Lovell Telescope, Jodrell Bank,
Withington Green, Cheshire, England

There are times when I get to wondering what the reaction would be if Bernard Lovell of the University of Manchester proposed building the radio telescopes that you find at Jodrell Bank right now rather than not that long after World War 2. Would there be an outcry against the construction of "monstrosities" from girders and such like? We'll never know, but there would be uproar if someone unwise proposed taking them down. They have become such a part of the Cheshire landscape that it is easy to forget that the real reason for the university having the land in the first place was as an arboretum, a place to study plant biology. In fact, it would be hard to find a subject further removed from unearthing the secrets of the cosmos. That's the main scientific work that remains ongoing these days and there's a visitor centre with an elaborate astronomy slide show too. So, it's not just a place for scientists since it welcomes the public too.