Last updated: 17 July 2023
I never thought I’d see the day when I would stumble upon a secret nuclear bunker and find myself over 100ft underground.
The Kelvedon Hatch bunker was made by the Government in the 1950s to house for up to 600 military and civilian personnel, possibly even the Prime Minister, in the event of a nuclear war and nuclear fallout. It was decommissioned in 1994 and sold off.
Situated in the side of a hill, a non-discriminate house sits a top of the bunker which acts as the entry point for the now privately owned bunker.
As you enter the Bunker, you step down and into a tunnel that serves as the main entry point. From this moment on, you’re stepping back in time. Think of the movie “Blast from the Past” and you’re getting close.
Grab a self serve audio guide and navigate your way around the eerily florescent-lit floors that spans across three levels.
The audio guide will guide you through what feels like a rabbit-warren of small rooms while providing you with interesting facts about the Bunker. See real maps and plans to plot the aftermath of a nuclear blast (if we’d ever gotten one) and then how to trace the radiation as well as the effects of radiation on anyone exposed.
Fully equipped with an operating room, dormitories and a functioning BBC studio, the Bunker was rigged with provisions to last 3 months. Lifelike dummies are positioned throughout the Bunker which can give you a fright if the power goes out.
The creepiest fact I learned was that along with food and water provisions, was a stash of cyanide. Apart from the main tunnel entrance, there was a small ventilation shaft leading to the outside world, both secured by thick steel doors that each weigh as much as a car! Should both of those entrances be destroyed or cave in, then you’d be stuck down there. Forever.
Well if the options is to be stuck in a tunnel forever, well I think I’d opt for the cyanide too.
The Essentials
Realistically only accessible by road however Kevledon says you can take a taxi or bus from Brentwood station.
- Where is it? Kelvedon Hall Ln, Brentwood, Essex CM14 5TL
- Cost: £7/£5 adults/children
- If you want to take photos you need a license for an additional £5
- Payment is via an honesty box. Remember it’s privately owned and receives no public funding so keep it available for everyone, pay what you owe.
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A nuclear bunker… Wow… That\’s quite something indeed! Nice!
and so unexpected!
Great post! The crazy thing is that I bet there a load of these bunkers around England that were created especially for times such as WWI and WWII. The question is, where are they? Will they ever all be found? Some of these are probably being turned into tourist attractions but I am convinced there are many we will never know about just in case they ever need these in the future.
I agree! There has to be so many ones still classified. Although I wonder if they’d have any benefit these days as any war would result in giant holes in the ground resembling the Woodleigh crater.
Ohh I love the manikin, she looks like she\’s seen better days!
They were SO creepy. Instructions at the start said “the lights go out often. Don’t be afraid of the dummys” – I did wonder what that meant but when I saw them I thought ‘oh my!’.
Awesome! Please tell me you had to push a button on that Spectrum ZX81 looking machine every 24 hours! Haha! Fantastic post!
This is neat! I haven’t visited a bunker yet but seems like it’d be an interesting trip.
How cool it is to have your private bunker?! Seems like a really interesting tour.
Ohhhh i love things like this! Great find, unexpected or not 😀
Are you kidding me? Wow! What a cool, yet unsettling, find 🙂 Very unique post!
I know right?! How bizarre to take a day trip out of London and see signs for “Secret Nuclear Bunker”, I mean who wouldn’t want to do that?!