Dark Sky Park
South Downs (Moore's Reserve) Dark Sky Reserve
- Darkness
- Bortle 4–5
- Designation
- Dark Sky Reserve — DarkSky, 2016
- Size
- 1,624 km²
- Location
- Sussex & Hampshire
Designated in 2016 and named the Moore's Reserve in honour of the astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, the South Downs is the closest International Dark Sky Reserve to London — putting dark skies within reach of the largest concentration of people in the UK.
Its Bortle rating is more modest than the remoter reserves, with unavoidable glow from Brighton, Portsmouth and London at the edges. But the darker western section near the Hampshire border still shows the Milky Way on a moonless night, and Ditchling Beacon, Butser Hill and Queen Elizabeth Country Park are popular, accessible viewpoints.
