Stars / Astronomy / Astrophotography / Telescopes / Astro

That's a v tricky question - it depends so much on what sort of things you want to look at, whether you might want to take photos through it, what sort of light pollution you have, how much space you have to store it...

In London skies, planets and the moon are good targets but the planets are all very low in the sky for a few years yet. If that is what appeals, I would suggest you go for something with long focal length to get high magnification, perhaps a compound (lenses and mirrors in combination) scope which can be v compact, but a bit pricy.

I've got one of these which I'd recommend: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

Was able to see the stripes on Jupiter with it from Crystal Palace, so pretty decent I'd say.

I think most places will recommend getting a Dobsonian for your first scope, as you get the biggest aperture for your money (as the mount is much cheaper than the equatorial mount you'll get on other scopes).

The main downside is it's got what's called a helical focuser. Basically you adjust the focus by screwing the eyepiece in/out, which has a bit of slop and isn't as fine as the adjustments you get with a rack & pinion style focuser. Aside from that I'd say it's a great starter scope.

Two rules for buying telescope, spend most of your money on aperture and mount quality, these two will have the greatest effect on your viewing pleasure.

Secondly, the bigger the scope the less it will get used as a 30kg monster is no fun to spontaneously shift outside and setup.

Classic starter scopes are the Schmidt Cassegrains, Meade and Celestron are two big brands.

Lastly avoid electric goto scopes unless you're spending 1000's.

Lastly Lastly, check out the Baker Street Irregulars. A free stargazing club in Regent's Park run over the winter. You can look through loads of scopes and chat to the owners, every single one will have a strong opinion!

Decent, moderate magnification binoculars are a good place to start.