Sparkling clean up for the stunning Shropshire landmark used to see the stars

One of Shropshire’s most stunning man-made landmarks has been getting a fresh makeover.

The giant 25-metre radio telescope at Knockin stands as a striking contrast to its countryside surroundings.

Over the years the structure had begun to look like a lost relic with the moss and dirt taking over the giant dish.

This week engineers have been cleaning the surface of the telescope - with obvious results.

The radio telescope at Knockin forms a key part of e‑MERLIN (Enhanced Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network) - a globally significant array of seven radio telescopes sited across the UK.

Operated by the University of Manchester on behalf of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), e‑MERLIN links telescopes to combine their signals to act as a single, powerful array, enabling astronomers to produce ultra‑high‑resolution images of the universe, supporting cutting-edge research into black holes, galaxy formation, dark matter and cosmic events.

The e-MERLIN website explains: “e-MERLIN is an array of seven radio telescopes spanning 217 km (135 miles) across Great Britain connected by a superfast optical fibre network to its headquarters at Jodrell Bank Observatory. It has a unique position in the world with an angular resolution comparable to that of the Hubble Space Telescope.”

The Knockin telescope was built in 1976, sending back the first data a year later, and was part of the phase one development of Merlin.