Inside Scotland's ‘secret' Cold War doomsday bunker built to detect impending nuclear attack
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A NUCLEAR bunker has sparked a tourist trade explosion — with global visitors raving about it.
The Cold War relic has been hailed as an 'excellent hidden gem' and 'fascinating' online.
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Skelmorlie Secret Bunker was intended to record a potential Soviet nuclear strike
Credit: John Kirkby
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The bunker can only be accessed by climbing down a 15ft ladder
Credit: John Kirkby
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The site was decommissioned in 1991 but restores 13 years later by devoted volunteers
Credit: John Kirkby
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Museum curator Frank Alexander previously volunteered with the Royal Observer Corps
Credit: John Kirkby
Skelmorlie Secret Bunker in Ayrshire was designed to record the location and radioactive fallout of a looming Soviet nuke strike.
Royal Observer Corps volunteers ran the facility during the height of the Cold War between America and the USSR.
Visitors access the former monitoring post by climbing down a 15ft ladder and it contains communication equipment and instruments previously intended for studying a potential warhead blast.
The chamber could accommodate three people with three weeks' worth of rations.
People from the USA, Australia, China, Europe, South Africa and even Russia have visited the site - the only one of its kind in the central belt.
Museum curator Frank Alexander joined the ROC in 1983, aged 31, and now runs free tours after helping reopen the bunker.
He said: 'We've had thousands of visitors from all around the world. We've also done special events.
'I think it's the novelty of it. A lot of people simply don't realise that there was this network of monitoring posts all over the UK, specifically to be used in the event of a nuclear attack.'
It was decommissioned in 1991 along with scores of similar posts across Scotland.
But in 2004, ex-volunteers and enthusiasts restored the hilltop site overlooking the Firth of Clyde to its former glory.
Look inside 1,500ft-deep tunnels that will be shut off for 100,000 years
Frank said: 'What made me join (the ROC) was that it was the height of the Cold War in the 1980s. It was a real risk that we would be caught up in an east-west conflict.
'I was looking to do my bit for Queen and country.
'From April to September, there were 10 people based at Skelmorlie. Our duties were to train for the thing that we never hoped would happen, a nuclear attack on the UK.
'We were one of many monitoring posts throughout the UK. It was a network chain to link up and report on the effects of a nuclear strike.
'Regardless of where the nuclear strike took place, at least one or two monitoring posts would be able to pick up an explosion and be able to calculate where the actual weapon had detonated.
'The bunker was designed for a team of three people. Our responsibilities were to meet at Skelmorlie on a Wednesday evening and train with equipment and procedures to observe and report various readings in the event of a nuclear strike within our technical range.'
The retired Hunterston power station worker added: 'In 2003, I approached the landowner and asked if it would be possible to buy the land on which the site was based. He refused, but as a result of our discussions, we entered into a lease arrangement.
'We restored the monitoring post to its original state and opened it up for public tours.'
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The chamber could accommodate three people with three weeks' worth of rations.
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Royal Observer Corps volunteers ran the facility during the height of the Cold War between America and the USSR
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The bunker was designed to record the location and radioactive fallout of a looming Soviet nuke strike
For those unable to access the underground bunker, a replica has been constructed in a cabin above ground.
It has attracted a five-star rating on Google and Tripadvisor from scores of glowing reviews.
Delighted visitors have hailed it as an 'excellent hidden gem' and were impressed by the knowledge of the volunteers and the 'fascinating' exhibition hut.
Tours of the bunker last an hour-and-a-half and can be pre-booked by email or phone.
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