Anser

Thanks all.  I am thinking  Sky-Watcher Evostar 120ED DS-Pro with a SkyTee-2 Alt-azimuth mount.  This pushes my budget of £1500 particularly if I want additional eye pieces!  It seems to be the best compromise of clarity, aperture size, overall size and weight, cooling time for planets in the UK skies.  

No one has them in stock so I am looking secondhand  as well.

My thanks to everyone for the comments and advice.  It has without exception been helpful and constructive.  There are compromises to be made as a number of you have pointed out.  Another day of research and I am erring toward a Sky-Watcher Evostar 120ED DS-Pro with a SkyTee-2 Alt-azimuth mount.  This should come in on my budget and seems to meet my needs as I am unlikely to want to at DS objects but clarity is important to me.

I would welcome peoples thoughts on eyepieces for this scope - I am thinking of a zoom and Barlow x2.  My reading suggests I can get to x350 magnification max but realistically conditions will limit me to x250.

Thank you for the article.  I am erring towards the StellaLyra 8" f/12 M-LRS with a SkyTee-2 Alt-azimuth mount.  This seems to be the best compromise.  I would like to understand the cooling as one on my concerns is how I will use it due to weather and the onset of summer.  I am debating waiting and saving some more money as it would seem the best viewing time is Oct - Mar.

Thanks would you recommend a Baader 8-24mm zoom for this scope?

Thank you.  What eyepieces would you go with on the StellaLyra 8" f/12 M-LRS?  I may push my luck and go for this with the SkyTee-2.  Is there anything else you would recommend I need to start with.

Have you moved to StellaLyra 8" f/12 M-LRS which was your other recommendation?  I suspect if I go down this route I will blow my budget as I will not be able to get a suitable mount and tripod

Thank you all.  Much to ponder although the best compromise for me would seem to be Sky-Watcher Skymax 180 PRO.

Thank you David.  Will I see the same detail with a 5" refractor as an 8" SCT?  When I run it through the FOV calculator items seem very small. What is the maximum magnification eye piece you would use with it?  

Thank you for all your helpful replies.  Clearly a minimum of an 8” aperture is recommended.  I had been wondering about the Celestron NexStar 8SE.  I am not in any hurry to buy as I can see telescope stocks across the board are limited and I would prefer to wait and make the right choice.

Would consider both.  I have navigated using the stars so can find my way around.  Most of my viewing will be to the southern skies so an EQ mount would be difficult as I can rarely see Polaris.  

Yes it does, thank you

I have up to £1500 to spend on a telescope and accessories for visual observation, not photography.  Primary interest in planets.

How would you spend the money?

What Go to mount and tripod would people recommend of be suitable for a Celestron C8 XLT OTA?

Thank you

Thank you all for the responses much food for thought as I live in the SW and work in London during the week which further complicates the picture

I am new here and a quick question if I may.  I am looking to buy a telescope and have been watching the night sky with binoculars until now.  Can people give me an idea how on average many nights you get with good viewing conditions?  My reading suggests that by the time you take out moonlight conditions, cloud cover (weather) etc the observation days in UK are limited I would welcome peoples opinions, thank you.