A POPULAR stargazing festival is returning to North Yorkshire this month - with 'star bathing' among the new events on offer.

This year, exciting new additions to the Dark Skies Festival in the county include a dark skies exhibition, mindful night walk in Whitby, art workshops and new moon gatherings.

Annual favourites such as nocturnal adventures in Cropton or Keldy forest, ghost walks in Robin Hood's Bay, stargazing and trails at the National Park Centres, mindful meanders, astrophotography workshops and night navigation experiences will also be making a return.

A spokesperson for the festival said: "Get your binoculars ready to expand your knowledge or start your stargazing journey. There will be a superb programme of events to get you out and about under the starry skies of the North York Moors."

Amid growing awareness of the wellbeing benefits associated with spending time outside under the night skies, this year’s festival, which runs from February 18 - March 6, runs across both International Dark Sky Reserves of the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Parks - and will see an expanded range of mindfulness sessions.

For the first-time Zen teacher Mark Westmoquette brings his star bathing approach to the festival, drawing on his astronomy background and showing how people can use the night sky to live "more in the moment".

Visitors can join Mark at Nethergill Farm or the Dent Meditation Centre for a mindfulness stargazing evening in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales surroundings, or at High Dalby House in the North York Moors for a yoga and mind-body-spirit practice called qigong, held jointly with Adventures for the Soul, before going on a night nature walk in the wooded grounds.

Families with younger children can enjoy the opportunity to slow down during a Mindfulness Walk organised by Whitby YHA when stargazing, nature at night and views across the cliff tops above the harbour will help "reinvigorate all the senses".

Visitors will be able to admire the work of dark skies photographer, Pete Collins, in an exhibition within the visitor centre of Ribblehead Station before venturing across to the Station Inn to join an astronomer for a tour of the night sky, with the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct acting as the backdrop.

Other stargazing safaris include evenings with dark skies hunter Richard Darn at Aysgarth Falls and Gill Garth Farm at Settle where visitors can gaze in awe at the star-lit canopy hovering above one of Yorkshire’s highest peaks, Pen-y-Ghent

For the first time the woodland setting at Gilling Castle near Ampleforth will be used for a night photography skills workshop with John Arnison.

For information and booking details, visit the website at: darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk