Britain’s Underground World That’s Not the Tube
Need a three month getaway? Sick of seeing your same old neighbors?
Corsham, England, may just be what you are looking for.
Underneath (yes, underneath) this town, two hours outside of London, lies a self-sufficient world, free of residents.
According to The Daily Beast, this underground destination – basically a huge bunker to protect against nuclear weapons – began being built in 1956 and was completed in 1961 as a result of Cold War fears. But, it was not for everyone. Its code-name was “Burlington.’’
“If the nation was struck with a nuclear bomb, 4,000 government employees would be shuttled via a secret train line from downtown London to a blast-and-radiation-proof bunker code-named ‘Burlington.’ From these emergency government war headquarters, as they were designated, Britain could resume governing while the world above burned.’’
Declassified in 2004, the subterranean site ranges from 60-100 feet below ground, is one kilometer long, 200 meters across, and totals 35 acres, according to the Burlingtonwebsite.
Its facilities include an infirmary, bakery, laundry, two large kitchens and serving areas, telephones, store rooms, office space, living accommodations, maintenance areas and workshops, and an area for the storage and charging of the bunker’s electric buggies.
Electric buggies?
Yes, there was a fleet of them to navigate throughout the 10 miles of tunnel.
According to BBC, “An underground lake and treatment plant could provide all the drinking water needed whilst 12 huge tanks could store the fuel required to keep the four massive generators, in the underground power station, running for up to three months.’’
In addition, the temperature could be kept at a “constant humidity and heated to around 20 degrees.’’ (Safe to assume they mean celsius.)
A lot of thought was seemingly invested in the endeavor, including a Wartime Broadcasting Service specific to Burlington.
According to the Burlington website:
“During an attack the Central Government would be relocated to the Emergency Government War Headquarters, Burlington in Corsham, therefore a studio and other facilities were installed in the bunker… BBC directors pre-selected eleven staff from London as well as reserves who were on stand-by to move to Corsham in the event of an attack on the UK.’’
There was only one issue. The Daily Beast reported that “very few people knew of the bunker’s existence. Not the BBC employees pre-selected for the station, nor the majority of the government staffers who’d be living there.’’
After the Cold War, Burlington became pretty much ignored and fell to disrepair.
The area is not open to the public and a select few have ever visited it.
The Daily Beast reported:
“A lucky few have gotten to explore it for themselves. ‘Plates & cutlery all laid out make this area look like it’s ready to be used at the drop of a hat, or as if previous inhabitants just upped and left,’ a group of urban explorers writes of a 2010 visit. Another, a member of the Royal Air Force, remembers visiting in 2006 and recalls ‘the supply store was like going back in a time capsule.’ The whole place, he says, was ‘like a James Bond film set.’’’
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