Kelvedon Hatch: England’s Largest Cold War Bunker now Open to the Public

by Neil Woodburn on

Cold War relics are simply a joy to explore. For me, it’s their proximity to recent history that makes them so fascinating; it wasn’t so long ago that they were very active and very serious in their role to protect our fair lands from the communist menace. Today, they are almost comical in the fear and paranoia so deeply imbued throughout.

Bunkers are some of my favorite Cold War relics. Not only are the located underground, but they represent the ultimate Cold War fear: nuclear annihilation.

With the Cold War over, governments around the globe have begun decommissioning a number of such bunkers. Some have simply “disappeared” while others have been purchased by civilians.

Recently, Sophie Campbell of The Telegraph, burrowed into Kelvedon Hatch–a three-story government bunker in Essex, England which was purchased in 1994 by a local farmer and has since been turned into a rather cool museum.The farmer purchased it nearly empty but has managed to find enough period gear to restock parts of the bunker to make it look like it did while in operation. He has also staffed the station with a number of mannequins manning radio receivers, hospital units, and even a Prime Minister’s quarters.

The whole bunker is set up to appear as though a nuclear bomb had just been dropped and museum visitors (paying £6.50 each) are the lucky few to have gained access to the government facility. The visitors are treated to fake news reports detailing the damage above ground and the impending doom in store for those left outside of the bunker’s ten-foot thick walls and 1½ ton blast doors.

It sounds pretty cool to me, but wouldn’t it be a whole lot more realistic if they hired a bunch of nuclear mutated ghouls to attack visitors in the bunker and eat their flesh? I certainly think so.

Chinese Government Opens up Secret Nuclear Base for Tourism

by Neil Woodburn on

I love it when government locations which were once top-secret are opened up to the public and turned into tourist sites. With the Cold War over, this has been happening more and more.

Surprisingly, China has embraced the fad as well.

Most recently the communist government opened up Factory 221. This weapons base, located underground and protected by a three-ton steel door, was home to China’s first nuclear bomb. 30,000 people worked here in absolute secrecy; the town itself, located in the Chinese province of Liaoning, never even appeared on maps.

Today, “Nuclear City” has thrown up its doors and interested tourists can now explore the bowels of this secret nuclear city. LA Times journalist Don Lee, who recently went himself, raises an interesting thought in Visiting China’s Nuclear Past: China’s Propaganda Department were the ones responsible for opening up Nuclear City. This is not for Western tourists to gawk at the Cold War secrecy, but rather “to arouse… national pride” amongst domestic tourists.

Sounds like the Cold War is still pretty hot to me.

Bohemian Berlin Nearly Dead?

by Neil Woodburn on

Bohemian Berlin is nearly dead.

Or so claims a recent LA Times article bemoaning the demise of the underground art scene at the hands of commercialism.

Yes folks, it’s an age old theme but it’s happening once again, this time in the German capital.

During the Cold War, West Berlin was a haven for artists who received subsidies from the government for the hardship of living in the walled city. The art scene really took off, however, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the resulting mass of condemned and vacant buildings in East Berlin which squatters quickly took over and transformed into, you guessed it, a Bohemian enclave.

After nearly 20 years of artistic freedom, however, studios are going upscale, Starbucks is moving into old communist neighborhoods, and rent is becoming increasingly more unaffordable for artists. Berlin is slowly transforming into a well-heeled, affluent city that has less and less room for artists and an expanding amount of space for bankers, lawyers, and government slogs.

Is Berlin losing its character?

I hope not. No other city in all of Germany is as wild, vibrant, and so very un-German-like as Berlin. And I, for one, hope it stays that way.

Secret Moscow Bunker now Open to Tourists

by Neil Woodburn on

Going underground is always a great experience no matter what city you visit.

Cold war capitals like Moscow and Berlin offer some of the very best subterranean experiences around. This is because the safest place if the Cold War ever got hot, was deep underground where the radiation can’t get you.

Now that communism is dead and the world is one big happy place, Cold War bunkers are increasingly coming off the Top Secret list and being transformed into tourist sites.

Take, for example, the newest attraction in Moscow: The Confrontation Cold War Museum. In the old days, this 75,000-square-foot facility buried 200 feed underground was known only as the Tagansky Underground Command Center. And, it was known only by the select few who would scurry there and live off rations for three months while the outside world was scorched by nuclear bombs.

Today, any foreign tourist with $39 in their pocket can now join a guided tour of these facilities. David Holley, of the Los Angeles Times, recently journeyed below the surface to check it out and reports back that the new owners have decorated it with Soviet posters and some outdated communications equipment. Tour guides dress in old Soviet Army uniforms, and visitors are served the traditional rations endured by those on duty here: buckwheat porridge, canned beef stew, and a shot of vodka–proving that some things in Russia never change. Har har har.

Click here for a virtual tour.