Jodrell Bank

Bernard Lovell put military radar equipment in a botany field in 1945 because Manchester's trams interfered with his readings, and by 1957 had built a fully steerable dish seventy-six metres across, the largest in the world at the time. It went massively over budget and Lovell was under threat of prosecution until, weeks after completion, it tracked the carrier rocket of Sputnik 1, the only instrument in the West able to do so, and the debt was written off. It has since tracked Soviet and American lunar probes, contributed to the discovery of quasars and pulsars and worked in the network that measures them, and it is still in scientific use. UNESCO inscribed the site in 2019. The Discovery Centre has exhibitions and a garden, and the Bluedot music and science festival is held here each summer.

What you actually see

• The Lovell Telescope - a seventy-six-metre steerable dish, still working.
• The Sputnik connection - the instrument that tracked the 1957 carrier rocket.
• The UNESCO listing - inscribed in 2019 for its role in radio astronomy.
• The Discovery Centre - exhibitions and a viewing path around the dish.

When to go

April to October for the outdoor site; the telescope moves periodically as it observes, which is worth waiting for. Bluedot festival in July closes normal visiting. Winter opening is reduced.

Honest expectations

The telescope cannot be approached closely or entered; viewing is from a path at a distance. Much of the site is outdoors with limited shelter. The exhibitions are pitched at families. Nearby mobile phone use is restricted to protect observations.

Nearby

Macclesfield and the Peak District edge lie east; Chester and Manchester are within an hour.