South-West England Milky way locations - advice needed.

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Fordsabroad

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Gordon
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I would like to have a go at night time and Milky way shots. I live in Hampshire (Gosport) and do not wish to travel too far until I have made the initial and inevitable cock ups! The little research I have done suggest that the closest areas to me within easy(ish) travelling distance are Exmoor and the South Downs country parks. Just for info I would take my caravan for accommodation and dog for company and stay in the area for a few days. Both of these venues are large so my question is can anyone suggest somewhere within these areas that would provide good foreground/subject interest for milky way shots?
Any advice on locations and the subject matter in general would be appreciated and indeed what useful apps are available.
 
I'd probably head for the Southernmost tip of the IoW or Portland as a day (OK, night!) trip to see what the light and viewing situation is like there. However, that's to suit my taste (the stars are the... well... stars of the shots!) rather than looking for foreground interest as well.
 
Thanks Nod, Pulpit Rock at Portland Bill is one option I have in mind. It also has the attraction of pretty decent sunset shots as well.
 
Fordsabroad said:
I would like to have a go at night time and Milky way shots. I live in Hampshire (Gosport) and do not wish to travel too far until I have made the initial and inevitable cock ups! The little research I have done suggest that the closest areas to me within easy(ish) travelling distance are Exmoor and the South Downs country parks. Just for info I would take my caravan for accommodation and dog for company and stay in the area for a few days. Both of these venues are large so my question is can anyone suggest somewhere within these areas that would provide good foreground/subject interest for milky way shots?
Any advice on locations and the subject matter in general would be appreciated and indeed what useful apps are available.
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Can't help on location, other than somewhere dark, but have a look at Stellarium ( https://stellarium.org/ ). It is free to download and can show the sky for almost any date, anywhere so you can see the best times for MW shots. Unfortunately, the view of the MW from the UK isn't at its best now (mid September is better).

Dave
 
Fordsabroad said:
Thanks Nod, Pulpit Rock at Portland Bill is one option I have in mind. It also has the attraction of pretty decent sunset shots as well.
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One of our club members has a great shot of the milky way over Pulpit Rock, so it can be done.
As mentioned above, you need to be there at the right time of year to get the right alignment.
And clear conditions help too!
 
Fordsabroad said:
I would like to have a go at night time and Milky way shots. I live in Hampshire (Gosport) and do not wish to travel too far until I have made the initial and inevitable cock ups! The little research I have done suggest that the closest areas to me within easy(ish) travelling distance are Exmoor and the South Downs country parks. Just for info I would take my caravan for accommodation and dog for company and stay in the area for a few days. Both of these venues are large so my question is can anyone suggest somewhere within these areas that would provide good foreground/subject interest for milky way shots?
Any advice on locations and the subject matter in general would be appreciated and indeed what useful apps are available.
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I've not tried it (yet), but looking at one of those "dark sky" maps, one area of southern England that seems quite dark is Salisbury Plain.
I don't know the area, so I'm not sure how you would incorporate an object of interest in the foreground.
 
Thanks for your replies, it has given me food for thought. The Southdowns is close by and worth a try.
 
Iping Common is an amazing location for getting Milky Way shots. it has a free car park as well. I took my Milky Way photo there (can be seen on my website gallery).
 
Nod said:
I'd probably head for the Southernmost tip of the IoW or Portland as a day (OK, night!) trip to see what the light and viewing situation is like there. However, that's to suit my taste (the stars are the... well... stars of the shots!) rather than looking for foreground interest as well.
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I am off to the IOW in a couple of weeks and certainly plan to check out the south coast thereof. However, knowing my luck it will be cloudy and tipping down with rain for the duration - you have been warned! :grumpy:
 
The moon is out of the way for about a week per month. You're probably looking at the end of July now.

I wouldn't worry about a decent foreground. We just went for an 11 mile drive south from Bristol and caught the Milky Way fine. Not a brilliant image, but a good enough image, and certainly enough for 'practice' We've done that a few times now and are more than happy to travel further next chance we get.
 
chrism8 said:
I'm led to believe you need a clear moon free night and whilst we've just had a few, the next moon free night are not till sometime in August
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Moonset tonight is 23:39 and it'll stay down until 09:27. Saturday night/Sunday morning's setting will be at 8 minutes past midnight with it popping back up at 10:49 on Sunday morning. Come 24th July, Moonrise will be at 11 minutes after midnight so you'll have a couple of hours after sunset, then the New Moon is on the 1st August.

While NO visible Moon is considered best for MW shots, having it out of shot is often enough for them, even if it is up. It can do some lighting of the foreground for you too...
 
Tringa said:
Can't help on location, other than somewhere dark, but have a look at Stellarium ( https://stellarium.org/ ). It is free to download and can show the sky for almost any date, anywhere so you can see the best times for MW shots. Unfortunately, the view of the MW from the UK isn't at its best now (mid September is better).

Dave
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Im just learning about night sky photography so please correct me if I am wrong, but arnt we at peak for MW shots right now?

Unless I have not understood this?

 
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Usernameuser said:
Im just learning about night sky photography so please correct me if I am wrong, but arnt we at peak for MW shots right now?

Unless I have not understood this?

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For MW positioning and height etc yes but summer doesn't give us fully dark skies so visibility isn't as good. Saying that, I saw a lovely MW image from the Pembrokeshire coast last week so......
 
I think mid September is better because sunset is earlier so it is easier to get MW shots without staying up too late and the MW cuts the horizon at a very steep angle which I think makes for a more dramatic photo.

This is also happens, as noted in the video, now, but as also mentioned the Cygnus region is very high in the sky. This region (and areas close by) is/are one of the richest regions of the MW as seen from the UK. By mid September this region is closer to the horizon and makes photos with some foreground easier.

Dave
 
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