Tag Archives: Chilbolton

Chilbolton Radio Telescope

A couple of years ago, I was taking a road trip across the Cascades and I came upon a large dish alongside the road.  It was a surprise and ended up being a blog post.  I guess it is a little less spontaneous to search out a dish but, while I was over at Middle Wallop, meeting up with my friend Paul, I knew I was near the old airfield at Chilbolton.  This had been an RAF base and then was used for test flying by Supermarine and Folland.  What I didn’t know until I looked it up was that the airfield was taken over for use as a radio telescope after it closed to flight operations.  I decided to swing by and see the dish.  As I came over the hill, I could see it in the valley but the road was narrow and there was nowhere to stop.  I got to the gate and a big sign advertised that random visitors were not welcome so I had to make do with a shot from the gate.