Dark locations with parking/open space around Surrey/Hants?

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niki265

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I've had a pic in my head for a while and now looking for a suitable location, and wondering if you can help (hope this is the correct forum)... the basic idea is nothing too spectacular, just my car in the foreground with star trails above.

I've tried a couple of times now with 30min exposures and combining multiple 5 minute ones, all from the same location (just outside Guildford).

The issues with this spot are:

- loads of light pollution (I realise the South East of the UK is probably the worst place for night pics)
- seems to be a popular spot at night :o
- south facing, so no chance to get pole star
- too many trees
- looks directly at Gatwick flight path

So can anyone suggest a dark open space in the Surrey/Hants/Sussex area, that has a good sized car park please, and doesn't overlook a large city/airport?

I'm currently hunting around the space between Horsham, Petersfield, Basingstoke and Guildford.

TIA
 
what about newlands corner on the a25 south of guildford or any of the car parks around the leith Hill area Holmbury St mary
 
Or travel a little further and go to one of the car parks in the new forest, there are plenty of dark car parks around here :)
 
Ask Cobra. He's very familiar with dark parking spaces :lol:
 
Thanks for the suggestions folks... I am being careful not to flash my headlights at the wrong time at any parked cars ;)

I've been at Newlands Corner as it's my closest dark space... all the issues I mentioned above are present there :(

My main concern with Leith Hill/Holmbury etc is their proximity to Gatwick....

New Forest is definitely worth a visit, but a tad far to travel right now... I want to make the most of this (currently clear) night.

Just went to Frensham Pond which looks like an excellent location, except for the fact that the car park is locked at 9pm :P

So considering another jaunt down towards Petworth.
 
I can only recommend Ashdown Forest. The non-forest bit, with acres of open area, bracken, parking spaces, miles from anywhere. Know it?
 
Thanks Mister E, I don't know Ashdown Forest, but good old Google has told me where it is :) Looks ideal, but a fair way so I won't be there tonight... definitely one for another time though.
 
niki265 said:
Thanks Mister E, I don't know Ashdown Forest, but good old Google has told me where it is :) Looks ideal, but a fair way so I won't be there tonight... definitely one for another time though.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's probably quite a way from you, but not too far from me (20 to 30 mins at most). It's not an easy place to find your way around in the dark, so maybe arrive daylight to find a spot and get set up. I can give you a rough idea but it has been a while since I was last there. Email me or whatever if you need any more help.
 
Hi,

You could try Rushmoor/Laffans plain area around fleet and Farnborough. Loads of parking around Rushmoor. There are the Frensham ponds as well, near Farnham.
 
Which reminds me. Whatever happened to Chobham Common? When I was a kid it was a place to fly model aeroplanes. Don't know if it's still around or a housing estate now.
 
Cheers Doug, I'll check out those locations too as our main office is near Fleet.

I had a look at Frensham pond this evening too, but the entrance is locked at 9pm, so while it looks ideal, I think I will have to wait until a little later in the year to give it a try early evening.

Popped out to Farley Heath just now. Not too bad. A very rough sandy car park which isn't ideal for my car. I could clearly see the pole star however, but clouds were coming in a little and there was LOADS of light pollution from nearby Guildford :(

I tried a rough shot facing south in any case which has come out ok (I'm still very new at this night photography wotsit).
 
A bit late for you now I guess, but try to the southeast of Horsham. A lot of the streetlights in the area get turned off soon after midnight, yes there are planes from Gatwick around, but I've not had one fly through my images that late so far. Some of my best sky shots were had later in the evening. Last night was not great though as there was some high mistiness which caused some red/orange tinge to all my shots.
 
A slightly differnet shot with the light trails from the planes could be pretty good too...
 
Thanks John. Agree that last night was a little misty, as with previous nights... I'll have a look around Horsham too. Big problem for me is that I want to find somewhere I can look north without too much light pollution. So anywhere south of London can be troublesome. I don't want to have to do too much post processing...

Here's one from last night, straight out of the camera (just lowered res). Plenty of room for improvement. ISO 200, f4.0, approx 20min single exposure, 40D 17-85mm lens:

IMG_8267_lo.jpg
 
Hi Niki,

The area toward the Rushmoor Arena has quite large open parking areas, and there isn't a great deal around by way of street lighting either, so may well be an idea.

The area in the top left of the map HERE is nigh on pitch black at night, and has no barriers etc. overnight, so might be an option?
 
Niki, if you want clear North, forget anywhere around here.. Sorry. Gatwick really mucks things up for that. Wasn't thinking clearly, for star trails you need to see Polaris ideally. You might try on the north side of Worthing on top of the south downs. You might be able to get above the worst of it.
 
Cheers Simmotino, my main concern with that area is it's proximity to large towns. Light Pollution travels a long way :( It's not far from our office though, so I'll check it out :)

jgs001, the South Downs was going to be my next location to check out as I agree about Gatwick :P
 
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