10 Best Beginners Telescopes 2025 in the UK

The Slokey Telescope 40070 is a beginner-friendly option suitable for both kids and adults. With a 70mm aperture and 400mm focal length, it ensures clear and sharp images, making it great for stargazing, moon viewing, and exploring planets. The telescope offers a wide range of magnification (16x-120x) with the help of three included eyepieces (25mm, 10mm, and 6mm) and a 3x Barlow lens. This variety allows users to adjust the magnification based on what they want to observe, enabling a more personalized experience.

The sturdy stainless steel tripod with pre-assembled legs makes it easy to set up and ensures stability during use, which is crucial for obtaining clear views. Additionally, the included phone adapter is a nice touch for those who wish to capture their observations through astrophotography. Weighing 2.5 kilograms and with dimensions of 21 x 13 x 49 cm, it is relatively portable and can be handled by young enthusiasts as well.

However, there are a few drawbacks. The telescope uses a manual focus and an Altazimuth mount, which can be less precise and more challenging to use for tracking objects across the sky compared to more advanced mounts. Also, the straight-through finderscope might not be as comfortable for extended use. Despite these drawbacks, the Slokey Telescope 40070 remains an excellent choice for beginners looking to explore the night sky without a steep learning curve.

The Celestron 31045 AstroMaster 130EQ is a beginner-friendly telescope that offers a solid introduction to stargazing with its 130mm aperture, which is decent for observing celestial objects like the moon and planets. This Newtonian reflector telescope uses fully-coated glass optics, enhancing image clarity and brightness, which is a standout feature for the price point. It's equipped with a manual German Equatorial mount, allowing smooth and precise tracking of objects across the sky, though it may require some learning to master its use. The telescope's focal length of 650mm means you get a good balance between magnification and field of view, which is ideal for beginners exploring various celestial objects.

Despite its capabilities, the AstroMaster 130EQ is relatively lightweight, making it portable and easy to transport, which is great for those who want to take it to different viewing locations. Setup is straightforward with no tools required, saving beginners from potential frustration. The included accessories, such as two eyepieces and a StarPointer red dot finderscope, add value by enhancing the telescope's usability right out of the box.

On the downside, the manual operation might not provide the ease of use some beginners crave, especially when compared to computerized models that automatically align and track objects. Additionally, while the equatorial mount is excellent for tracking, it could be challenging for complete novices to set up correctly at first.

The Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ is an excellent starter scope, balancing performance with ease of use. It's well-suited for beginners who are willing to spend a bit of time learning to operate the manual mount and want a telescope that can deliver clear, bright images of celestial wonders.

The OYS 70mm Aperture Telescope is designed specifically with beginners in mind, making it a suitable choice for both kids and adults starting their journey into astronomy. One of the standout features is its 70mm aperture, which allows for brighter and clearer images of celestial objects. Combined with a 400mm focal length, this telescope offers decent magnification levels for a beginner, with the included eyepieces providing 20X and 44X magnification options. The fully multi-coated optics help in improving image quality by enhancing light transmission, ensuring a more enjoyable viewing experience.

The altazimuth mount is user-friendly, providing simple up-and-down and side-to-side movements which are ideal for beginners who may find more complex mounts intimidating. Portability is a key strength of this model; it is lightweight at just under 1 kg and comes with a backpack for easy transport, making it perfect for trips or stargazing sessions in different locations. The inclusion of a phone adapter is a thoughtful touch, allowing users to capture and share their observations with ease.

However, while it is highly portable and easy to set up, the manual focus might require some practice and the tripod, while adjustable, may not be the most stable on uneven surfaces. Additionally, the 5x24 finder scope is basic and might necessitate some adjustment for optimal use. This telescope is a great gift idea and an excellent starting point for beginners, combining ease of use, portability, and decent optical performance.