An Astronomer's Tale

Gary Fildes was born in Sunderland. He is the founder and lead astronomer of Kielder observatory, located in the forests of Northumberland. Among the world s best sites for watching stars, it receives over 20,000 visitors a year. Gary did not attend university and left school at 17. In 2012 he was given an honorary Master s degree from Durham University in recognition for his services to astronomy. He is currently leading a multi-million pound fundraising drive to make Kielder the world s biggest public observatory.