Geomagnetism research provides insight into the Earth’s properties and processes, from the core out to space. For this reason continuous geomagnetic field observations have been carried out in the UK for more than 170 years. Geomagnetism also has diverse applications, in navigation, maps, even smart phone apps, and in the monitoring and prediction of space weather impacts on technology. Modern instruments, together with digital sampling, real-time data processing and product dissemination, support global space weather monitoring and modelling activities. In this review we describe the role of the UK geomagnetic observatory network in Earth and space weather science and applications.