Astronomy equipment: telescopes, mounts and accessories for UK stargazing

Equipment guides · Telescopes · Prices checked 10 September 2026

Best beginner telescopes UK 2026: seven picks ranked

The best beginner telescope in the UK in 2026 is the Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P at £249. The Heritage 130P (£194) is the best under £200, the Skyliner 200P (£341) is the best 8-inch Dobsonian, and the Celestron NexStar 6SE (£1,199) is the best GoTo. All seven picks below are stocked in the UK and chosen from hundreds of UK owner reports and hands-on reviews; how we research.

Under £200 Heritage 130P Under £350 Skyliner 200P Refractor Evostar 90 GoTo NexStar 6SE How to choose ↓

Best beginner telescopes at a glance

Ranked for a first or second telescope. Prices come from our product data and are checked against First Light Optics.

Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P
Best first telescope

Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P

★ 4.6/ 5, our rating £194 130mm · f/5 · Tabletop Dob

The Heritage 130P is the safest first telescope in the UK: cheap enough to be a safe bet, good enough to keep.

ReviewBuy at FLO
Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P
Editor's choice

Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P

£249 150mm · f/5 · Tabletop Dob

The Heritage 150P gathers a third more light than the 130P for £55 more, the best value of any beginner telescope.

ReviewBuy at FLO
Sky-Watcher Evostar 90 EQ2
Best refractor

Sky-Watcher Evostar 90 EQ2

★ 4.4/ 5, our rating £227 90mm · f/10 · EQ2 mount

The Evostar 90 is the best beginner refractor: sealed tube, no collimation, sharp on the Moon and planets.

ReviewBuy at FLO
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P
Best 8-inch Dobsonian

Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P

★ 4.6/ 5, our rating £341 200mm · f/6 · Floor Dob

The Skyliner 200P is the 8-inch Dobsonian most UK amateurs end up with; it shows galaxies and nebulae from a dark site.

ReviewBuy at FLO
Celestron NexStar 6SE
Best GoTo

Celestron NexStar 6SE

★ 4.3/ 5, our rating £1,199 150mm · f/10 · GoTo alt-az

The NexStar 6SE is the best GoTo telescope for beginners: it finds 40,000 objects for you.

ReviewBuy at FLO

Also reviewed below: the Skyliner 250PX (£619) if you already own a Dobsonian and want more, and the Explorer 200P on an EQ5 (£599) if astrophotography is the goal. New to all this? Start with stargazing for beginners, or try a pair of the best binoculars for stargazing first.

Some links on this page are affiliate links (First Light Optics). If you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never influences our recommendations; see how we choose.
Compare all 12 telescopes we've reviewed
TelescopeTypeAperturePriceLevel
Heritage 130PTabletop Dob130mm£194Beginner
Heritage 150PTabletop Dob150mm£249Beginner
Evostar 90 EQ2Refractor + EQ90mm£227Beginner
Skyliner 200PFull-size Dob200mm£341Intermediate
Skyliner 250PX FlexTubeFlexTube Dob254mm£619Advanced
NexStar 6SEGoTo SCT150mm£1,199Intermediate
Explorer 200P (EQ5; other versions £309 to £1,040)Newtonian + EQ200mm£599Intermediate
StellaLyra 8" DobsonianDobsonian203mm£449Beginner
StarSense Explorer DX 130AZPhone-guided Newtonian130mm£429Beginner
Sky-Watcher Skymax 127Maksutov-Cassegrain127mm£318 to £547Beginner
Sky-Watcher Evostar 72EDED refractor (imaging)72mm£279Intermediate
Celestron NexStar 8SEGoTo SCT203mm£1,615Intermediate

The picks in detail

Each has a full review; this is the short version and why it made the list.

Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P
1 · Best first telescope

Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P

£194130mm f/5 NewtonianTabletop Dobsonian5.2 kg10mm and 25mm eyepieces
Full Heritage 130P reviewCheck price at FLO

The Heritage 130P is the telescope the UK astronomy community recommends more than any other for complete beginners. It appears in virtually every "what should I buy first?" thread on Stargazers Lounge, and for good reason: it gathers enough light to show you Jupiter's cloud belts, Saturn's rings, the Orion Nebula and dozens of deep-sky objects, without any setup complexity.

It's a Newtonian reflector on a tabletop Dobsonian mount: set it on a table or wall, point it at the sky, look through the eyepiece. No alignment, no batteries. The FlexTube tube collapses for storage, so it's portable enough to take on holiday. The trade-off is that you need a sturdy surface at roughly waist height. The bundled eyepieces are basic; a BST StarGuider 8mm is the single best first upgrade.

