Description
The SPA runs an annual residential weekend course where members can observe and learn together. It combines a number of talks with the chance, weather permitting, to look at the stars. There’s more information about the course here.
Please note that currently there is limited availability of places, so please contact weekendcourse@popastro.com before booking.
In 2026 the Preston Montford Astronomy Weekend runs from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November 2026.
- If you book a double or triple room please use the Order Notes to provide the names of all occupants.
- If there are any under-18s in your party, please provide their ages in the Order Notes.
- The centre has two accessible rooms on the ground floor which can sleep two or three. Please add a note to the order if you want to book an accessible room and we’ll be in touch.
Preston Montford is about five miles from Shrewsbury, in open countryside. This gives skies which are much darker than in most suburbs, though of course they are affected to a certain extent by the lights of Shrewsbury. However, they are good enough to show us a wide range of astronomical objects, and if it is clear there are enough objects on view to keep people busy for hours.
The 2026 autumn sky contains what is probably the most spectacular planet, Saturn. Nearby lies Neptune, with Uranus also on show. The summer Milky Way is still visible in the west, with objects such as the Dumbbell Nebula, M27, and the Veil Nebula in Cygnus (visible using filters). During the evening the winter constellations rise, such as Taurus and the famous Pleiades cluster, Orion and its nebula, and Gemini. And many attendees at Preston Montford get their first glimpse of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, which is high in the evening sky.