Britains Secret Underground City

Hi Everyone,

I came across this article today and thought it was quite interesting and worth a thread on here.

The article is named 'Britains Secret Underground City' and is about a secret nuclear bunker under the Wiltshire countryside. I wonder if they would reopen it if we were to have 3rd world war and if there are any more secret bunkers in the UK?

The link to the full article with images can be found Here

Imagine being caught in the middle of a nuclear war. You’re terrified of the fall out and all you want to do is spend time with your family. You know you may never see them again, so time is precious. Then imagine that your work inform you that you can’t go home (just when you thought you had the perfect excuse not to have to work for a very long time), you can’t see your family one last time, because unbeknown to you, you’ll be serving queen and country for just a little while longer. Only this time you don’t get to see the light of day, well not much light gets through the walls of a nuclear bunker.

This December, on BBC Radio 4, a programme was aired that detailed the visit to an old nuclear fall out bunker, hidden in the most unlikely place, the Wiltshire countryside. Normally associated with chocolate box houses and English rose gardens, rather than the last bastion of the British Government, the sleepy shire is the now not-so-secret location of a huge underground city complex.

Code named Burlington, the immense city was set to be the seat of the emergency Government during the war; should nukes be involved. Created to house the Prime Minister of the time, Harold McMillan, the entire Cabinet Office, civil servants and any support staff, the hidden city could accommodate up to 4,000 personnel, but, unfortunately, not their families. Apparently, the site was so secret that many of the workers had no idea they were allocated a desk.

Built in the 1950s in a former stone quarry, Burlington covers 240 acres and has a network of around 60 miles of roads, which were laid out New York-style, making travelling around below much easier to master than the winding above. It even has its own railway station and pub; although one pub for 4,000 Brits doesn’t seem quite right.

The bunker was equipped with enough supplies so the inhabitants could survive up to three months in total isolation. Three generators powered the whole city and the air was kept to a comfortable 20 degrees. There were hospitals, canteens, a water treatment plant and an underground lake. Burlington also boasted Britain’s second largest telephone exchange and its very own BBC studio, so the PM could address the nation, should he need to.

This extraordinary city was kept in working order for 30 years, just in case, but in 1991, at the end of the Cold War, the MOD took over management of it until it was decommissioned last year. Since then all memorabilia has been removed and today the only guard protecting the entrance to this remarkable piece of British history is a solitary garden gnome.

Looks good although I wouldn't want to be down there for long!

reply to post by benjamin2012

I doubt commoners and riff-raff would be allowed in if it were all to happen.
ETA Burlington, a codename for Central Government War Headquarters
Nuff said


ETA2 Source

reply to post by LightSpeedDriver


haha yeh it will be royalty and the government.. not forgetting ronald mcdonald and his corporate crew!

not very impressive
but it'll do

reply to post by benjamin2012

Even in the face of attack or other serious "problem", one thing the government will avoid at all costs is losing it's stranglehold on its nation. Hence centres like this, built under the guise of protection of public order and the like. Quite who will be left to protect in the event of global thermonuclear war is anyone's guess, but still they have to try!

Sounds like the underground bunkers mentioned in the Terminator TV Show. In Episode 8, John Connor and family had to infiltrate the Los Angeles City Hall and take down the "traffic intelligence" that was being built. The way they did it was to go through some underground passageways and into the building.

Derek Reese: "These buildings are all connected by a series of underground tunnels that were built during the cold war. I did a project on it in the ninth grade - my last year of school."

It might be fictional but the idea is there.

So we have a huge unguarded decommissioned nuclear bunker under the Wiltshire country side!

Thanks for the info OP S&F I now have a new bug out destination for when the SHTF!

Wonder if youd still have to buy things if you were down there. For example in the pub would you still have to pay for a drink?? It would be pretty pointless if you did but also feel very weird if you didnt!

BBC - Wiltshire's Secret Underground City

Found this BBC website also, has 360 tour, more images and information.

Good point, if there is a nuclear bomb, who will there be left for them to rule anyway? lol they can stay in there and rot, hopefully the air supply will get raptured in a nuclear attack!

Similar cold war relics are under Berlin and other Cities too.
Not really secret though since you can enter and take tours down there.

You'd be surprised how many of these bunkers we have, during the cold war our government bought masses of land from farmers and turn them into government establishments so they could keep the country running in the event of a war.

would be a great setting for a film!