Barnton Quarry Nuclear Bunker

This nuclear bunker is situated 100 feet below Corstorphine Hill, embedded in the Barnton Quarry and adjacent to Edinburgh Zoo. It was built in 1944, in 1951 it was commissioned as a Cold War shelter for the British government and the Queen, should she happen to be at her Edinburgh residence. It was even outfitted with a broadcast room for the BBC. By 1955 it was was declassified and all but abandoned.

It was still used as a protected control centre up until the mid-1960’s. The Soviet nuclear attack on Scotland never came, and thus the bunker was never used. It was a secret until 1963 when a group called Spies for Peace exposed it to the public. It was purchased in 2005 by a private owner who intends to turn it into a museum, although the bunker has long been explored by intrepid spelunkers.

After some acts of arson in the early 2000s, the bunker had exposed asbestos and other danger, but a team of volunteers working on the bunker since its new ownership, have gone a long way towards cleaning it and making it safe for visitors. This same team has found new uses for the space, including installations that incorporate items from it history, such as tens of disc phones that were found within. Nowadays, the bunker also does some special events, like a Halloween haunted house.