In July 2018 we took the opportunity to make our first ever visit to Jodrell Bank. We had seen it many times in the distance but, whilst we were in the area and with inscription possible/ probable (??) in 2019, it seemed worthwhile seeing fully what it has to offer. As the site is likely to receive heightened interest from WH travellers in the upcoming months the following info might be of interest both to those who are considering whether/when to visit as well as to those who will follow events from afar.

a. We arrived to find frenetic activity ongoing to complete a car park extension. Bad news of course! As from 5 Sept 2018 the, currently free, parking will cost £4 per vehicle in addition to the (as yet!) unchanged entry fees (Trying to visit the observatory by public transport could be an “adventure” - look to reach the village of Goostry, still a 30 min walk away!). Behind the car park, yet more construction was taking place. A new “First Light Pavilion” is going up with completion currently scheduled for late 2019/early 2020.

b. There are already 2 “pavilions” containing exhibitions for visitors to the site - The “Planet Pavilion” and the “Space Pavilion”. At the moment the former doubles as ticket office/cafe but also houses scientific displays whilst the latter showcases the main scientific aspects related to radio astronomy (a third building, the Star Pavilion, is only used for special shows, education etc).

c. It appears that the purpose of the additional “First Light Pavilion” is to present the “heritage” of the site rather than the “science” behind it. It will also become the main entry point/reception etc. It is part of a larger project (“The First Light Project”) to preserve and present the site’s heritage. Gaining UNESCO inscription is presumably either one more aspect of this wider “heritage” objective or (possibly if one were cynical??) the prime objective itself!   

d. Most visitors will come just to see the “iconic” giant (89m high and 76m or 250 ft in diameter) Lovell Telescope (photo) – and, amazing it is too in a “clunky” 1950s way (designs were presented in 1950 and construction started as early as 1952). It seems all girders and rivets from an earlier age. Indeed, some parts of it were salvaged from ex WWII battleships being broken up! It, together with the current “Pavilions” and some open air “scientific” exhibits relevant to the technology such as the “Whispering dishes” referred to by Hubert in his review below, constitute the “on view” experience. We managed to fill around 3 hours there, of which quite a lot was spent “playing” with the “experiments” - most of which operate at “child height”! Another interesting aspect of the visit was that the “attendants” in the pavilions were UMIST “students” - though that is perhaps to underplay their knowledge. We spoke to 2 who were researching for Astrophysics PhDs - one from India and another who had a friend currently out in China working on FAST. (As an aside FAST is one of 18 other Radio Telescopes used as "comparators" in the Nomination File - even though it only commenced operation in 2016. Wiki states of it "efforts to develop a tourist industry around the telescope are causing some concern among astronomers worried about nearby mobile telephones acting as sources of RFI. A projected 10 million tourists in 2017 will force officials to decide on the scientific mission versus the economic benefits of tourism"! At Jodrell Bank all visitors are asked to switch off their mobile phones)

e. But the nomination covers rather more. From the main Lovell Telescope area you can see the original brick “Control Building” from the early 1970s (Nominated - but its interior is out of bounds to visitors) which is connected by tunnel to the telescope. Behind its roof can be seen 2 more “dishes” (both nominated) - of which the “Mark II” telescope designed in 1960 is particularly historically significant both for its concrete construction and for its early computer control. Near these lies an area called “The Green” - grassland where Sir Bernard Lovell (1913 - 2012), the founder of the Observatory, first carried out his investigations into “radar waves” from space as early as 1945. He had to move out of Manchester to do this because of radio interference there and UMIST owned a plot of land in leafy Cheshire for use by its Botany department! 

f. In addition to the 2 dishes mentioned above, this area contains a series of “huts”, old instruments and the remaining foundations of yet more, together with the living “accommodation” used by scientists in the “early” years. Some consist of underground “archaeological” remains only. It is noteworthy that the Nomination file calls this the site’s “Historic Core”. Its various elements are well described in the Nomination file and I will make no attempt to add further other than to mention that they "glory" in names like "Moon hut" and "Cosmic Noise hut"! Unfortunately none of it is open to the public even for viewing from a distance, and, as far as I have been able to assess, it is not planned ever to make it so. The only comment in the Nomination file is that there is a “plan for guided pre-booked walking tours of this area for a limited number of visitors”. A possible “destination” for some future “Annual Meet-up”??

d. It really is a great shame that one cannot normally see these aspects. I personally was pleased to discover that such remains from the “pioneer” days were to be included in the nomination - it seems to me to raise it from being just a piece of old technology (albeit “iconic”) into a genuine historic site which speaks of its period. Across just a few years you can trace the move from research carried out on a shoestring by a few dedicated “boffins” through to that involving major investments, large teams and world wide coverage. We were told that the Light Pavilion will contain a lot more information about these early locations as well as collections of “moveable” and documentary heritage related to them.

e. The question must arise as to whether the nomination is going to satisfy ICOMOS. One aspect of potential concern could be condition/paucity of the relatively few early remains  and another the  “authenticity” of the still “in use” dishes etc. Regarding the former - who knows - at least there ARE some remains. Such technology wasn't usually considered worth keeping during the "rush of progress"! Regarding the latter - one must assume that much of the electronics will have been changed many times over in the last 50+ years but I hadn’t realised that even the “skin” of the Lovell Telescope dish which one sees today (if it isn’t parked horizontally!) is a later addition situated a few feet inside the original one. And that even this has been replaced once since it was added. We were also told that the hidden original is being replaced in order to maintain structural integrity because of rust - a section from it is to be erected inside the Light Pavilion. The telescope still carries out research of World level significance and can’t just be “preserved” totally unchanged. The nomination file likens such changes to replacing weathered stones on Durham Cathedral! It will be interesting to see if ICOMOS accepts this. I personally find it a positive that the site is still operating, rather than being a “museum”, even if this means that some original elements have been, and will continue to be, replaced.

f. The Nomination File is available to view here  (unfortunately it doesn’t appear to have been set up to allow full download from “issuu”)

g. From the “kids height” experiments to the involvement of UMIST students in staffing the site I was quite impressed with the extent to which the site “majors” on providing engagement, explanation and interpretation – perhaps an aspect which isn’t given enough importance alongside “preservation” when evaluating nominations and management plans. School parties are clearly very important - even if somewhat annoying when, as a “WH traveller” one is trying to listen to the video!! Next to the Car Park the stage was being readied for this year’s “Bluespot Festival” described in the Nomination File as having as an objective to address the dip in visitor profile among “young adults” – “an award-winning festival of discovery at the grounds of a deep space observatory. Set against a backdrop of the iconic Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank, bluedot combines a truly stellar line-up of music with a ground-breaking programme of live science experiments, expert talks and immersive artworks”!! (but they were very concerned to convince ICOMOS that nothing would get damaged during such events!!)

h. Finally -  I thought it a rather “nice” trivial detail to discover that the location of this iconic site of “modern” technology is named after one “William Jauderell”, an archer who fought with the Black Prince at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356!