Can we turn all the lights off please? Imagine Beeston in total darkness for one hour only on a cloudless, New Moon winter's night?

In the last few days, news that the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors have been designated 'Dark Sky Reserves' (see BBC link here).

It is years since I last saw the Milky Way in all its glory and I suspect there are millions of young people who never have — hence my blog post title. It doesn't seem much to ask and the magic of it could well change a good few lives.

This is a (cropped) picture from The Guardian news item about the new dark sky reserves (click here to see news item):

This is the Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle–Carisle railway line. It's a long way to go and see the Milky Way, so...

...why not bring the experience a little closer to home and use the Bennerley Viaduct, once it has been restored by the Friends of Bennerley Viaduct, as Broxtowe's own 'Dark Sky viewing platform'?

The chances are they are ahead of me and this idea is already on their list of things to do. In the meantime, can we turn all the lights off in Beeston before the winter's out for an hour (when the sky is cloudless and it's dark of course) and have our very own peek at the Milky Way?

I have odd thoughts like this most days and, yes, they make me happy, so it's nice to share the odd one or two.