Chilbolton Observatory is a 76 hectare site surrounded by arable land in rural Hampshire, UK. It has a wide range of instruments for making meteorological measurements, performing radio and microwave propagation experiments and for tracking and communicating with satellites.
Its large area makes it easy to accommodate visiting instruments for research programmes and field campaigns. Several high-profile campaigns have been successfully hosted at the site in recent years.
During the second
world war it was an airfield. In the 1960s it was chosen to be the site
of the pioneering 25m antenna due to its clear view of the horizon and
its relative freedom from sources of radio interference. The scanning 25m dish is still used as a radar today.