Northumberland’s International Dark Sky Park celebrated its fifth birthday on Monday with a public event at the Redesdale Arms in Rochester.

The event was an opportunity for local business people and partners to find out about the successes of the last five years, including the economic benefits of dark skies tourism, updates from the Kielder Observatory and Northumberland Tourism and ongoing plans for people to discover the starscape from Redesdale.

As well as talks and presentations from the key partners, attendees had the opportunity to take part in a stargazing workshop.

The event was jointly organised by Northumberland National Park Authority, Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust and Revitalising Redesdale Landscape Partnership.

Duncan Wise, visitor development and marketing manager at the national park, said: “Northumberland has the most pristine dark skies in England and they need to be protected from the effects of light pollution. It is a message that we instil with every stargazing event we host at the Sill.”

Lynn Turner, director of Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust, said: “The development of Kielder Observatory and the designation of International Dark Sky Park status have been hugely beneficial to Kielder Water & Forest Park and wider Northumberland.

“There has been increasing public and media interest in Northumberland’s pristine dark skies and this has helped to raise the county’s profile and led to the creation of year-round opportunities for tourism businesses.”

Duncan Wise added: “The developments that have taken place is a result of the enthusiasm and dedication of many individuals and effective collaboration between organisations and local communities. Northumberland is well placed to benefit from its dark skies for many years to come.”

The fifth anniversary comes after leaders at the national park described 2018 as a momentous year for the authority and tourism in the county.

Earlier this month, Northumberland battled it out in a public vote against nine other regions to be crowned the Best UK Holiday Destination at the 2018 British Travel Awards.

In August, the national park’s flagship visitor centre, the Sill, near Hadrian’s Wall, welcomed more than 172,000 visitors at the end of its first year of operation.

During September the park also made national headlines when the Prince of Wales carried out the official opening of the Sill.