EXMOOR National Park Authority is launching new initiatives to celebrate further Exmoor’s status as Europe’s first International Dark Sky Reserve.

The announcement followed last week’s inaugural Dark Skies Festival, when more than 2,000 people attended over 35 events.

Despite cloud cover during many events, the festival was declared a success with the vast majority of events being fully booked in advance and visitors cioming from across the UK and beyond.

Exmoor became the very first International Dark Sky Reserve designated in Europe in 2011, and the festival sought to celebrate the opportunities that provides and give a boost to tourism outside of the peak season.

Events included dusk safaris, stargazing adventures, glow-stick swimming, an astro party and a giant mobile planetarium, and more than 200 schoolchildren took part in a night -time adventure at Wimbleball.

A new short film was premiered, incorporating imagery of Exmoor’s dark skies and introductions to some of the wonders that can be explored. It will be available at the Lynmouth and Dunster National Park Centres and via the park’s YouTube channel.

Now the authority is looking to build on this success.

Some 150,000 euros have been secured from the European Regional Development Fund to boost astro tourism in the area further.

As part of the AtlanticNetSky project, Exmoor will be working with partners in places such as the Canary Islands, Spain, Ireland and Portugal to develop a network of astro-tourism destinations.

There will be opportunities to share learning from across Europe and to develop a shared marketing programme.

Locally there will be support for Exmoor businesses to develop new astronomy related tourism products, provision of a dark sky discovery hub and training opportunities.

The park authority is also hosting a family stargazing weekend at its Pinkery Centre for Outdoor Learning from March 16 to 18 next year.

Being held in the heart of the dark sky reserve, it aims to provide families and groups with an interest in astronomy the opportunity to discover together through the expertise of astronomer and author Seb Jay.

“Our status as Europe’s first International Dark Sky reserve is of immense value to Exmoor,” said Dan James, sustainable economy manager at Exmoor National Park.

“It recognises the fact that we have some of the darkest skies in the country and that we are proactively working to conserve them.

“More than that, it provides a great opportunity to encourage more people to visit and stay longer outside of the peak season.

“We are really pleased with how the festival went – not only did we attract new visitors to the area, we also engaged with many local communities and several businesses put on their own events within the festival programme.