Snowdonia a Dark Sky Reserve

South Downs National Park, just south of London, England, was granted Dark Sky Reserve status in 2016 by the International Dark Sky Association (http://darksky.org), a nonprofit group that seeks to protect areas of excellent night-sky viewing from pollution by light. 

To qualify for this status, the Snowdonia National Parks Authority made assurances to reduce or eliminate artificial light. Light pollution cannot be completely eliminated in the park, as there are some villages within its boundaries.

Ten other locations have achieved Dark Sky Reserve status: Brecon Beacons National Park (Wales), Snowdonia National Park (Wales), Exmoor National Park (England), Kerry (Ireland), Pic du Midi (France), Rhön (Germany), Westhavelland (Germany), Aoraki Mackenzie (New Zealand), NamibRand Nature Reserve (Namibia) and Mont-Mégantic (Montreal, Canada).

Another group dedicated to preserving night skies, the Starlight Foundation (fundacionstarlight.org), maintains its own list of locations (April ’15, pg. 58).