Cromore Retreat · Portstewart · 55° North

The sky above the estate

Every suite at Cromore has a transparent ceiling, and the estate keeps a dark corner of Portstewart to itself. This page is our diary of what the sky here will do next — worked out for our exact spot on the coast, night by night.

Aerial view of the Cromore Estate in Portstewart — the historic house and wooded grounds with the domes among the trees, and Portstewart Strand and the open Atlantic beyond
In frame — the estate & the domes among the treesPortstewart · the Strand · the open Atlantic

Stand on the decking after dark and face north, past the town lights, and there is nothing between you and the horizon but the Atlantic. No streetlight, no city glow — the next land that way is Scotland’s islands, and after that the Arctic. It’s why the northern sky over the sea here goes properly black, and why, when the aurora comes south, this coast sees it first in Ireland.

We’ll be honest about the other side of that latitude: in high summer, this far north, the sky never reaches full astronomical darkness — June nights hold a deep blue instead of black. The diary below tells you that straight, the same way it tells you when a bright moon will wash out a meteor shower.

Everything is calculated for the estate’s own coordinates and checked against the US Naval Observatory — so when a night below says the sky will put on a show, it will.

The next six months, night by night

What each night offers and where in our sky to look — with the honest caveats.

28 AugPartial lunar eclipse — visible from bed, through the domeCheck the date →
11 SeptNew moon — no moonlight all night — the Milky Way at its clearestCheck the date →
10 OctNew moon — no moonlight all night — the Milky Way at its clearestCheck the date →
21 OctOrionids — up to 20 shooting stars an hour — a bright moon will hide the fainter onesCheck the date →
9 NovNew moon — no moonlight all night — the Milky Way at its clearestCheck the date →
17 NovLeonids — up to 15 shooting stars an hour — look climbing over the coast roadCheck the date →
9 DecNew moon — no moonlight all night — the Milky Way at its clearestCheck the date →
14 DecGeminids — up to 150 shooting stars an hour — look climbing over the coast roadCheck the date →
22 DecUrsids — up to 10 shooting stars an hour — a bright moon will hide the fainter onesCheck the date →
3 JanQuadrantids — up to 80 shooting stars an hour — look low over the coast toward PortrushCheck the date →
7 JanNew moon — no moonlight all night — the Milky Way at its clearestCheck the date →
6 FebNew moon — no moonlight all night — the Milky Way at its clearestCheck the date →
A private hot tub beside a transparent bubble dome at dusk on the Cromore Estate

From the dome

“At night time when you turn off all the lights, the stars lying in bed is magical. This is a must stay!”

Michelle — guest review

Four of the five suites have a private hot tub in their own clearing — on a meteor night, the warmest seat on the North Coast. Suites from £195.

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