From stargazing to creative writing, a festival is set to light up the North Yorkshire night with a celebration of darkness.

The Dark Skies Fringe Festival will return from October 24 to November 2, placing the spotlight on the night skies above the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales.

The festival will also extend to the Howardian Hills and Nidderdale National Landscapes, offering a diverse programme of after-dark events and activities.

Dark Sky Defender and nature writer Dani Robertson(Image: Ryan Scott Phillips)

Emily Watson, regenerative tourism manager for the North York Moors National Park, said: "It's fantastic to have new creative work featured in the Fringe Festival as it adds another dimension and way that people can become inspired to experience the wonders of the night, as well as highlighting why we should all care about protecting the quality of the skies above us."

Visitors to the Sutton Bank or Danby Lodge National Park Centres in the North York Moors will be able to pick up a free chapbook, curated by Claire Hind of York St John University.

The pamphlet features a collection of artists' reflections on the sensory experience of nature after dark and aims to help readers connect with their environment once night falls.

Chapbook cover(Image: Supplied)

Dark Sky Defender and nature writer Dani Robertson will appear at The Pickering Book Tree on October 24 to discuss her new book, Creatures of Darkness, which delves into the lives of wildlife that rely on darkness to survive.

The festival will also offer a full schedule of popular events, including stargazing sessions at Bolton Abbey, Malham Tarn, and Ashes Farm in the Yorkshire Dales, as well as Sutton Bank, Dalby Forest, and Whitby in the North York Moors.

This year's festival coincides with the Orionid Meteor Shower, offering a chance to witness streaks of light as the Earth passes through debris from Halley's Comet.

In Elsworth at the Mill near Skipton, Martin Lunn, former curator of astronomy at the Yorkshire Museum, will give a talk on the Great Northern Eclipse during a two-course dinner.

Guided night walks will also be available, including routes beside waterfalls such as Janet's Foss at Malham and Mallyan Spout in Goathland.

Other walks will explore the Hole of Horcum, The Wainstones, and Rievaulx Abbey.

Helen Dalton, tourism officer for the Yorkshire Dales National Park, said: "October's Dark Skies Fringe event is a fine way to welcome in the longer nights and instead of shutting out the darkness, making the most of the opportunities to bathe in the beauty of the night sky, particularly in our most cherished protected spaces where the sight of pristine, star-filled heavens is so uplifting."

The festival will also offer night-time canoeing, ghost train rides, photography workshops, and illuminated displays at Whitby Abbey.

For more details and event bookings, visit www.darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk.

Festival to celebrate dark skies above North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales