Astro 2023

I am so excited for the Milky Way season to start this year, with the core starting to be visible next month. But when clear skies and no moon presents it’s self- you have to take the opportunity. A friend asked me did I want to go star gazing….well hell yes! So I decided on a plan- first plan was to head to Penmon Point in Anglesey, with a back up plan of Dolbadarn Castle in Snowdonia, and why not try and catch a Venus belt by Lynn Mymbyr at sunrise?!

We headed to Penmon, which is an iconic lighthouse on the north east of Anglesey. If you are planning to visit during the day, there is a toll that costs £3 and is cash only and a cafe by the lighthouse parking that serve delicious cakes. When we arrived I wasn’t sure this location would work to get some of the Milky Way in the shot, so we briefly took a few shots and I decided that Dolbadarn Castle would be a better location to get some of the Milky Way.

I have shot the Milky Way core early in the season and was blighted by clouds last year, so was hoping for a better result this year. It really is a spectacular castle, and looks just a beautiful at night as it does during the day. Unfortunately, either timing or miscalculation looking back at the shots I don’t think I managed to catch any of the Milky Way. But it was still lovely to visit and spend some time there, feeling peaceful watching shooting stars. We even saw the SpaceX Starling pass over, with was amazing to see but I didn’t manage to catch this on my camera.

From there it was a short drive to Llyn Mymbyr- I have wanted to get a shot of Snowdonia’s peaks covered with snow and Venus belt sky, reflected in the water. We got our camping chairs out, had a coffee and a croissant and waited for the sky to change colour. The water was completely frozen and there was some cloud in the sky, but the colours of the sky reflected in the lake looked magical. And although it wasn’t quite the image I had in mind but I still loved it nonetheless. I have added it to my portfolio gallery- take a peek and let me know what you think!

I actually LOVE how the shot at Penmon turned out, and there is a valuable lesson. Even when the core isn’t visible- if there are clear skies it’s worth getting out, you don’t know what you might see! What do you think of my image? I’d love to know your thoughts!