Orion: don't expect as good as this. Photo: European Southern Observatory

Walkers will be in the dark at an event in the Lake District.

And organisers will be praying for clear skies at the Ennerdale gathering aimed at introducing visitors to astronomy.

The Stargazing for Beginners talk will take place in Ennerdale, chosen for its dark skies and lack of light pollution. The Friends of the Lake District has organised the event, which will be hosted by Stuart Atkinson, from Kendal’s Eddington Astronomical Society next Monday, 17 October.

A Friends’ spokesperson said Mr Atkinson will explain what can be seen in the night sky, when it can be seen and what you need to see stars with. He will also explain how light pollution is affecting the view of the many thousands of stars that should be visible.

In a ‘star count’ by the Campaign to Protect Rural England in January this year, to which Friends of the Lake District contributed, results showed nationally that the proportion of people living with severe light pollution has increased from 54 per cent in 2007 to 59 per cent in 2011.

In Cumbria, of 55 people taking part in the survey, only two reported being able to see more than 30 stars in the Orion constellation – a measure of a truly dark sky – while 17 people saw between 20 and 30 stars and 36 people saw fewer than 20.

The talk is part of a See the Stars project run by Friends of the Lake District and funded by the Lake District National Park Sustainable Development Fund.

Judith Moore, policy officer with the Friends said: “In comparison to many places, the Lake District does have dark skies, but as the research shows even our skies are being affected by light pollution.

“See the Stars will help people understand both the beauty of the night sky as well as what we can do to keep our skies dark.”

The evening costs £4 for adults and £2.50 for under-16s and the meeting point will be the Bowness Knott car park at 6.30pm.

Places can be booked by contacting the Friends on 01539 720788 or by emailing them.

The Friends have also organised a Dark Sky beer festival at the Wainwrights Inn at Chapel Stile in Langdale on 29 and 30 October.