Where to find a dark sky?

Juliette's post on National Dark Sky Week reminded me of the visit of Comet Hale-Bopp back in 1997.

I was living near Pontypool at the time, and could just see the comet out of my back door, a slightly elongated vague smudge in the blurry orange night sky. This was nothing like the pictures on the television, so I got in my car and drove to the top of the nearest almost-a-mountain to get away from the sodium glare, pulled off the road onto the sheep-tracked moorland, pointed the car in the direction of the comet and sat back to enjoy it. And it was indeed much better than from the town - it clearly was a comet. I tilted back my car seat, opened the windows, unwrapped the fish and chips I had bought on the way up the hill, and pushed the radio button.

It was pretuned to Radio Sweden (surprise?!) and there was a programme about the break-up of Abba, and specifically the subsequent career and life of Anni-Frid (Frida). So I sat there enjoying my meal, watching the comet, and reminiscing about life in Sweden. Abba was big when my daughters were little, and of course at home they sang in Swedish, not Ameringlish.

But the real point of this story is that a couple of days later I visited friends near Llangranog, on Cardigan Bay, where the wind blows straight in from the Atlantic. No factory chimneys between there and Newfoundland. And the view of the comet over the sea was stunning, spreading in an arc across the night sky, a whole life removed from my view while listening to Abba.

And that's what the Week is all about. It is impossible to describe such a magnificent night sky - you must be there and experience it. And with the muck we pump into the air and the totally unnecessary upward light pollution from our towns, houses, offices, roads and factories, most people will never have the chance of that experience.

Grab it while it is still there! A comet isn't necessary - there is more than enough magic and beauty in the Milky Way. Enjoy!