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AstroAdventures Astronomy Holidays.

AstroAdventures, established in 2005, is situated in glorious North Devon, right on the Devon & Cornwall border. Within easy reach of coastal resorts such as Bude this is a marvellous holiday destination. We offer you the chance to combine your holiday with astronomy.

To cater for your interests in astronomy we have a large 20" (50cm) Dobsonian telescope and a dedicated imaging observatory with a 10" (25cm) telescope for you to use under some of the darkest skies in England.

Experience the night sky at its best. The Milky Way, galaxies, nebulae and the planets. With unobstructed southern horizons and the absence of light pollution and all can be seen at their best.

Enjoy comfortable and private self catering family accommodation in a peaceful rural location. We have two timber lodges set in attractive grounds with an outdoor swimming pool. The swimming pool is open from mid June through to the 1st week in September. Our pool is warmed by an air source heat pump during July and August.

The Devon countryside with its beautiful beaches & national parks plus local attractions, such as the Tamar Lakes, are easily accessible. This area known as Ruby Country is ideal for family holidays. We are also a great venue for out of season short breaks. The nearest beach is Sandymouth which is only 7.5 miles away! See this map for our location.
Please visit & like our facebook page where we post our most recent pictures & activity.

Last updated 22nd September 2024.

We use Statcounter (shows as a tracker) just to see how many people visit our site. We don't use cookies.
AstroAdventures are Murray and Valerie Barber with Tony Gibbons.This Site is designed and maintained by Tony Gibbons.

Our site is located in one of the darkest areas of England. This data was collected by the Campaign for Dark Skies who rate this area with a visual limiting magnitude of 5.75 - 6.00. Click here to see an excerpt from the 'Philips Dark Skies Map' that clearly show the outstanding skies this area offers.

It's official! Our visual limiting magnitude is 6.44 - click here for a report

Both the run off roof and the domed observatory provide valuable shelter from the elements and your lodge is only a moment away for that all important coffee and warmth! We will show you how to use the telescope(s) so that you will be able to observe without someone looking over your shoulder the whole time. If you don't feel confident then we would be pleased to assist until you do. This all contributes to a unique and enjoyable observing experience.

We really enjoy visual astronomy, but as you'll see from our gallery we have experience in most types of imaging and image processing. We will be more than happy to help or advise.

This is what we offer with your holiday
A tour of the observatories on your arrival.
You will be given a free introductory night session of one hour on the half meter Dobsonian.
This is done with a view to you being self sufficient with its use.
Once competence is established and mutually agreed you may use the telescope whenever you wish.
There are no extra charges for guests who are then able to use the telescope unaccompanied.
We can offer further chargeable tuition if you would like it. Please click here for details(new window)
The following observatories and equipment are available for guests to use.
NB. You may have to share a facility with another guest. Unrestricted mobility is required to use the telescopes and observatories.

20" (half metre) f5.3 Dobsonian Reflector.

The half meter telescope is housed in a large run off roof observatory which provides the perfect environment for visual observation of the night sky. It is equipped with an 'NGC Max' object locating computer, Telrad finder and a 2" JMI NGF focuser. This telescope is the ultimate for visual deep sky observing. The use of step ladders is required. Now with HiLux coatings this telescope has the same light gathering capacity as a normally aluminised 22" telescope!

Click here for more pictures

The following comprises our imaging facility:
Skywatcher Quattro CF 25cm/10" f4 + Baader coma correcter. EQ6 Pro SynScan equatorial mount with autoguider. PC with PHD, APT, Ascom, Carte du Ciel etc.

The Quattro is housed in a 2.7 meter Pulsar dome which has mains power, work benches, and lighting. This creates a superb environment from which to carry out all kinds of imaging. Equipped with a MoonLite motorised focuser, a DSLR or CCD can be comfortably mounted and focused.

This is a great telescope for deep sky or planetary imaging.
A 'goto' mount, fast f4 optics with a large light grasp and high contrast coupled with the renowned Baader Coma correcter make this a technically excellent and enjoyable telescope.

