
I visited this WHS in July 2019. The only days I could visit happened to be days when regular access is not allowed due to the Bluedot Festival. Not willing to pay the full price for the weekend since I was not interested in the festival, I took my chances knowing that several UNESCO talks were planned for the day I planned to visit. Worst case scenario would be paying around 60 euros for a day pass.
First of all, the expensive outdoor car park (which was free a couple of years ago) was closed because of the festival so I parked for free in one of the country roads with rubble walls close to Blackden Heath. If you don't mind walking in muddy fields (mostly to avoid having electricity cables in your photos), the best views of the Jodrell Bank Observatory are from different fields around Bomish Lane, Blackden Lane and Bridge Lane. Secondly, the area sees LOTS of heavy rain and is quite prone to flooding so keep it in mind. Notwithstanding the heavy rain which was pouring non-stop, I was determined to visit on foot to increase the chances of meeting someone willing to lend me his day pass or finding a way in. So I marched on steadily wearing my windbreaker and waterproof clothes. After taking some photos from different angles, the rain became torrential rain (typical UK summer day, I guess) and I took shelter under a tree.
The overall experience of visiting a WHS sometimes is equal if not better than the actual WHS itself. And in this case, I thanked my lucky stars, as underneath the same tree, came another bloke who seemed much more worried to cover his sort of briefcase full of documents than covering himself from the rain. While waiting a while for the rain to lose intensity, we started chatting with each other. To make a long story short, the guy turned out to be a student who was doing a project on astrophysics and the science behind the Jodrell Bank Observatory and on the development of the technology of tomorrow. Apparently he had prearranged a meeting with one of the speakers and came along using public transport. When I told him that I'm a WH traveller and that I was there to visit the Jodrell Bank Observatory as a WHS, the guy offered to talk to the contact person he had waiting for him inside and try to convince the Bluedot Festival security guards that I was there with him for the project's photography. I thanked him profusely and kept my fingers crossed that his idea would work. And surely enough, work it did as I got through security as a 'registered photographer'! Moreover, I got to attend a few of the several UNESCO talks which were being held so I was thrilled even though the weather was far from sunny.
Apart from a UNESCO banner, there weren't any inscription plaques when I visited and I must say that the views from inside the observatory perimeter (especially with the main large telescope pointing vertically to the sky) are not that special. The Jodrell Bank Observatory's main telescope, the third largest steerable radio telescope in the world, is too big and too chunky to get decent photos from close by. I'd love to revisit on a quieter and possibly drier day, ideally when I can experience the telescope being steered.
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