Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics

Having nothing must to do on a sunny day Mr D and I decided to visit Jodrell Bank.
First thing to mention is they ask you to turn off mobile phones on the site — please do as it causes interference for the radio telescope
Once inside there’s 2 areas of exhibits — a lot of which are based around computer displays. One gripe I had is there was just do much information on each unit to get through any reasonable amount of information did make you feel like you were hogging it!
The exhibit areas aren’t that large so you do have to really want to hi through the info to make it feel worth the £7 adult entry price.
Of course you can also spend some time looking up at the big telescope — the café actually looks right at it for a leisurely lunch. There’s a few scientific toys in the grounds (whispering dishes etc) but sadly a couple are showing age and hard use.
There is also a walk in the other direction around the Arboretum — be warned with small children there are a few ponds — nice area to spend a little longer before heading home.

Okay, sorry I’m going to lower the tone here, I’m came solely for the café. You do get a lovely view of the Lovell telescope from your seat, but I only had eyes for the menu.
For your average tourist-​y centre this place is definitely above average on quality. Flyers on the table highlighted the support for Fairtrade produce (lessened my scientific-​ignorance related guilt somewhat). The menu has everything from juicy thick burgers and hand-​cut chips to Mediterranean style mezzes.
On a Sunday lunch this place was HEAVING with young families and sa part of a young couple I was definitely in the minority. The wait is also due to it being quite a small café, however there’s an appealing outdoor decking area that’s twice the size for the Summer months. So be warned that on a weekend there’ll no doubt be a queue of some sort and small people in it, however this is definitely a child-​friendly café FOR adults and thankfully I didn’t feel like I was sat in a play area.
Despite the wait, service was great — quick, helpful and very friendly wait staff. Food was good, with large portions and a seasonally sensitive menu. The only thing that annoyed me slightly was that I didn’t have room for a slice of the various towering cakes, which looked amazing!
I noticed a few cyclists who obviously use the café as a refueling point so I’m thinking once Summer hits, a slice of cake on the decking will be the perfect motivation to get on my bike and even take in some science… maybe.

If you like science, astromomy and space telescopes this is pretty interesting and has a lot of historical connections with NASA’s Apollo programme.

Jodrell Bank Telescope is a lovely subject to photography. A great place to photograph is from the A535 at Lower Withington with a setting sun behind the telescope. If you enjoy digital photography and would like to get the most our of your camera please visit
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In all fairness Astro physics the mere mention of it will have most of us rolling our eyes thinking ya ya ya whatever… I may or may not be one of these people. The fact remains this is a fascinating place you must visit at least once.
The world-​famous Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank built has been here since 1957 exploring the sky above, which majority of us in Manchester actually can’t see for most of the year. The Lovell actually remains one of the biggest and most powerful radio telescopes in the world.
There’s plenty to do here. Things like taking a behind-​the-​scenes mini-​tour of the observatory, or check out an amazing simulated flight to Mars in the 3D Theatre. After flying like a bird… or a martian bird over the Martian volcanoes and canyons, yo can come back down to earth. When you get back you can explore the various trails here through the 35-​acre Arboretum with its 2,000 species of trees and shrubs.
Again even if you aren’t into that stuff it is worth a visit just once, who knows you might fall in love with it and become a plantologist or something… life is mysterious after all… Just don’t diss it till you’ve tried it.

I feel like such a fool. I can’t believe I’ve been with Unilocal Manchester since September 2009 and I’ve failed to mention Jodrell Bank, my favourite childhood memory.
Okay, I’m going to give you the ridiculously rose-​tinted version of the place. Jodrell Bank reminds me of my father, a brilliant science teacher whose enthusiasm (which he often attempted to disguise) won him awards voted for by his pupils. He inspired inner city Liverpool kids to love science, and knowing how rubbish my own school was he was more than happy to write me a sick note and take me with him on a field trip to Jodrell Bank with his own class. I was a lot younger than the children on the trip, so I was babied and had my hands held by adolescent girls who thought I was an adorable, pudgy, cute little thing with a ridiculous fringe. Along I toddled, and I must say, at that age, the Planetarium (I only call it that because of Friends) completely blew my mind. It did the same thing to the older high school kids.
Right, yes, now kids have the attention span of a gnat, the memory of a goldfish and enough technological wonders to make the Amish blush. But if you have any heart and soul, take your kids here. Take them here before they’ve played computer games with stupidly realistic graphics or owned mobile phones with video capability. Take them when they’re little and impressionable. I insist. My own childhood was richer for having experienced it, and a lot of people feel the same way as me because Jodrell Bank was saved from heartbreaking closure a couple of years back (
).
If you are in any way interested in astronomy (which was my favourite part of science at school), I implore you to visit it. It’s a great little place that might seem somewhat dated by today’s standards, but that’s part of its charm. Plus it’s not far from the city centre at all — Macclesfield is considered as much a part of Manchester as Chorlton or Trafford. Come on, would-​be stargazers and Patrick Moores, visit this lovely observatory and make sure it’s kept in business.

There was a group of four of us who wanted to get out of Manchester one Sunday. Of course by the time we’d all slept off our hangovers there wasn’t time to go too far. So we simply looked at the A to Z, chose a point of interest that looked nearby and set off. That somewhere happened to be Jodrell Bank.
You can see the colossal white Lovell telescope from miles away. The sight of it alone is impressive, but it is even more impressive when you’re up close and it slowly swivels round and even more impressive when you think about the fact that has recently been searching for signs of extra-​terrestrial intelligence. I can’t remember quite how it works, but there are some informative signs dotted around the walkway as well as some interactive exhibits which are good for kids (and we enjoyed them too!).
Sadly, the tiny indoor visitor’s centre is not quite as impressive. And the 3D cinema is frankly awful. I was quite excited about going on a trip to Mars, but as soon as we got to the red planet the film ended. I wasn’t expecting Avatar, but you’d expect a little bit more from the University of Manchester.
If you go for a wander around the arboretum then it’s possible to spend a pleasant couple of hours here, and at approximately 20 miles from central Manchester it is a good place to spend a Sunday afternoon especially for science and technology enthusiasts.

Jodrell Bank is a very good day out, if you enjoy stargazing and astronomy etc. However i’ve found some of my visits have been ruined by school trips comng when 90% of the children couldnt care less and instead spend the whole time tearing around ruining the experience for everyone else.
You can see the largest satellite from all around on the cheshire plain, and its nice to see its position change from day to day.
The potential for an eductaional visit is great as the information is posted clearly, with good demonstrations, but i do find this is all a bit of waste when you get the school trips with no wish to learn anything, although i suppose this says more about the schools and teachers than jodrell bank itself, which is a very good day out.

Living fairly close to Jodrell bank, we tend to visit fairly regularly! It is a great place for the kids, who enjoy seeing the telescope in its many varied positions — they love it if it moves while we are stood next to it! We all enjoy playing in the grounds. The aboretum is beautiful — and usually not too busy, with great and fun educational displays for children (and adults!). We always enjoy a trip into the planetarium and we find it usually generates good discussions about life and the universe afterwards! The shop is fun for kids, and while enticing with all it’s stock, the stock is reasonably priced, and there is always something fun for the kids to spend some pocket money on. We haven’t yet enjoyed the café, although it looks very inviting!
It is well worth a visit.

jodrell bank is in the heart of the cheshire countryside & is home to the world famous lovell radio telescope since 1957. there is an exhibition room, an observational pathway around the telescope & a 3d theatre for a journey to mars! aswell as technology there is a space café & a shop.