The Secret Nuclear Bunker

From the surface it looks like a simple bungalow, but down a long tunnel and buried beneath lots of concrete lies the Secret Nuclear Bunker. Originally a refuge for the Prime Minister and key officials in the event of a nuclear attack on the UK, it is now decommissioned and open to the public. The bunker was designed to hold up to 600 people for up to three months.

As tourist atractions go the bunker has a fairly unsophisticated feel which is really quite refreshing. There are hand written notices everywhere and you don’t see a member of staff until the very end of the visit, and even then you might not as payment is done via an ‘honesty basket’. The tour is all done via a special ‘wand’ and contains odd moments of humour as well as some fairly sobering thoughts.

Maddie_C and I enjoyed our visit and would recommend it to anyone looking for a day trip in this sort of area, in fact it probably isn’t too far from many parts of London either. The website has a reasonable number of pictures if south Essex isn’t on your ‘must visit’ list.