Please note. Because of the complex nature of this telescope it will only be possible to use it or image with it unaccompanied if you have prior experience with similar equipment. If you have no prior experience please see our optional tuition and the Imaging section below.

Click here for more pictures or *Click here for DSLR mounting details


Imaging.

For those who wish to image but don't want to bring, or don't have, all of the kit we can offer the following for use in conjunction with our Quattro and EQ6:
A QHY5L-II-M mono camera and an 80m 'shortie' refractor which is mounted on the EQ6 and used in conjuntion with PHD software as an autoguider. PHD is configured and ready to go on our observatory laptop

Your Canon camera can be controlled via 'APT' software via our observatory laptop.

For the moon and planets an Imaging Source DFK 21AU04.AS colour camera or Celestron NexImage 5 are available.
Please note. Prior familiarity is necessary. If you have no prior experience with imaging then you can use this equipment through our optional tuition.

Should you prefer to bring your own telescope.

There is an area of level, paved hard standing picture. The hard standing is close to our dome and mains power can be run from there. Or if you prefer you can set up on grass in our paddock area.


There are two lodges to let, Jay and Wren. Both are very similar in decor and equipment. Both lodges will comfortably accommodate and sleep a family of 4.

Each lodge has two good size bedrooms.
In Jay the first room has a double bed and the second room has bunk beds. The bunk beds are full sized single beds size fitted with adult suitable mattresses.
In Wren the first room has a double bed and the second room has two single beds. We supply all the bed linen.

For Jay lodge we can also supply a Graco Contour, On The Go, Travel Cot. (up to 3 years)

Bathrooms have a shower, bath, wash basin and toilet. (Jay lodge has a compact sit bath) There is also an airing cupboard and cloths airer. Towels are not supplied.

Apart from the bathroom and bedrooms the rest of the lodge is open plan. The living area in both lodges has two double sofas.

The kitchen-dinning area contains a combined washer-dryer machine, a cooker with halogen hob, a fridge and a microwave. The kitchen is fully equipped. Each lodge also has an iron, ironing board and a hairdryer.

Both lodges have a 30"flatscreen TVs with Digital Freeview and a DVD player which can also play audio CDs.

Free WiFi in both lodges. We have slow rural broadband so unfortunately it is not possible to stream movies etc.

Electric heating consisting of economy 7 night storage in the main room, flat panel electric heaters in the bedrooms and additional electric heaters are provided for use in the chillier seasons.

Hot water is supplied by an economy 7 electric immersion heater.

Electricity is supplied via a coin meter which takes £2 coins. We only charge you what it cost us.

Pets are welcome but please see our policy on pets here.

* We do have terms and conditions. Please click here to read them. Terms

There is a strictly No Smoking policy in the lodges but feel free outdoors.

We aim to provide a relaxing retreat from everyday pressures. There is a large paddock, with a swing set, for children to play in. There is plenty of room even for football and cricket! There is a large wild flower meadow which has a path mowed around its perimeter. More health concious guests have used this as a jogging track. We have barbecues that you can use. We have barbecues that you can use.

During the summer season enjoy the outdoor swimming pool for laid-back days on site. The swimming pool is open from June through to the 1st week in September. As of 2016 our pool is warmed by an air source heat pump during July and August. Please note - The pool is unsupervised.

Updated - 22nd September 2024
2025 availability coming soon - most dates available.
 The price per lodge, per week, is shown within the grid. The price also indicates Saturdays, which are the start of our week.
Days marked with an or fine red text indicate that one of our two lodges is booked and that one lodge is vacant.
Days marked with an or bold text indicate that both of our lodges are booked and we have no vacancies.
Please see the bottom of this page for information on bringing pets, other additional charges and short breaks.
Please see our general Terms and Conditions.

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Jan
390
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Feb
390
499
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March
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April
499
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May
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June
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July
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Sept
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390
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Oct
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Nov
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Dec
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Bookings run from 4pm Saturday to 10am the following Saturday.
Prices shown are based on a double bed plus bunk beds in Jay and a double bed and 2 singles in Wren.