Verdict: the safest first telescope you can buy. Cheap enough not to be a disaster if you lose interest, good enough to keep you going if you don't. Still on the fence? Most UK astronomy clubs hold public observing nights where you can look through several telescopes before spending a penny.
Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P
2 · Editor's choice

Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P

£249150mm f/5 NewtonianTabletop Dobsonian7.5 kg10mm and 25mm eyepieces
Full Heritage 150P reviewCheck price at FLO

The Heritage 150P is the 130P's bigger sibling, and the version BBC Sky at Night Magazine gave its Editor's Choice award. The extra 20mm of aperture is 33% more light-gathering area, so fainter objects appear and planetary detail sharpens. Its parabolic primary mirror (the 130P's is spherical) removes coma at the edge of the field, which matters more as you move to wider eyepieces.

The question is whether the upgrade is worth it, and the community consensus is overwhelmingly yes. Several Stargazers Lounge members who bought the 130P have posted saying they wished they'd made the jump. It's still a FlexTube, still portable at 7.5 kg.

Verdict: the sweet spot in the Heritage range. If your budget stretches to £249, this is the one to get; you'll appreciate the difference from night one.
Sky-Watcher Evostar 90 EQ2
3 · Best beginner refractor

Sky-Watcher Evostar 90 EQ2

£22790mm f/10 refractorEQ2 equatorial mount8.6 kg total
Full Evostar 90 reviewCheck price at FLO

A different kind of first telescope: a refractor on an equatorial mount. Where the Heritage Dobsonians are about simplicity and raw aperture, the Evostar is about learning how telescopes track the sky. Once aligned to Polaris, one slow-motion knob follows an object instead of nudging in two directions. Being lens-based it needs no collimation, and the f/10 focal ratio suits high-magnification views of the Moon and planets.

The downside is light: 90mm gathers far less than the Heritage 150P's 150mm, so galaxies and nebulae look dim. The EQ2 mount is also a learning curve.

Verdict: pick this if the Moon and planets are what draw you, or you want to learn equatorial mounts. If galaxies and nebulae are the goal, get the Heritage 150P instead.
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P
4 · Best 8-inch Dobsonian

Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P

£341200mm f/6 NewtonianFull-size Dobsonian23 kg total10mm and 25mm eyepieces
Full Skyliner 200P reviewCheck price at FLO

The telescope experienced amateurs call "the buy once, cry once scope". Eight inches of aperture on a solid full-size Dobsonian mount at a price that's hard to argue with. This is where visual astronomy gets properly exciting: globular clusters resolve into individual stars, brighter galaxies show spiral structure, and close double stars split. It gathers about 1.8 times more light than the 150P and 2.4 times more than the 130P.

The trade-off is size. At 23 kg with a tube over a metre long it needs somewhere to live, though it's still a one-trip carry for most people: tube in one hand, base in the other. Pair it with a dark site and it will keep you busy for years.

Verdict: if you have the space and you know you're in this for the long haul, the Skyliner 200P offers more aperture per pound than almost anything else. It's the telescope most people wish they'd bought first.
Sky-Watcher Skyliner 250PX FlexTube
5 · Best 10-inch Dobsonian

Sky-Watcher Skyliner 250PX FlexTube

£619254mm f/4.7 NewtonianFlexTube Dobsonian32 kg total2" dual-speed focuser
Full Skyliner 250PX reviewCheck price at FLO

The serious step up from the 200P, for when eight inches is no longer enough. Ten inches collects 60% more light, which in practice is the difference between hinting at spiral structure in galaxies and clearly seeing it. Globular clusters resolve to the core; faint NGC objects invisible in a 200P become definite.

The FlexTube design is why this version beats the solid-tube 250P: it collapses from over 130cm to roughly 85cm, so it fits a car boot for trips to dark skies, and the open truss cools faster. This is not a first telescope; own and be comfortable with a smaller Dobsonian first.

Verdict: the most capable visual telescope in this guide. For an experienced observer with dark-sky access and a car, the 250PX offers aperture and portability that would cost far more from any other maker.
Celestron NexStar 6SE
6 · Best GoTo telescope

Celestron NexStar 6SE

£1,199150mm f/10 Schmidt-CassegrainSingle-arm GoTo alt-az14 kg total40,000-object database
Full NexStar 6SE reviewCheck price at FLO

A completely different proposition from the manual Dobsonians: a Schmidt-Cassegrain on a computerised GoTo mount. Align on two bright stars and the hand controller slews to any of 40,000-plus objects. The folded optics give 1500mm of focal length in a compact tube, which is excellent for the Moon and planets: Jupiter's belts, Saturn's Cassini division, crater detail.

The downsides: it's a serious investment, the single-arm mount can vibrate at high power, the 6-inch aperture gathers less light than the Skyliner 200P's 8 inches, and it needs power (buy a PowerTank or mains adapter on day one).

