Starry starry night

Hoping for a nice clear night tonight (a braw, bricht, moonlicht, nicht in fact) so that we get a good view of the firework display at Wallace's Monument. They are scheduled to start at 8.14 pm. I was the only one in our family of clever clogs to realise the significance of the start time

We were once lucky enough to have a sky talk in the outback near ayers rock. I had no idea there were so many stars - not just individual stars but millions in between as well. It was amazing. Makes you realise how light polluted we are. It was also odd that things were "upside down" to us northerners.

harrigran if your DS gets a chance he should make it up to the Hebrides, to night it is awesome

Stop right now, you are making me . DS is an astronomer and longs for skies like this. He was taking GC home tonight and looked up as he left my house, I knew what he was thinking.

We have no street lighting in this village at all. The night skies can be awesome.

I am so envious newist my dream is to spend Christmas in the Hebrides. Our friends who own 'our' cottage spend their Christmases there every year.

We have absolutely no light pollution here- and I just love the sky at night. So bright tonight, with Jupiter really visible.

Yes, "Great" "Terrific"

It is not really our cottage Newist just the same one we have booked 3 years running. We had all been to the Western Isles before separately but started this tradition of all going together, (2 mums, 2 dads, 2 GPs and 3 children) when the DGC were tiny. There are very few holiday lets big enough for us all - this year none of them are available when the Feis is on so we are going later than usual. Our first year we stayed in Silver Sands, directly across the cockle strand from the airport. The highlight of each day was seeing the plane land and take off - great excitement every time, especially the first day when Granpal and I actually flew in to surprise them. Last three years we have been in Castlebay, so the day's highlight is watching the ferry come in, wondering if one of the Dads will be on it. S'math sin (I think that's right

Granny23 how lovely having a cottage there, the runway at the airport is quite special

I remember nights like that while sailing cross Channel in our boat and also at anchor in Bray harbour Alderney.
Peter and I would just sit in the cockpit looking at the sky and watching the moon describe a lazy arc across the sky, while the Milky Way dimmed our anchor light.

'Our' cottage on Barra is already booked for next summer. One night last summer I stood alone in the garden, transfixed for over an hour, as the sun set in the north west leaving a blue black sky with a million stars. Within half an hour the sun was rising again in the North East, illuminating tendrils of mist, drifting in from the sea and curling around the hills. No need to wait - on a night like that Heaven IS here on earth.

sew you couldnt ask for a better place {{{hugs}}}

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Hi Sewsilver, my hubby wasn't a Scot but his grandma and my grandma both were. We discovered Scotland fairly late in life but both fell passionately in love with the place, as did our daughter. I have such lovely memories of being there with them. February will be tough for you, won't it?

Dragonfly1, my husband was a Scot. In February we are going up to a small tidal island off the coast of Galloway to scatter his ashes as he wished. He loved that wee island and spent every summer there from the age of 8.
My godmother's ashes are scattered in the Highlands where she lived. The light is amazing up there too. Newest , north Uist is somewhere I've always wanted to visit, it must be very special to live there

. Thank you. My husband's ashes are scattered in the highlands, my daughter has asked that hers should be too. I've never been to any of the isles other than Skye - it's on my bucket list to do!

No you are not nosey at all. I live on North Uist

Sorry, I'm being nosey aren't !?

I envy you. I would love to live in Scotland, anywhere along the west coast. Which island is your home?

Hello Dragonfly1 I live in the Outer Hebrides, there are no street lights, its pitch black outside and a lovely clear sky

Whereabouts are you newist, if you don't mind me asking? The only time I've ever seen a pollution-free night sky like that was on holiday in Scotland. Here in the midlands there's no chance.

lovely isn't it? When we lived in North Devon we had same, no light pollution or very little.But it does make you feel small as you say and insignificant, which feels good and bad at the same time.Happy New Year!