Best places to see the Northern Lights in the UK revealed

You could see the skies dance with colour near you.

The Northern Lights are often cited as one of the most beautiful, breathtaking sights you can ever witness.

And right here in the UK, we are lucky enough to be able to see them in select places.

Over the past month, social media has been littered with stunning photos of the natural phenomenon as Brits have experienced the rare sightings.

The Northern Lights were unusually seen as far south as Cornwall – and it looks like we could be experiencing them even more.

But where are the best places in the UK to catch the Aurora Borealis, and why are we seeing them so much more?

Here’s what you need to know – and happy lights hunting!

Where are the best places to see the Aurora Borealis in the UK?

The Northern Lights are best viewed with no cloud cover, as little light pollution as possible, and minimum or no moon.

The time of year can also affect your chances, with the lights deemed most active during the Equinox and Solstice in March/April and September/October.

You also need to be facing north in the Northern Hemisphere, and south in the Southern Hemisphere to heighten your chances.

There are certain places then in the UK where you are more likely to witness Aurora Borealis than others.

If you live in Scotland, you are more likely to witness the event more times than anywhere else.

This also applies to North England, North Wales, and Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office.

Residents of large cities, including London, are unlikely to get a picturesque view of the Aurora Borealis due to light pollution.

According to Countryfile, Northumberland National Park, Galloway Forest Park and the Cairngorms are three great ‘Dark Sky sites’ that are perfect for stargazing, and in a great spot to see the lights.

Why are we seeing the Northern Lights more often?

Northern Lights normally occur a few days after a solar storm when a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) happens.

A CME is a large expulsion of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s corona, the outer part of its atmosphere.

The colorful light show we see is caused by electrically charged particles from space entering the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

CMEs originate from sunspots, so the more sunspots there are, the most likely we are to see the Northern Lights.

The sun has an approximately 11-year solar cycle, varying in low peaks of activity to high peaks, known as solar minimums and solar maximums that determine the rate in which CMEs happen.

And the Met Office believes we are heading towards a solar maximum, which means we will be seeing more of the Northern Lights.

Experts say we are approaching the peak of the sun cycle, meaning we will see more sun spots and therefore more geo-magnetic storms.

‘The last solar minimum occurred in December 2019, with the next solar maximum expected around 2025,’ said a spokesperson.

‘Over the coming years, as we continue towards solar maximum, we can expect to see an increase in the frequency of space weather events.

‘On top of this, we tend to see ‘seasons’ in the form of semi-annual variations of geomagnetic activity, with peaks around the spring and autumn equinoxes often resulting in enhanced auroral activity.’

The Met Office produce a daily space weather forecast and can be found here.

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