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Original poster

Northern lights in UK

13 replies

Barbiefan · 06/08/2023 18:37

My husbands 50th is next year. He has a dream of seeing the northern lights and also loves visiting Scotland. I’m going to book a holiday to Scotland as a surprise.
Where in Scotland is there a chance of seeing them?
when is best to see them?
has anyone got recommendations for accommodation?

OP posts:
GlowingUpTheHardWay · 06/08/2023 19:13

Have you got the Aurora Watch app on your phone? Might be helpful. My understanding is that there should be a high possibility of seeing the northern lights from the U.K. this year (not just the north). Not sure where exactly to book but from memory, the app has a couple of live webcams where you can watch the lights- might be worth staying where there cameras are.

Duckanddive015 · 06/08/2023 20:42

We have friends recently moved to Tongue.. very north Scotland. they've been told by new neighbours they often a get a good view up there! Quite remote there however, a good 3 hours from Inverness. Good luck 🙂

stonkytonk11 · 07/08/2023 08:19

Somewhere on the Moray coast is a good place to get a chance of seeing them - Cullen, Penan, Portsoy etc. Aurora app is worth getting to keep track.

xapele · 07/08/2023 08:24

I've seen them unplanned in the Edinburgh area a few times, the west coast tends to be too cloudy. I have to say though that seeing the Northern Lights is always a crap shoot. I've known people go to Iceland and Norway specifically to see them and come back disappointed so make sure you go somewhere you have other things planned to do in case the lights don't come through for you!

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 07/08/2023 08:28

I saw them several nights in a row on the Island of Raasay. I've also seen them unexpectedly just at home in West Yorkshire.

Original poster
Barbiefan · 07/08/2023 09:10

That’s interesting about Yorkshire. Is there places that are best to see them from? DH has fond memories of holidaying in Yorkshire every year as a child so maybe that would be a nice holiday for him x

OP posts:
isitaline97 · 07/08/2023 10:47

I second getting the aurora watch app, it's brill will tell you when the lights are visible at to what degree. I'm Lancashire way and even when they been quite strong from my experience they haven't been extremely viable (more so on camera with exposure turned up) so not sure how well you'd see them in Yorkshire. The key is finding an area with little to no light pollution so I'd imagine somewhere over the moors would be great for it. It your really wanting to see them tho if make the trip up to Scotland as they will be more visible there! Obviously need a nice clear night too 😊

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 07/08/2023 11:08

I think the further south you go, the less likely you are to see them. I wouldn't go to Yorkshire on the off chance, you'd almost more than likely be dissapointed. I don't think they're guaranteed anywhere, I imagine Iceland is the most likely. I've seen them in Arctic Finland too.

Paperbagsaremine · 07/08/2023 11:10

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 07/08/2023 08:28

I saw them several nights in a row on the Island of Raasay. I've also seen them unexpectedly just at home in West Yorkshire.

I've seen them twice, once from the M40 and once from near the A34!
But, we used to be out and about late at night a lot.

rbe78 · 07/08/2023 11:16

Definitely don't plan a UK holiday around seeing the Northern Lights, there is a 99.9% chance you will be disappointed. Even in the far north of Scotland the aurora is only visible a few times a year, so the likelihood of your week's holiday coinciding with those (unpredictable) times and a cloudless night is very small.

http://www.geomag.bgs.ac.uk/education/viewing_aurora.html

notimagain · 07/08/2023 11:31

Second a lot of the above…further north you go the better (Yorkshire is not really far enough north to be a good bet TBH) but wherever you go you need to factor in the probability or not of clear skies.

For info probably the part of the world where you stand the best chance of seeing the Aurora is parts of Canada and the Northern US.

Wherever you go If you have a choice of time of year then the odds are best around the equinoxes, though that to some extent is offset by the fact it is not as dark at night for as long as in Sept/March as it is in late Dec.

Ultimately though as a pp said it really is a bit of a crap shoot, there are no guarantees, all you can try and do is try and improve the odds in your favour.

HappyChapChap · 07/08/2023 11:40

I live on Moray Coast, we see them regularly from our house in Portgordon from as early as August to around March. October to February seems most reliable. Anywhere like Buckie area, Cullen, Portsoy are good spots, we live in a very nice part of Scotland, so even if they don’t appear, you’ll have a lovely holiday. Check out local pages ‘Cullen Past & Present’ and ‘I’m fae Buckie far yi bidin noo’ and type ‘aurora’ or ‘northern lights’ you’ll see photos of them from this area and it will also show date/time. I’ve seen them as early as 9pm but normally are early morning.

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