Scotland Secret Bunker, hidden beneath an innocent Scottish farmhouse on the outskirts of St Andrews is an incredibly secret bunker. Built in 1953, the bunker was part of Britain’s defences as the Cold War began to heat up – it was designed as a control centre for a nuclear attack on the UK by the Soviet Union. It is massive, 24,000 square feet, and was operational until the late 1980s when advances in radar technology made it obsolete.
The site was part of the ROTOR chain of radar sites built around the country following WWII – designed to spot Russian bombers and direct interceptors. It was one of the largest and is now known as Scotland’s Secret Bunker, but is more interesting as an example of how a bunker was constructed rather than what it would have been used for had it ever come into use.
Scotland Secret Bunker
The entrance tunnel stretches 100ft underground and leads to a complex that is the size of two football pitches stacked on top of each other. Inside there is a command room that would have accommodated senior ministers and civil servants. They would have had access to up-to-the-minute information on the state of the world thanks to giant map displays and wall charts.
St Andrews Taxi
There are also areas for the emergency services, meteorologists, computer staff, and scientific advisors. The most important room was the private office for the Minister of State, which even had a view!
Visitors to the bunker are taken through a series of superbly recreated rooms to see how they might have been used in the event of an attack. It’s fascinating stuff and there’s enough here to keep visitors entertained, but it’s also sobering to realise what an awful prospect nuclear Armageddon really is.
A cafe is located on the site and it’s a great place to relax after your visit. Scotland Secret Bunker, there’s a selection of military-themed gifts for sale, including ammo bags, a kids Morse code kit and prints of Second World War newspaper front pages.
The bunker is open to the public from February to October and tickets are available online. You can also book private tours for groups of 10 or more people. The Bunker is also often used as a filming location for TV shows, films and commercials, with many of the scenes in ‘The Avengers’ and ‘Star Wars’ being shot there. If you’re interested in booking a filming date or hiring the Bunker for your own private function, get in touch with their special events team. Scotland Secret Bunker, they are able to host weddings, receptions, re-enactment days and corporate events.
