Northumberland's Twice Brewed pub is home to the county's first permanent planetarium

  • Video report by Kris Jepson.

A Northumberland pub is now home to the county's first permanent planetarium.

The Twice Brewed Pub in the Northumberland Dark Sky Park, first opened its observatory in early 2020 and has been building a strong reputation for its stargazing.

The pub's resident astronomer, Wil Cheung, runs stargazing sessions for visitors.

The addition of the planetarium is expected to draw in many more visitors to the pub.

Mr Cheung said: "With the technology that we have we can zoom in to objects, so in a way it becomes even more immersive.

"Flying through the Orion Nebula, looking at the Andromeda Galaxy, really as if you're inside it.

"It's a very exciting addition to what we offer here."

The Twice brewed Pub has been building a strong reputation for stargazing since 2020. Credit: Hilary Florek PR

He added: “We have spent many months building and making plans for the planetarium.

"Everyone at The Twice Brewed is delighted to be able to welcome people inside to immerse themselves in the universe.”

The planetarium offers stargazers the chance to journey around the Aurora;  take a tour of the Universe; soak up the science behind the Sun; travel through Nebulas and get among Saturn's rings.

The new planetarium facility has the capacity for 35 people to sit and explore the night sky. Credit: Hilary Florek PR

The new facility is said to have a capacity for around 35 people with a variety of reclining chairs and bean bags to improve people's stargazing experience.

Mr Cheung said: “It really is incredible what the planetarium can bring to the overall stargazing experience.

“While you could never replace the joy and wonder of exploring the night sky for real, having the planetarium will allow us to take guests on journeys which simply aren’t possible through a telescope.

“It’s wonderful that we now have the ability to offer visitors the chance to do both.”

Wil Cheung is Twice Brewed Pub's resident astronomer who also captures impressive images of the night sky. Credit: Wil Cheung Photography

What is a planetarium?

A planetarium is a facility which uses projectors to recreate the night sky on the ceiling to allow people to explore the stars and space.

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