Additional charges and notes.
Electricity. This is supplied by a coin meter which accepts £2 coins. We make no profit from this, you are charged the same rate that we pay.
Our lowest tariff is based on a maximum of three adults in one lodge. Any additional adults over this will be an extra £50 weekly per adult.
Pets. There is a £25 per week charge for each pet. Please click here to see terms and conditions regarding pets.
Periods of New Moon. We regret that due to high demand the minimum stay for any week that encompasses a new Moon is now 2 nights.
Scroll down to see our Moon phase calendar.

A 1/3rd deposit is required within 7 days of booking. The balance will be due 1 month before your holiday start date.
Payment is by cheque or bank transfer only. We are unable to accept credit or debit cards at this time.

A two night stay is 50% of the weekly rate, three nights are 65%, four nights are 75% and five nights are 90%.
6 nights are the same as the weekly rate. We can take bookings at very short notice. Please contact us for availability.

Short breaks are available from Mid September to Mid June, availability permitting.
July, August and the first two weeks in September are full week bookings only.

Although these calendars are updated frequently they are for information only.
Please email us to confirm availability and to book your holiday.


We now publish our most interesting images on AstroBin. Please click below to vist our AstroBin Gallery.




Spectacular Aurora display. 23rd April 2023

We also post our most recent pictures & activity on So please give our facebook page a visit and like!
Please click on the links below to go to seperate areas of our site and view lots of older images. Each link opens in a new tab.

Comet C/2020 F3 Neowise. Slide show.

Deep Sky images taken by us. Slide show.

Deep Sky images. Archive.

Solar System images taken by us.

Astroscapes.

Images taken with a Meade DSI.

 

Pictures of visiting telescopes & guests

Lodges and surroundings

Local beaches.

Some of our past telescopes.

Pictures taken by guests during their stay.
 
 

AstroAdventures was created in 2005 by lovers of astronomy for the benefit of enthusiasts of all levels. It has its roots in Murray, Valerie and Tony combining family holidays with their love of astronomy. Holidays became quests for ever darker skies and children and provisions were crammed into cars around ever larger telescopes. Nowhere was ever perfect and no one understood our requirements. Surely someone must cater for our needs?....and so the idea was born. Years passed and plans were laid.

Eventually in 2004 a holiday in Devon became a property hunt and Kimworthy cottage was found. Old lives were cast adrift and the AstroAdventure began. We love it. We hope you will enjoy it too. Here are short biographies of our two resident astronomers.

Murray was given his first telescope when he was seven years old and after progressing onto to a 60 mm refractor in his pre-teens he was to meet like-minded Tony at senior school.  The cost of telescopes led to Murray (and Tony) to grinding and polishing his first and only telescope mirror when he was 13.

This mirror was then replaced by a Fullerscope 10” mirror in his late teens and this led to the building of his first of many ‘back-yard’ observatories.  Although he has taken many astronomical photographs his interest is visual astronomy concentrating mainly upon the Deep Sky.

In addition to astronomy, he is also interested in space travel and military history.  His first book, Hitler’s Rocket Soldiers was published in 2011 by Tattered Flag Publishing.

He has operated a mobile planetarium for over twenty years and has given thousands of talks to children and adults on astronomy and related subjects – ‘Ancient Egypt and the Stars’ being a particular personal favorite.  He has written educational curriculum support information that is used internationally with planetariums.

 He has been a member of various astronomy associations and enjoyed a 6 year tenure as Chairperson for the Wadhurst A.S.  He has been a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society for over 20 years.

Tony became interested in astronomy in his early teens. Looking back he feels that growing up through the era of the 'space race' and Apollo missions it was inevitable that an enquiring mind would do so.

His first proper telescope was a four inch reflector loaned to him by the physics teacher at his school. With an adolescents disregard for others property the telescope was promptly taken apart, rebuilt and improved. This process occurred many times and set the precedent for future telescope related activities!