Verdict: for people who value convenience over cost. If learning to star-hop sounds tedious rather than charming, this removes the barrier. If you want the most light for your money, the Skyliner 200P costs far less and gathers more.
Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P EQ5
7 · Best for astrophotography

Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P on an EQ mount

£599 with EQ5200mm f/5 NewtonianEquatorial mountOTA only £309 · EQ5 Pro GoTo £1,040
Full Explorer 200P reviewCheck price at FLO

Sky-Watcher's 8-inch f/5 Newtonian on an equatorial mount, different in character from the Dobsonians above. The mount tracks objects as the Earth turns, which matters for astrophotography and for long visual sessions. It comes as tube only, on a manual EQ5, or on a motorised EQ5 Pro GoTo; there's also the Quattro f/4 imaging variant.

200mm on an equatorial mount is a serious instrument, and on a tracking mount it produces real astrophotography results. The price is complexity, bulk and setup time.

Verdict: the pick if you want to photograph the sky or prefer an equatorial mount for visual use. The EQ5 Pro GoTo version is the most useful all-rounder; the Quattro is the better imaging platform but not for beginners.

How do you choose a first telescope in the UK?

Three rules cover most of it. Aperture first, a simple mount second, and buy from a specialist, not a department store.

Aperture first

Bigger mirror, more to see. 130mm shows the Moon and planets well; 200mm brings in galaxies. Aperture matters more than magnification, brand or "computerised".

Dob beats EQ

A Dobsonian points where you push it. Equatorial mounts need aligning every session, and most beginners give up on them.

Skip the kit scope

"675× magnification" on a 60mm tube is the warning sign. Buy from a specialist astronomy retailer, not a catalogue or department store.

Aperture is king

The single most important number on any telescope is the aperture, the diameter of the primary mirror or lens. A larger aperture gathers more light, so you see fainter objects and more detail. Everything else, focal length, mount type, brand, is secondary. Our guide to telescope magnification explains why the big number on the box means nothing.

Dobsonian vs equatorial vs GoTo

A Dobsonian mount is the simplest: push and look. An equatorial mount tracks the sky's rotation with one axis, which is useful for photography and long sessions. A GoTo mount finds objects automatically. Beginners almost always have the best experience with a Dobsonian: less to go wrong, less to learn before your first good view. Our guide to how to use a telescope covers the first night with any of them.

Reflector vs refractor

Reflectors (mirror-based) give you more aperture per pound and excel at deep-sky objects. Refractors (lens-based) give pin-sharp, high-contrast views and need no maintenance, but cost much more for the same aperture. For most beginners a reflector is the better value.

Don't forget the eyepieces

The eyepieces bundled with most telescopes are functional but basic. Budget an extra £45 to £80 for one good eyepiece; it will transform what you see. See our eyepiece guide for specific recommendations, and how to collimate a telescope for the five-minute check that keeps a reflector sharp.

The tabletop question

The Heritage 130P and 150P are tabletop scopes and need a sturdy surface at waist height. If you don't have a suitable table in the garden, factor in a stool or plant stand (£15 to £30). The Skyliner 200P and NexStar 6SE stand on the ground on their own.

Not sure a telescope is right yet?

Binoculars are the cheaper first step and many observers never stop using them. Our best binoculars for stargazing guide starts at £84, and if you'd rather photograph the sky than look through an eyepiece, see how the Seestar S50 and Dwarf 3 smart telescopes compare.

Frequently Asked Questions

For most UK beginners it is the Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P, at around £194. It is a tabletop Dobsonian, so you put it on a table, point it and look, with no alignment and no batteries. It still shows Jupiter's cloud belts, Saturn's rings and the Orion Nebula. If the budget stretches to around £249, the Heritage 150P has a bigger mirror and is worth the difference.
Around £194 buys a genuinely capable first telescope. A full-size 8-inch Dobsonian such as the Skyliner 200P is about £341, and computerised GoTo models like the Celestron NexStar 6SE start near £1,199. Whatever you spend, leave £45 to £80 aside for one good eyepiece, which changes the view more than most people expect.
More than most people expect: Jupiter's cloud belts and its four largest moons, Saturn's rings, craters along the Moon's terminator, and the Orion Nebula. All of that is within reach of a Heritage 130P at around £194. Step up to 8 inches of aperture and globular clusters resolve into individual stars, with spiral structure showing in the brighter galaxies on a good night.
It is an excellent telescope but a big first step. The Skyliner 200P gathers about 2.4 times more light than the Heritage 130P, which is a real jump in what you can see. The catch is bulk: around 23kg all in, with a tube over a metre long, so it needs somewhere to live. Most owners still carry it out in one trip, tube in one hand and base in the other.
You need some kind of sturdy surface at roughly waist height, because the Heritage 130P and 150P are tabletop scopes rather than free-standing ones. A garden table works, and otherwise a cheap stool or plant stand at £15 to £30 does the job. The Skyliner 200P and NexStar 6SE stand on the ground on their own.
The Heritage 130P on both counts. Its collapsible tube packs down small enough for a holiday, it weighs about 5.2kg, and there is nothing to align or power up. That simplicity is what makes it work for a child or for anyone not yet sure the hobby will stick.

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