Star man brands Sark a "must-visit island"

Thursday 26 January 2023

He may have travelled to outer space, but it seems the next stop on British Astronaut Major Tim Peake's travel list may be much closer to home.

The astronaut recently endorsed the Channel Island of Sark, praising its beautiful coastline and scenery as a "must-visit island".

His comment was sparked by a Facebook post on 'Kate Walks the Coast', a page run by the fiancée of Chris Lewis, the ex-paratrooper who has spent the last five years walking the UK coastline continuously to raise money for UK charity SSAFA.

But Sark's coastline isn't the only reason he should visit.

The island has some of the best views of the night sky on the planet, with the island this week marking 12 years since it became the world's first 'Dark Sky Island'.

The status granted by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) on 25 January 2011 reflects Sark's lack of light pollution, which allows for an unobstructed view of the night sky.

The IDA explained at the time: "A rich Milky Way is visible thanks to Sark’s island location, its generally low use of residential and commercial electricity, and of course its striking absence of public street lights.'

Responding to the endorsement, Sark Tourism said: "We are delighted that Tim Peake has responded so positively and favourably to the post about Sark.

"Sark is the world's first designated Dark Sky Island and a visit from Tim would be absolutely amazing.

"We hope that Tim will visit Sark soon and experience personally its magic and all that Sark has to offer."