Alongside this ran an avid interest in photography and many old film box cameras were butchered and attached to telescopes with tape, glue and faith in the hope of capturing the objects fleetingly seen through the eyepiece.

Years spent in the photographic and printing industries became a foundation for the understanding of capturing images and processing the results, first on film and later with CCDs. He cut his teeth on Photoshop 2.5 which came on 3.5" floppy discs!

He was treasurer of the Ilkeston and District A.S. for many years.

There is an underlying love of the night sky and collecting photons from the universe with electronics or the biological camera of the eye that ensures his continued and fresh interest to this day.
Contact AstroAdventures

Please use the form below to contact us by email. Thanks!

We like to take bookings or booking enquiries by email as it gives us time to check all the details for you.

We are more than happy to chat about your visit over the phone once your booking has been made.

We endeavor to respond to all enquiries the same day. However we are not online 24/7. Depending on the time of day you contact us it may be up to 24 hours before we are able to reply. Thanks for your patience.

If you prefer to contact us by phone - 01409 241719

What's our weather doing? - check out the (nearly) real time report from our own weather station.

Residential Astronomy Courses - Details to follow shortly

Planetarium Presentations - Details to follow shortly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A selection of Links to enhance your Holiday plus some useful Astronomy Links.
Updated 10/10/19

Family Fun  
The Big Sheep Entertainment Park Adventure Golf & Go Karts
The Milky Way Adventure Park Affinity Outlet Shopping
Walking and Cycling Leaflets Bideford Cycle and Kayak Hire
The Rebel Cinema - Bude Bude Surfing Experience
South West Lakes Bude Rowing Boats
Towns  
The Historic Village of Clovelly Great Torrington
Dartington Crystal - Great Torrington Barnstaple
Bideford Bude
Gardens and Houses  
RHS Garden Rosemoor Hartland Abbey
The Eden Project The Gardens at Docton Mill
Marwood Hill Gardens Tapeley Park Gardens
General Local Information  
The Tamar Lakes Our Area - Ruby Country
Hartland Quay & Museum Surfing
Walking the South West Coastal Path Tarka Trail
Steam Railways and other Transport  
Launceston Steam Railway Bodmin & Wenford Railway
Bideford and Instow Railway Lynton and Barnstaple Railway
Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre  
Astronomy  
The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England Astronomy Now - Uk's Astronomy Magazine
The Campaign for Dark Skies BBC - Sky at night magazine
 
BAA - British Astronomical Association
Heavens Above - Comprehensive satellite information plus comets and asteroids.
Spaceweather.com - News and information about the Earth-Sun environment.
The Society for Popular Astronomy - An excellent on-line Astronomy Society.
Skyhound - a source of timely information for the observer - Great monthly observing notes.
Virtual Moon Atlas - Excellent Lunar Map - Free software for Moon observation or survey.
ccdland.com - Nik Szymanek's excellent Astronomy Web Site. Many from the ING on La Palma.
 
Ian King Imaging - Ian King imaging is an online shop dedicated to astro imaging and the supply of high quality CCD Cameras, telescopes, accessories and mountings. Also a gallery of his own work.
Deep Sky Stacker - Another great piece of freeware.
FAS - The FAS is a union of astronomical societies for encouragement and promotion of astronomy.
Registax - This is the program that has revolutionised amateur planetary imaging and it's free!
SOHO - The ESA NASA Solar Observatory with up to date solar images.
Astronomy Picture of the Day - Nasa site featuring a new astronomy picture each day.
 
What's our weather doing? Check out our very own weather station page here
Friend's sites and other sites we like.  
Worthy Pottery - We offer pottery tuition. Ask for details.
Spacelab Mobile Planetarium - Planetarium Visiting Service.
Liz Allen Art - Take a look! FullDome Reality - Digital Mobile Planetarium and Immersive Cinema.
Richard Bizely Art - Astronomy inspired art & more.  
Kimworthy Cottage - Holiday in the Devon Countryside.  

As featured in the Daily Telegraph travel section. July 15th 2006
and BBC Countryfile Summer Diaries August 20th 2007

What our guests have said.