A Solar Walk is, as its name suggests, a walk along which markers are placed with details of the planets in our solar system. The spacing of the planetary markers along the walk is to scale with the spacing of the real planets in space.

Our walk is along a section of the Walkway, starting with the sun at the first gate heading north from the visitor centre and stretching north up the walkway in the direction of the A689, ending with Pluto close to the first entrance to Thorpe Wood

The markers are full of fantastic facts about each planet and (where appropriate) its moons. The original motivation for this walk was as an activity for the summer playschemes hosted by the planetarium.

The scheme involves groups of children attending a short planetarium show after which they are let loose on the walkway equipped with a worksheet. The worksheet has to be filled in from information given in the planetarium show and from that on the planetary markers along the solar walk.

If you come to a public planetarium show on a Sunday afternoon (May to August) or Friday evening (September to April) you may like to combine this activity with a stroll down our solar walk.