Equipment
Telescope
I am currently using the Celestron PowerSeeker 76AZ telescope. It is now discontinued so buying it is not going to break the bank. It gives a good quality image which is especially good for beginners like myself. It comes with a range of lenses and software that is very useful if you want to know what is in the night sky for you to find.
PowerSeeker 76AZ Telescope
Binoculars
I have a very cheap pair of binoculars from Avon. They are OK for short distances but not very good at all for medium to long distance viewing.
Binoculars
I also have a better pair of binoculars that I purchased whilst they were on offer at Lidl. They are made by Rocktrail and are very good though obviously don’t have a huge magnificaton. They are better than the binoculars above though and they show the moon brilliantly.
RockTrail Binoculars
Books
I only have one astronomy book at the moment, but it is very good and great for what I need. It is the Philip’s Stargazing 2010 book, which gives a month by month guide to the northern night sky. Obviously it will be out of date by the end of the year, but it still gives excellent information which can still be used in subsequent years.
Philip's Stargazing 2010