Tour reveals top celestial attractions at Davagh

The countdown is well and truly underway to the opening of one of the most exciting public developments and major new tourist attractions in the North.

Last Thursday, the Herald was invited along to a tour of the Dark Sky Observatory in Davagh Forest, as construction workers enter the final furlong of the £1.25million project by Mid Ulster District Council.

The doors to the impressive wooden clad building will open to the public on April 3 and the facility will be open seven-days-a-week.

During a presentation to the invited guests which included members of the local community in Broughderg, as well as councillors, Mary McKeown from Mid Ulster District Council said the complex would offer a “world class visitor experience”, with free admission to the general building and tours starting from £5 per adult.

Inside the modestly-sized building will be a number of display panels, and interactive devices to take the visitor on an immersive journey of celestial discovery.

The facility will also offer VIP tours, which includes a one-to-one guide with a qualified atronomer.

At the heart of the centre, sited in its own special room upstairs, will be a powerful telelscope.

In operation, the telescope will rise through the retractable roof, from where it will magnify the stars and planets.

For casual visitors there will be free access to the toilets and changing facilities and the ‘grab and go’ area which will include fresh sandwiches, pastries and coffee.

However, as Ms McKeown stressed, much of the dark-sky experience will be focused on the outdoors, with a new landscaped viewing area and plans in place for a solar walk, which will take visitors from Davagh Forest across to the Beaghmore Stone Circles.

There will be audio-visual shows which will project the solar system on to the building.

The hugely significant archaeoligcal and cultural history of the region will also be a key component of the displays and presentations.

An official name for the Observatory has been chosen and is expected to be revealed to the public in the coming weeks.

Sissy Coyle, a Broughderg resident, was clearly impressed on her visit to the site.

“It is just fantastic to see it taking shape,” she said. “It is really unbelievable to think that we are now going have a facility like this here in Broughderg.