The 16-inch reflector
In the north dome, on a mount that finds and follows anything you name. Galaxies, faint nebulae, and star clusters broken into thousands of points.
Dark-sky observatory and lodge, Northumberland
Umbra Fell
Two telescope domes and a six-room lodge high on a Northumberland fell, nineteen miles past the last streetlight.
17:15
Night is the shadow the fell is named for
An umbra is the darkest part of a shadow, and night is the Earth's own. Up here, with no town for miles, you see what it holds.
18:30
Fully dark
A night here starts in daylight. You arrive by six, eat supper at one long table, and hear what the sky is doing tonight. By half past six the Milky Way is overhead.
21:00
Lights go red
White light goes off from the lodge to the domes. Red torches, red path lights, phone screens on night mode.
21:20
Twenty minutes
That is how long your eyes take to adjust. Then the faint stars arrive, and the Milky Way is simply there, from one side of the fell to the other.
22:00. Two domes, three telescopes
The 6-inch refractor
In the south dome. Sharp, steady views of the Moon, the planets and coloured double stars. The one children ask to go back to.
Big binoculars on the terrace
25 by 100 binoculars on a balanced arm, for the wide things a telescope crops: the Pleiades, the Double Cluster, the star clouds of the Milky Way.
Your own eyes, and a guide
Every night starts with no equipment at all: twenty minutes for your eyes to adjust, then a tour of the sky by red torch. Two concrete piers with power wait for anyone bringing their own telescope.
What you will see, season by season
September to January
Andromeda Galaxy
Two and a half million light years off, and a smudge you can see with your own eyes from the terrace.
Autumn evenings, 2026
Saturn
The rings and the moon Titan in the 6-inch refractor. The planets move year to year; we post each season's.
October to March
The Pleiades
The Seven Sisters. Most people count six with their eyes, and over a hundred in the big binoculars.
December to March
Orion Nebula
A nursery of new stars in Orion's sword. Grey-green to the eye in the 16-inch, with four young stars at its heart.
Every month
The Moon
Deep-sky nights are booked away from full Moon. Moon nights are their own thing: craters at the edge of the shadow.
Mid-May to July: no observing
Midsummer
This far north the sky never gets fully dark in midsummer. The lodge stays open for walkers.
Photographs, greyed a little: to the eye these are fainter and paler.
Choose your night
Pick a date and an hour to see the sky over the fell, worked out from where the stars, Sun and Moon will really be. Choose a target to look at it.
- Properly dark
- 18:30 to 05:15
- The Moon
- 5% lit and shrinking, down at 22:00; a dark night for galaxies
00:30
Orion clears the fell
Cocoa and toast in the warm room, with the night's log open. The domes close at half past one, later on the very clear nights if you ask.
Some nights
The north glows
A few nights each winter the aurora shows low over the Cheviot: faint to the eye, green to a camera. Early November brings the Taurids too, slow and bright meteors.
06:00
The east goes grey
A thin crescent Moon rises before the Sun. Bed when you like; breakfast runs until eleven, for obvious reasons.
Rooms and rates
Six rooms, all with blackout blinds and red night lights. Prices per night for two, breakfast included.
Rooms, per night
- Plough£145Double, window facing north to the Plough
- Pleiades145Twin or double, on the ground floor
- Cassiopeia165Double with a bath under the skylight
- Lyra110Single, for the solo observer
- Orion190Family room, sleeps four
- Cygnus215The loft, with its own terrace and a tripod
Observing, per person
- Observing night£45Per adult, guide and all three telescopes
- Under 16s20Eight and over for the late domes
- Photography night85Your camera on our tracking mount, with help
- Daytime Sun session15Sunspots through a safe solar filter
Extras
- Supper£34Three courses, per person
- Station pick-up20Hexham, 16:30, per car each way
- Boots and coat loanfreeSizes 3 to 13, always free
The evening
Observing nights, August to mid-May. Times follow the dark; these are November's.
Arriving
- The clear-sky callWe ring or text to say whether the domes will open tonight
- Check inUntil 18:00. Tea and a map of the terrace
Supper
- Supper in the lodgeThree courses at one long table, booked with your room
- Briefing by the stoveWhat is up tonight, and how to use a red torch
Under the sky
- Lights go redWhite light off from the lodge to the domes
- Naked-eye tourConstellations, satellites and the Milky Way
- The domes openGroups of six take turns at each telescope
- Free observingBack to any telescope, or to the piers with your own
Late
- Cocoa and toastIn the warm room, with the night's log open
- Domes closeLater on the very clear nights, if you ask
- BreakfastServed until 11:00, for obvious reasons
Reception every day, 10:00 to 18:00
Observing from full dark until 01:30
Getting here
From Newcastle
The Tyne Valley line runs west along the river to Hexham in about 35 minutes.
Hexham station From Hexham
We collect from the station at 16:30 on observing days. By car it is forty minutes north.
Hadrian's Wall near Housesteads Across the Wall
The road north crosses Hadrian's Wall at Chollerford, then the North Tyne.
Hadrian's Wall east of Walltown The last fuel
Bellingham has the last shop and pumps. After that it is fell, forest and Kielder to the west.
Kielder Water The last mile
A gated track. Dip your headlights after the cattle grid, as the sign asks. Someone will meet you.
The Simonside Hills In winter
From December, carry a shovel and good tyres. Road news comes with the four o'clock call.
Snow near Cambo On the map
Postcodes up here cover miles of hill. Use NE48 to reach Bellingham, then our directions.
Ordnance Survey, the Cheviot Hills, 1925
Before you come
- Fell road, near Bellingham, Northumberland NE48
- Check in 16:00 to 18:00, check out by noon
- Nearest station: Hexham, nineteen miles
What should I bring?
More layers than seems sensible, a hat, gloves and boots. Binoculars if you have them. Leave white torches at home: we hand out red ones, and phone screens go on night mode.
What happens if it is cloudy?
We make the clear-sky call at 16:00. If the domes will stay shut you can move your night to another date for free, or come anyway for the talk by the stove and a look at the meteorite box. The observing charge is refunded if you stay.
What is the cancellation policy?
Cancel up to 14 days before arrival for a full refund. Inside 14 days we keep half the room price, unless we can relet the room. Cloud never costs you the observing charge.
How cold does it get?
The terrace sits at 330 metres. Winter nights reach minus six, and the wind finds every gap. We lend insulated boots and long coats in most sizes.
Can children come?
Yes. Children of eight and over can stay for the late domes; younger ones are welcome until 21:30, which is plenty on a winter night.
Is it accessible?
The lodge, the south dome and the terrace are step-free on firm paths. The north dome has a short ladder to the eyepiece; the same views are shown on a screen below.
Ask about a night
Umbra Fell, near Bellingham
Northumberland NE48
- Reception
- 10:00 to 18:00
- Clear-sky call
- 16:00
- Phone
- 0191 498 0412