Hi Paul,
Some time ago you featured an Isle of Wight area involved with nuclear or missile testing as I recall. I recently went to Orford Ness in Suffolk, where the components on A-bombs were tested.
Owned by the National Trust, there's not a lot to see, it's a blasted salt-marsh area, with crumbling concrete structures. The most impressive, at right of the above photo, were called "The Pagodas". It is suggested that if there was an explosion in one of these buildings, the concrete roof (held on thin supports with perspex windows) would collapse and cap the blast. There's room for a conspiracy theory here - it is claimed no nuclear material was on site, just the components and conventional explosives - if so, why the need to "cap" an explosion?
Regards,
Andy B
What an atmospheric photo. It puts me in mind of an abandoned concentration camp, or abandoned mine works.
ReplyDeleteAndy, what time of day was this taken? And were you permitted to get closer than we see in your photo?
Taken about 4pm, in September.
ReplyDeleteGot into one former bunker, but the more interesting ones as shown here were "off limits" as they are said to be collapsing and dangerous.
It's a strange day out!
(nods) it has that late afternoon feel about it ....
ReplyDeleteBet it was strange. I'd have liked to have been there.
I agree Toad. There's something wonderful about remote landscapes as the day begins to wane. The fading light reminds me of the tide coming in. there is the slight feeling of mystery and danger. If you are ever in Yorkshire then make a day of visiting Spurn Point, a fantastic spit of land and shingle jutting into the North Sea. It's home to bunkers, a birding station, the most remote Lifeboat crew houses in England and endless skies full of terns and waders. You can stop off for Fish and Chips in one of the many beautiful villages in Holderness on the way.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently away from home looking after a sick relative so my normal avatar is hard to bring up.
From a website about Orfordness "There are a number of legends about these buildings. For example, the heavy roof is not designed to collapse, as has been commonly suggested. The legs are hugely reinforced".
ReplyDelete