclipse. Guys there were very polite and knowledgeable. Happy to answer all questions. Would recommend 100%
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Harriet and George
09/07/2019
Fascinating Experience, Would Highly Recommend
We absolutely loved our experience. Allan and Martin would really great leads and answered every question we asked them (even the silly ones). Although, it was a learning experience it was fun too. Would recommend for 'star-nerds' and those who are indifferent because you will walk way in awe.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Alison
29/05/2019
Stars in their Eyes
Highly enjoyable evening delivered by Allan who shared his amazing knowledge and interest in Astronomy.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Karl
28/05/2019
Perfect
This was absolutely brilliant! Bought as a Birthday present for my girlfriend, we both absolutely loved it. It was incredibly interesting and we found what Allan was telling / showing us so fascinating! Thank you ever so much for this wonderful experience!
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Sue Clayton-Drabble
13/05/2019
Stargazing Experience for Two
This was purchased as an "extra" for Christmas and was well worth it! Very informative and learnt a lot in addition. Would highly recommend wrapping up warm though - very chilly but worth it.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Trevor
08/05/2019
Wonderful Tales from Knowledgeable Guides
This was a wonderful experience with two amusing and extremely knowledgeable astronomers. We were fortunate with reasonably clear skies but even when the clouds temporarily appeared they were able to keep us amused with their folklore tales that tied in with the stars. The group was reasonably large but, even so, it was possible to use all the telescopes without waiting for too long. We loved this experience and would recommend it to anyone interested in the night sky.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
Find out what others have to say about this experience
5
Frances Parry
08/04/2019
Extraordinary
Unfortunately the conditions were less than ideal but Martin still had us enthralled by his knowledge of the cosmos. He took us on an amazing journey and we left feeling pretty insignificant in relation to what the skies above hold. It was truly fascinating to hear Martin speak, we were hanging on to his every word. We loved it and would do it again.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
Find out what others have to say about this experience
5
Carol
08/04/2019
Really informative and interesting!
New experience so not really sure what to expect but really good, learnt a lot and amazing viewing stars through telescope. Would go again!
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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5
Mike Coulson
10/02/2019
Dark Skys
A good overview of the night sky - well presented.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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4
Paul
02/02/2020
Dark but very cloudy skies
No stars out tonight but we still enjoyed our late night visit to The Beacons Martin gave a very interesting talk And the meteor samples and moon rock were worth seeing and handling As complete novice stargazers we would have liked some examples of what we might have seen and where to find it at this time of year
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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4
Phil Stephens
01/12/2019
Great!
Very informative and humerous.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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4
John Perrins
25/11/2019
Night sky Wales
The evening was raining so no chance of seeing any stars. Had a lecture from a great guy called Martin Griffiths. Wow...he knows his stuff. Ex NASA employee. Touched parts of a meteor; a piece of Mars and even a piece of the moon. A map where to meet would be useful. And take a torch...very dark from car park to room. Shame we saw no stars but the lecture was awesome.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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4
Stuart
23/11/2019
Stargazing
Unfortunately it was raining so star gazing was out of the question, but the alternative presentation teaching us about the Cosmos and its formation was very interesting and informative. The presenter was very knowledgeable and very good at presenting a complicated subject in an easy and understandable way.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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4
Jane
10/07/2019
I want to do it again please!
Allan and his very knowledgeable team made everyone feel very welcome. At 22.30pm there was too much cloud cover to gaze at stars so we had a lighthearted but interesting talk/slide show. Then we were invited outside as the sky began to sparkle! The main targets for the telescopes were the two planets Jupiter and Saturn with their moons and rings. A fascinating couple of hours. Thank you, Allan. (NB: A couple of chairs might be useful for those less mobile as the lens were rather low for some.)
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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3
Estelle Byrne
14/02/2020
Dark Sky Wales made the best of it
I knew we were taking a big chance by booking this in the middle of February! Still we were hopeful of seeing a wonderful starry night sky, but alas between Storm Ciara and Storm Denis it meant there was too much cloud to see anything much! The Dark Sky guide Martin was very knowledgable though, and led us inside to a classroom where he entertained us with Celtic legends and astrology mixed with astronomy. He also showed us an impressive collection of meteorite samples.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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3
Tracey
02/02/2020
Spoiled by the weather
The booking process was difficult -emails back and forth because booking on the website wasn't possible due to having prepaid via Virgin Experience. Had an email stating 6pm but the session was actually 10pm, luckily I checked the web before leaving. Observing was called off due to it being cloudy, so there was a lecture instead. Not really value for money. Difficult for a lipreader to engage in a PowerPoint presentation with the lights out. The price would have been cheaper to book direct.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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3
Amy
05/01/2020
Good evening
Unfortunately the clouds took over our experience so we were unable to look through the telescopes but Martin did a presentation which was interesting. At the end he handed around objects that he has in his collection and some of them were fascinating. We really enjoyed looking at them and talking about them. We are thinking of booking again but in the summer when hopefully the weather is kind to us.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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3
Anne
23/11/2019
What happens when it rains!
