Recommend me a sub £200 telescope

The standard recommendation would probably be:
http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

edit: although if you go on Stargazerslounge and ask, you’ll end up being told to spend £500 minimum or some such. For what it’s worth I’ve had lots of fun and seen a lot with:
http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-130p.html

lemonysam Cheers I’m a complete beginner. I had a look at the second one you recommended and that’s the one that looks pretty good. There is one similar with a motor on it but I’m not sure. Probably better off spending it on the scope.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Skywatcher-Explorer-Newtonian-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B004N0J66M/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top#customerReviews

Probably better off spending it on the scope.

So the motor is there to track objects as they move through the sky – I decided that I preferred to do it manually as I found the motorised version a little jerky. The mount on the cheap skywatchers just isn’t stable enough to make it worth it.

I reckon the best bet might be the 130 or the 130-p and then go for a proper upgrade if you get into it more seriously.

With the 130 you can see enough to keep you out in the back garden for a long time, especially if your skies are dark. Amongst other things over the last year I’ve been able to observe:

[list][*]About half the messier catalogue
[/*][*]the moons and bands of jupiter[/*][*]the great red spot[/*][*]the rings of saturn[/*][*]the poles and general layout of mars[/*][*]a good chunk of the caldwells[/*][*]Stacks and stacks of other doubles/clusters/nebulae of various sorts.[/*]
[*]enough detail on the moon to keep you amused for ages[/*]
[/list]
Most of the rest of the messiers and caldwells would also be visible if I’d had the scope in the right time and place.

Whatever you get, pick up a copy of Turn Left at Orion too.

Cheers for the info lemonysam. Food for though and I’ll have to put it on Santa’s list 😀

I agree with lemonysam, pretty much. Spend the money on the scope not the motors and don’t forget aperture is king, so get the biggest you can afford/store and buy Turn Left at Orion. An excellent book for a newbie.

I’m just selling my 200mm dobsonian. I’ve had great fun with it and seen about half of the Messier list (and most of the planets) from my light polluted city centre back yard. Unfortunately I’ve hit a point where I’m unlikely to see anything more as the LP is getting worse all the time. So I’m thinking about buying something smaller and more portable – the dob weighs about 30kg and stands 5ft tall so is a bit of a lump.

I’ve yet to find a decent dark sky site locally though and I’m always loathe to set up in random roadside carparks no matter how far up a mountain they are!