The North York Moors sign off the autumn Fringe with night walks, ghost stories and telescopes, all packed into the weekend of 30 October to 1 November.
The Dark Skies Fringe Festival is the quiet cousin of the big February festival, and its closing weekend lands on Halloween. The North York Moors are known for heather and steam trains. This weekend, you can come for the dark instead, and the programme mixes stargazing with ghost walks, a murder-mystery dinner, and a ghost train.
The festival runs from 23 October to 1 November 2026. This guide covers the final three nights, with prices, booking routes and the clashes you need to avoid.
Event dates: Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November 2026 (festival runs 23 October to 1 November)
Location: North York Moors National Park, North Yorkshire. Main venues are Danby Lodge near Whitby, Sutton Bank near Thirsk, Robin Hood’s Bay and the Hole of Horcum
Nearest town: Whitby for Danby and Robin Hood’s Bay, Thirsk for Sutton Bank, Helmsley for the Owl Evening
Getting there: Mostly by car. Danby station is a 20-minute walk from Danby Lodge. The nearest station to Sutton Bank is Thirsk, 7.5 miles away
Admission: Mostly ticketed. Prices run from free (Dark Core, booking essential) to £73.36 (murder mystery dinner)
Tickets: Official North York Moors events listing, which links to each booking page
What It Is: The Dark Skies Fringe Festival Explained
The North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales became International Dark Sky Reserves together on 7 December 2020, according to DarkSky International. The two parks cover more than 3,500 square kilometres. The North York Moors National Park Authority says visitors can see up to 2,000 stars at once in the darkest areas, compared with a handful from a town.
The main Dark Skies Festival takes place in February. The autumn Fringe adds a second window, and the 2026 edition runs from 23 October to 1 November. Local businesses, astronomers and guides run the events, and the official events listing carries every date.
Not every event in the programme concerns stars. The closing weekend leans into Halloween, so you can book a ghost walk, a murder mystery or a ghost train alongside a night with a telescope.
Friday 30 October: Telescopes, Ghosts and a Moorland Abbey
Friday gives you three evening choices, and their times overlap.
Stargazing at Ampleforth Abbey runs from 7pm to 9pm. Astronomer Neill Sanders leads the evening. Tickets cost £19 for adults and £12 for children, and you need to pre-book through the Ampleforth Abbey website. The organisers provide telescopes and ask you to bring binoculars if you have a pair. Children need to be 6 or older and must be accompanied by an adult.
Stargazing with Richard Darn at Sutton Bank runs from 8pm to 10pm at The Hub. Tickets cost £19.75, including warm refreshments and the booking fee, and you book through Eventbrite. The event is suitable for adults and children over 6. Expect Saturn’s rings, the Moon and the Summer Triangle. If cloud rolls in, a computer planetarium show replaces the live view, so the evening survives bad weather.
The Robin Hood’s Bay Ghost Walk starts at 6.30pm. Adults pay £9, under-16s pay £5, and a family ticket costs £30. You do not need to book, so turn up. A lantern-led tour takes you through the village’s streets and alleyways, sharing tales of spirits, shipwrecks, and smugglers. The organiser says the walk suits all ages. Check the Whitby Storyteller page for the exact meeting point, because the festival listing does not state one.
If you want more on the village, our guide to six Yorkshire fishing villages covers the working coast around it.
Saturday 31 October: Halloween Under the Stars
Saturday carries the heaviest programme, so pick one thread and follow it.
Walking and Night Navigation, Sutton Bank White Horse circuit leaves at 4.30pm and costs £30. You meet at the In the Wilde café at the Sutton Bank National Park Centre and book through Walk Yorkshire. The route covers 4 miles across Roulston Scar to the Kilburn White Horse, and a guide teaches you to find your way by the stars as the light drops.
Dark Core at Sutton Bank runs from 7.30pm to 8.30pm at the Nature and Star Hub. The performance is free, but booking through Eventbrite is essential. The Long Dead Stars play electronic music at an outdoor silent disco, and you can lie back and watch the sky or move to the music in the Hub. The event goes ahead in the cloud and moves indoors if it rains.
The Haunted Hotel Murder Mystery Night runs from 7pm to 10pm at Danby Lodge. It is for adults only (18+), costs £73.36 per ticket and includes a three-course meal. Guests dress for the theme and work out who killed whom after a missing will turns up.
The Winter Owl Evening at the National Centre for Birds of Prey in Duncombe Park, Helmsley, appears in the festival listing for 31 October from 7pm to about 9.45pm. Tickets cost £45, and the evening is suitable for children aged 8 and over. The centre limits each evening to 40 people. You get mulled wine or spiced apple juice, a lantern-lit visit to the owl aviaries, a two-course dinner and owls flying free in a torchlit woodland. The centre’s own page does not show the 2026 calendar, so confirm that 31 October is on sale before you plan around it. You can book online or call 01439 772080.
The Robin Hood’s Bay Ghost Walk repeats at 6.30pm on the same terms as Friday.
Late Night Stargazing at Danby Lodge Dark Skies Station runs from 10.15pm to 12.15am. Astro Dog leads the session, which lasts two to two and a half hours. You learn asterisms and constellations and how to find objects, using professional telescopes and binoculars. Book through astro-dog.co.uk. The Dark Skies Station is the newest observatory in the National Park. It is wheelchair accessible, and its main telescope feeds a live image to a TV in the presentation room.
