Neither an expert, nor a twitcher, but I went through the same thought process about 2 years ago.
For many years, I had used a a pair of excellent, lightweight Pentax travel binoculars (8x21); they had accompanied me for some 8 years when I was doing power-line surveying work and were much better made than a friend's equivalent Nikons. I decided, however, that I needed something to let a bit more light in in dimmer conditions.
We went over to CleySpy - not a million miles from you, in the village of Glandford. A very knowledgeable chap asked me what sort of price range I was looking at, so I plucked £200 out of the air. He presented me with half a dozen pairs and said "Go outside, sit on the bench and try them out." I spent best part of an hour trying them; some felt clearly more comfortable than others, and I settled on Helios Aero ED 8x42. The feel of the binoculars is everything so my advice would be to try them out - and take your time. At that time, the Aeros were £199, but I see they are now down to £159.
www.cleyspy.co.uk/helios-aero-ed-8x42-i3963.htm
I should add that after we had paid, I asked, out of curiosity, if I could try a pair of Swarovskis. He happened to have a second hand pair for £1000. They were way out of my price range, but they were noticeably better than anything else that I had tried earlier. Having said that, I tried my mate's Swarovskis sometime later, and they seemed no better than my Aeros.
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Binoculars new
Binoculars new
