First published: 26/11/19.

Daniel C-Hazard 2.0

Jodrell Bank Observatory

Jodrell Bank Observatory (Inscribed)

Jodrell Bank Observatory by Daniel C-Hazard

I think this site deserves its world heritage status and it surely fills a WHS niche. It is not the oldest radio telescope in the world but one of the oldest "bigger ones" as far as I could find out. Personally, I find the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which is four times bigger in diameter (and six years younger), more impressive. A cross-national nomination would have made sense in my opinion (well played, UK!).

What I did not like so much was the fact that the site's management has made the WH listed smaller Mark II Telescope completely off limits to the public. I understand that astrophysics research is still carried out by the University of Manchester but allowing visitors a closer look and operating such a site would not exclude each other. Nowadays, to have a closer look on the Lovell Telescope, the main one, the visitor has to pay at least 7.65 GBP entrance fee for an adult, plus 4.00 GBP for a parking ticket. These fees give you access to the Lovell Telescope site (protected by a circular fence), a rather boring exhibition in the so-called "Space Pavilion" (the "Star Pavilion" was closed at the time of my visit in November 2019) and the Jodrell Bank Gardens, which were undergoing refurbishment and were partly closed for that. Overall, I found the site overpriced. And to be honest, I took the better pictures from outside the aforementioned area.

That said, staff at the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre were friendly, and I would still recommend the visit to anyone interested in space, science, and to all WH enthusiasts.

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