Sunday 1 November: Horcum and the Ghost Train
Walking and Night Navigation, Hole of Horcum leaves from the Hole of Horcum car park at 4.30pm and costs £30. You book through Walk Yorkshire. The Hole is a natural amphitheatre carved by spring-sapping, a process where water wells up from the hillside and undermines the slopes above. The National Park Authority describes it as 400 feet deep and more than half a mile across, and says the process still continues. Local legend blames a giant called Wade, who supposedly threw a handful of moorland at his wife during an argument. The walk finishes after dark, so bring a torch for the return to the car park.
Mad Alice’s Ghost Train runs on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway at 6.15pm and again at 8pm. Each trip lasts one hour. The railway describes it as Gothic storytelling rather than a horror film, with costumed storytellers on a night ride across the moors. Tickets cost £35 with a soft drink and £40 with a York Gin, and 14- to 17-year-olds pay £35. The event is strictly for ages 14 and over. The railway page does not list the departure station, so check your ticket and the railway’s timetable before booking a parking space.
Our own guide to Whitby Goth Weekend covers the festival on the coast over the same three days, if you want to split the weekend between the two.
What the Moon Will Do
A bright Moon dims faint stars. The full Moon falls on 26 October, and the closing weekend sits in the waning gibbous phase. SpaceWeatherLive gives the Moon as 81 per cent lit on 30 October and 71 per cent lit on 31 October, while other calendars put it closer to 66 per cent on 31 October.
That does not ruin the weekend. Bright targets, including the Moon and Saturn, show well against moonlight. For the faint objects and the Milky Way, ask your host how late the Moon will be up that night.
When and Where
The festival runs from 23 October to 1 November 2026, and the closing weekend runs Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November. The events sit across the National Park, so check each venue’s booking page for the exact address and meeting point.
Danby Lodge National Park Centre is on Lodge Lane, Danby, Whitby, YO21 2NB. Sutton Bank National Park Centre is at Sutton Bank, Thirsk, YO7 2EH. The Hole of Horcum events meet at the Hole of Horcum car park.
Getting There
You will need a car for most of this weekend. Danby Lodge sits about a 20-minute walk from Danby station on the Esk Valley line, according to the National Park Authority. Northern operates Danby station, which has a free car park. The late events end after dark, so plan how you get home before you book a train.
The nearest station to Sutton Bank is Thirsk, 7.5 miles away. The Moorsbus service runs only from April to September, so it does not help in October.
Parking at both National Park centres costs £3.90 for up to 2 hours and £6.20 thereafter. Pay by card at the ticket machine or by phone.
Where to Stay
Hotel Victoria, Robin Hood’s Bay. The hotel on Station Road (YO22 4RL) has an AA four-star rating and Osborne’s Restaurant, which holds one Rosette according to the hotel’s own site.
YHA Whitby, Whitby. The hostel stands beside the ruins of Whitby Abbey and takes bookings every day.
Incline View Holidays, Ingleby Greenhow. Four adult-only shepherd huts with private hot tubs sit on New Sheepfold Farm (TS9 6RQ) at the edge of the National Park. The festival programme lists a Stay and Gaze package here from 26 October to 1 November.
Book early. The closing weekend overlaps Halloween and the Whitby Goth Weekend.
Where to Eat and Drink
In the Wilde at Danby Lodge, Danby. The National Park’s café at Lodge Lane hosts the murder mystery dinner on 31 October. Check daytime opening before you plan a meal.
In the Wilde at Sutton Bank, Sutton Bank. The café at the National Park Centre is the meeting point for the White Horse walk. The centre’s winter hours of 10.30am to 4pm start on 2 November, so check its late October hours.
Eat before you arrive for evening sessions. Most events run in the dark and finish late.
Worth Knowing
- The North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales became International Dark Sky Reserves on 7 December 2020, and together cover more than 3,500 square kilometres.
- Book the early Friday evening carefully. Ampleforth Abbey (7pm to 9pm) and Sutton Bank (8pm to 10pm) overlap, so you can only attend one.
- If cloud wipes out the telescopes, two of the weekend’s events still work: Richard Darn’s planetarium show and the free Dark Core performance.
Practical Tips
- Book ahead for anything ticketed. The festival listing shows that some events sell out, and the Ampleforth stargazing needs pre-booking.
- Wear more layers than you think you need. You stand still for hours in an exposed upland.
- Bring binoculars if you own a pair. Ampleforth asks for them.
- Check the weather on the day. The Sutton Bank and Hole of Horcum walks start at 4.30pm and finish after dark.
- Pay for parking by card or phone. Both National Park centres take cards only.
- Use the AllTrails app to track your route if you walk the White Horse or Horcum routes without a guide, and carry a torch for the descent.
Reader Q&A
Is the Dark Skies Fringe Festival free?
No. Most events are ticketed, and prices run from £5 for a child’s ghost walk ticket to £73.36 for the murder mystery dinner. Dark Core at Sutton Bank is free, but you still need to book.
What if it is cloudy?
Two events still work. Richard Darn’s Sutton Bank evening switches to a planetarium show, and Dark Core goes ahead in the cloud, moving indoors if it rains.
Which events suit children?
Several do. The Robin Hood’s Bay Ghost Walk suits all ages. The Ampleforth and Sutton Bank stargazing evenings suit children over six, the Winter Owl Evening suits children aged 8 and over, and Mad Alice’s Ghost Train is for ages 14 and over.
Can I get there without a car?
Only for Danby. Danby station is a 20-minute walk from Danby Lodge, but the late events finish after dark. The nearest station to Sutton Bank is Thirsk, 7.5 miles away, and the Moorsbus does not run in October.
When does the festival end?
On Sunday 1 November 2026. The festival began on 23 October.
The moors keep their dark all winter, and for ten days each autumn the whole National Park gives you a reason to stand in it. See more of our Events coverage and our guide to the North Pennines Stargazing Festival if you want a second dark sky weekend.