Our Astronomer was very knowledgeable and brought fantastic things for us to see and handle from outer space. However the observatory was inaccessible due to rain and its location and there was no star or telescope in sight. I would have preferred to have more information from the slide show about stars/constellations, even what to look for when buying a telescope as those are the things that made us book such an event. The 'warm room' as described in the directions e mail was freezing.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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3
Graeme Maynard
12/04/2019
Brecon beacons visitor centre 7th April
I would recommend but was a bit disappointed, could have been better organised. We had a great time and would recommend to our friends. Great location, speaker was really knowledgeable and friendly. We were lucky and the weather was ok 50-50 on cloud cover. After the indoor talk we moved outside and the speaker pointed out the consolations and specific stars with a laser pointer which was really good. But there was only one telescope, which we had to wait to be set up after the talk.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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3
Peter Bull
05/03/2019
Dark Skies Wales
Unfortunately on our chosen dates the weather was cloudy, rain and severe wind, and the experience still goes ahead with a talk and slideshow indoors. This was not the experience we wanted and we were extremely disappointed. We therefore felt that it was money not well spent, and we still have not had our star gazing experience. The astronomer Martin Griffiths was very knowledgable and interesting.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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3
M
20/01/2019
Bad weather...
Very nice man who gave a great talk. However was slightly disappointed it wasn’t postponed due to bad weather, so that we could actually see some stars, like we signed up for! Interesting presentation however not value for money.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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2
Gerald Bowen
26/11/2019
Disapponted
As the weather was bad (expected unfortunately) I thought we were going to receive a talk on stargazing/astronomy. This was not the case, although the gentleman was extremely knowledgable and passionate about it, a talk about celtic mythology didn't hold my attention. When I found out he worked at NASA for 5 years with the SETI team, I thought it was a real missed opportunity to give a fascinating talk about that! This is NOT a dig at the lovely gent who took the talk, I was just diappointed.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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2
Keith Jones
24/09/2019
Dark sky
Don’t book it with Virgin, we only found out once we booked it that you still went no matter what the weather. In fairness Allan was very interesting, informative and knowledgable. As it was booked via Virgin he had to go ahead. We managed to get some sights but it soon clouded over. I would definitely book again if the weather was better,so book privately with Allan Trow. It’s not his fault it’s Virgin. They should make it clear about bad weather, you only get a talk.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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2
Marion
31/08/2019
Disappointing
It was a cloudy night, so no chance to get a view of the night sky. So we were packed into a smallish room and given a slide show. This consisted of the night pictures the team had taken when it was clear. This was like rubbing salt into the wound! It was informative, but could’ve been better. We were told that there was a dome observatory on site but were told it was closed, we didn’t get to see it. Best bit of the evening was holding a piece of meteorite that was older than the planet earth!
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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2
Roz
07/05/2019
Don't hold your breath
Luckily we chose a clear night for this so it ticked the 'good visibility box'. Although the organisers were lovely there was far too much story telling about myths and legends rather than real facts about the stars, how they move in the sky, seasonal change, what things mean etc. We hardly looked in the telescopes. We left after 90 mins as I couldn't feel my feet so we will have missed more later. Nice but could have stood in the next door field and got the same view.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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2
Non stargazer
04/03/2019
Underwhelming
I'm sure this would be fabulous experience if the weather conditions were perfect. I appreciate this isn't always the case in Wales but still holding the educational "lecture" during a storm and yellow weather warning was one step too far. The best bit of the lecture was reviewing the night sky as it is at the moment after a question was asked at the end. Refreshments would have also been a thoughtful touch given the price.
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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1
Rich
25/11/2019
Stargazing Experience
We booked onto a stargazing experience but ended up sitting through a 2 hour presentation about welsh folklore as it was cloudy outside. The chap delivering the session worked hard to make the experience worthwhile and was very knowledgeable but this isn't the experience we booked on to, if a stargazing experience is whats advertised then efforts should be made to deliver this, I understand there is little that can be done to combat the weather but we didn't even go into the observatory (flooded).
out of 5 stars
Based on 40 reviews
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1
Jane and Russ
13/08/2019
Disappointing experience
Very disappointing experience. Admittedly a heavily weather dependent activity & the event organiser/host cannot be held responsible for poor conditions for star gazing. Significant cloud cover meant most of experience was indoor with a talk mostly about constellations. Nevertheless there was around 50 people & just 3 telescopes so very limited time/opportunity to view. 2-3 secs of saturn and the moon and that was it. Definitely not worth the money or cost of overnight accommodation.
Locations
Locations shown shouldn't be used for route planning
Wales
- Powys, Wales