Hidden underneath the bustling streets of one of Bristol’s most famous attractions is a little known WWII air raid shelter. Until a few years ago very few people seemed to know that this shelter existed. This was until a local artist Duncan McKellar started walking tours of St Nicholas Market and the air raid shelter beneath. The tour spans the breadth of Bristol’s history from Saxon traders right up to today. The tour lasted two hours and we had the privilege of being joined by Margaret, the local friendly ghost. Bristol in WWII Bristol was the fifth most heavily bombed city in England. It wa ..read more

The nuclear bunker known as The Sussex (Brede) W.E.C (Water Emergency Control Centre) is on the site of Brede Waterworks, which was built to supply Hastings with drinking water. The waterworks today is home to a number of steam engines that used to pump water. You can see the Steam Giants in action and visit the bunker on its open days. These are held on the first Saturday of the month and every Bank Holiday Monday from 10am – 4pm. History Brede Waterworks Nuclear Bunker was one of three built by Southern Water to be used as an emergency control centre during a nuclear attack. The government w ..read more

We visited Clapham South deep level shelter as part of a Hidden London tour; you can find more information on these tours here. We met our guides at Clapham South Tube Station on a windy Saturday and were taken around the corner to the entrance at Balham Hill. The concrete rotunda has been camouflaged to match the modern flats built above. The entrance on Clapham Common has been kept the same since its construction and is a discussion point for passers-by. We were taken down the 180 steps to reach the bottom of the shelter. The stairs are a double helix around the old lift shaft. Clapham Sout ..read more

As a volcano was erupting just outside of Reykjavik, what better way to appreciate the power of techtonics than visiting a lava tunnel? Raufarholshellir Lava Tube is the fourth largest in Iceland- its 30m high and 10m wide chamber stretching for nearly 1.5kms. It was formed by flowing lava around 5200 years ago, during the Leitahraun eruption. The relatively slow flow of low-viscosity lava formed a hard upper crust, which thickened to form the roof whilst lava was still flowing beneath it. As the lava flowed out, the hollow of the tube was left behind. The shelter of the lava tube was a welc ..read more

Opened in 1961, this Cold War Bunker was the headquarters of the Royal Observer Corps Number 20 Group. It was one of 31 control centres, which connected the vast network of ROC posts dotted across the country. The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) Before we explore the York Cold war bunker specifically, it’s worth taking note of the wider network that it was part of to get a better understanding of the role this bunker played. The UK government built 1,563 ROC Posts- concrete structures 6 feet underground- between 1956 and 1965. They were located 15 miles apart, with 31 larger control centres and hea ..read more

Greenham Common in Berkshire is a piece of common land with a long history tied to the military. Common land is land that is typically owned by the council but used for the good for all. Unfortunately many argue that this has not always been the case for Greenham Common. It was first used to moving troops in the English Civil War. It is believed that the first aircraft that landed at Greenham was around 1930 when RAF Biplane bombers landed here for a few days. WWII The British Army had planned to requisition and use the site for training. However this never happened as Greenham Common was give ..read more

In the suburbs of Southampton, encircled by lived-in housing, three blocks of ex-council flats lie empty and abandoned. The 428 flats were earmarked for demolition to make way for new homes in 2012, however some previous residents refusing to move out led to years of delays for the project. The original plans for 675 new homes was due to be completed by 2023, however these planes have been adapted in the years of the project being stalled, and so far only 56 houses have been built. The project’s budget has been cut, and contractors have pulled out over the years, leaving the cluster of abando ..read more

The ground was thick with snow, the entire landscape hews of white and grey, and the air minus 15°C, minus 20 with wind-chill. The loud roar of our quad bike competed with the waves crashing onto the black sand beach as we neared this remote plane wreckage. Weather conditions were certainly no better for the American crew of the Super DC-3 plane back in November 1973, as they crash-landed not far from where the wreckage rests today. The US Navy plane had left Hofn airport on the East of Iceland, delivered supplies to a radar station in Stokksnes, and was heading towards Keflavik air station i ..read more

Given everything we’ve seen in our time of exploring, we decided to kick off 2024 with a relatively humble explore. Bedham Old Church lies in the back end of nowhere in the South Downs National Park. But the beauty of this crumbling structure was still something to behold. Built in 1880 by locals and the Church of England, the building was used not only as a church but also as a school. According to historians, the single-room church was split in two by a curtain, with younger age classes on one side of the room and more senior classes on the other. The curtain was removed for services and se ..read more

Located on a side street not far from the bustling market in Pristina, these two dilapidated buildings sit next to each other, bordering what is still a busy street. Though their previous use is not entirely clear, it appears that the slightly grander-looking of the two was once a restaurant, and the concrete shell next to it was once a market hall of some kind. No one batted an eyelid as we casually walked inside, clambering over overgrowth and litter. We headed into the market hall first, which only provided bare concrete, rubble and glass. The simple industrial building was lined with wind ..read more