Decent enough to see stuff but not too expensive that I stress out when my 9 and 5 year old boys get there hands on it. Thanks

Celestron do a bunch of good scopes – get something with a motorised mount so you can find stuff quickly before they get bored 😉

Cheers Ben, will take a look.

I just want to back up the Celestron suggestion. Refractors are better in small apertures than reflectors and are also less likely to suffer from optical issues after small boys ruffing them up a bit! With a reflector you may have to worry about collimation (mirror alignment) if it gets banged about a bit.

I have a 6 inch Celestron refractor and a 9.25 inch reflector so I have already put my money where my mouth is.

I have a Tasco 3 inch reflecting telescope. Pretty cheap. Telescope is good enough however the mount and tripod are rubbish.
Agree about the motorised mount. It can take a while to find what you are looking for.

Been looking as well and celestron binoculars get good reviews but you need a tripod as well

Depends on space and what you consider to be an Ok price

A friend asked me about this and they bought this and a barlow lens. Great views of the sky but a lot of cash if its for 3 evenings a year and its huge when not in use

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-sky-watcher-explorer-130p-eq2-parabolic-newtonian-reflector-telescope/p1524209

I have something like this on a camera tripod. I have a right angle eye piece prism as well. Its a bit less good but you can still see satur rings and jupiters bands. Its much easier to store and take on holiday. My only chance for dark skies

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-sky-watcher-startravel-80t-ota-3-1-refractor-telescope/p10575?cm_mmc=googlebase-extension-_-telescopes-_-refractor-telescopes-_-sky-watcher-startravel-80t-short-tube-achromatic-refractor-ota_10575&utm_source=googlebase-extension&gclid=clc1hcn1hrycffdjtaodbroa3g

If you into making things google dobsonian

oh and ebay will be full of telescopes people bought but don’t use

I’m happy to take more questions its a complicated subject and I’ve been a bit brief

These articles should help. I learnt loads from this website

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/equipment/basics/12511616.html

Oh and try binoculars first

I knew I could reply on you guys, thanks all for the useful info. I aim to use the telescope on the sussex coast, we get some great clear and bright skies, saw a few shooting stars last year.

I know Meade are a decent make. . Tasco is apparently like swearing in the astronomy world. . Not a fan of astornomy myself but close relatives big into astro. . Refractor probably better than a big refractor. .
Some meades on eBay . . I can find out some really good advice if your interested

A mate who’s big into astronomy recommended this as a present for my niece.
http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-sky-watcher-heritage-76-mini-dobsonian-telescope/p1033882

You might want to take a look at:

http://www.astroclassifieds.co.uk

2nd hand kit to be had there