How to see the Northern Lights in the Scottish Borders

Should there be a favourable forecast, The House in the Hill is in the perfect location to view the Northern Lights. But how do you maximise your chance of seeing the Northern Lights in the Scottish Borders? We’ve put together some simple tips for you… 

The Northern Lights over the Cheviots

The Northern Lights dance green and purple above the Borders

A tree is silhouetted by the Northern Lights

Check the forecast…

Before heading out ‘aurora-chasing’, make sure you check both predicted and past solar activity trackers, and the weather forecast. 

There are several solar activity trackers that provide a forecast for the Northern Lights. We use Aurora Watch UK, which is run by scientists at Lancaster University. They have an app that you can download, which also allows you to turn on notifications for ‘Alerts’. These are Green, Yellow, Amber and Red, with Red Alerts being the highest alert for a colourful display in the sky. Although, due to our location, there’s a chance of seeing the Northern Lights from a Yellow Alert and above, we tend to head out when Amber and Red Alerts come through as there’s a better chance of seeing the Lights on those occasions. 

As well as making sure solar activity is on your side, you need the weather to play ball too! A clear night is a ‘must’ for you to be able to see the Northern Lights, which does tend to mean it's a bit chillier up at The House in the Hill. Make sure to wrap up warm (a woolly hat will be your friend), grab a blanket and take a flask of tea or hot chocolate out with you to keep warm. We have a flask in the House for guests to take out with them, so there’s no need to take up precious packing space with your own. 

Make sure you’re looking in the right direction…

Although it does tend to be north, it’s not always. When the solar and geomagnetic activity is extremely high and you are located to the north of the UK, the aurora may actually be above or even to the south of you. So if you know there is a high chance of aurora activity, make sure you’re checking all directions.

Be patient, and prepared!

There are reasons that so many people haven’t been able to see the Northern Lights in their lifetime, and aside from location and forecast, it is partly because you are most likely to see them in the middle of the night when the sky is at its darkest. If you’re patient enough to wait up for true darkness to fall, be prepared to wait into the small hours of the morning for the lights to appear. 

If you know there's a decent chance of seeing the Northern Lights following alerts or news coverage, you could always set an alarm and get up when the sky will be darkest. Just make sure that you give your eyes half an hour or so to adjust, and don’t be disheartened if you can’t see the night sky clearly as soon as you head out. 

Although we have everything crossed that the Northern Lights appear as often as possible for our guests heading into the winter, we would still recommend heading out on particularly clear nights at The House in the Hill even if they don't. The view of the stars is still absolutely breathtaking and sitting atop Townfoot Hill with the constellations above you is well worth a late night.