Ultimate Guide

The county’s role in the story of science and
its remarkable natural landscape are the
subjects of an exciting new arts and culture
celebration, writes Kate Simon
IMAGES
LEFT: BLUEDOT
FESTIVAL /
BELOW: JODRELL BANK
Cheshire:
Where Science
Meets Nature
06
Cheshire goes under the
spotlight in this year of the
50th anniversary of the Moon
Landings and the Forestry
Commission’s 100th birthday.
This is the home of Jodrell
Bank, the world-leading
observatory that captured
the first images of Apollo 11
touching down on the moon
in 1969. It’s also the location
of one of Britain’s oldest
forests, Delamere, a remnant
of Mara and Mondrem, the
medieval hunting grounds of
the Norman Earls of Chester.
To mark the county’s
special relationship with
the world of science and
the great outdoors, an
exciting celebration of
both, viewed through the
prism of arts and culture,
was being unveiled as The
Ultimate Guide went to press.
Here are just some of the
highlights to look forward to
during the coming months.
The giant white dish of
the Lovell Telescope,
an iconic sight on the
Cheshire Plain, provides
the dramatic backdrop for
bluedot, four days of ‘music,
science, cosmic culture and
more’. This year’s literally
stellar line-up includes
performances by Kraftwerk
3-D, New Order and The
Hallé, and science and
culture events with Helen
Sharman, James Burke and
Tom Shakespeare among
others. Luke Jerram’s
‘Museum of the Moon’
installation will be on
display. And listen out for
the familiar swanee-whistle
call of the Clangers, who’ll
be making an appearance
with screenings, storytelling
sessions – and knitting
workshops.
Go to discoverthebluedot.com