Our Community Access Programme is made up of viewing evenings and summer solar viewing days which are open to the general public. In addition we offer private bookings for schools, youth, and community organisations.

Viewing Evenings

Our evening events, sometimes called Public Viewing Evenings, typically run from September to March to make the most of the darker nights although we may occaisionally run events at other times of the year for special astronomical events. These evenings include a narrated slideshow presentation and, weather permitting, time to use the telescope.

Details of forthcoming events can be found in our Our Programme.

If you run a school club or community organisation such as Scouts and you wish to arrange a visit please Contact Us, we are always happy to support these groups and will try to customise the content and level of the evening to your group's needs.

Summer Solar Viewing

Astronomy doesn't stop just because the dark nights of winter have gone. During the summer months we open the observatory during the day (typically a Sunday afternoon) and invite members of the public to come along and view the Sun, our nearest star, using a dedicated and totally safe Solar telescope with hydrogen alpha filter. Dates can be found in our programme though these events are obviously subject to weather conditions. These events do not require pre-booking.

Special Events

We are always keen to support national and international events such as National Astronomy Week, National Science and Engineering Week, or the International Year of Astronomy. During these events it is highly likely we'll run supporting themed events at the observatory.

Of course, sometimes the skies are kind and there is an unusual event or discovery, such as the Transit of Venus or appearance of comet Hale-Bopp; again you'll probably find we have events to make these heaven sent opportunities available to the public.

Keep an eye on Our Programme for details of special events.