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Man explores Britain’s incredible abandoned nuclear bunker network that most people didn't know existed

Man explores Britain’s incredible abandoned nuclear bunker network that most people didn't know existed

This massive bunker network has been around since the Cold War.

Did you know there were hundreds of secret bunkers scattered all around the UK?

A new video from Scottish YouTuber Calum (@CalumRaasay) has explored the fascinating unknown story of these bunkers - while also giving us a peek at what they look like.

In the YouTube video, titled: 'Britain’s Incredible Abandoned Nuclear Bunker Network', Calum explains why these bunkers were set up.

During the Cold War, the British government was so concerned about the threat of nuclear war that they put a bit of a safety plan in action.

You might think these bunkers were set up to protect people from the fall-out of a potential attack, but it turns out they actually had a different purpose.

"These were intended to be used by the British government in the event of nuclear war, but perhaps not in the way that you might think," Calum says in the YouTube video.

"They weren't intended for survival and they certainly weren't even really intended for much long-term use. Instead, they were a fascinating analogue network of nuclear reporting stations."

Manned by volunteers from the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKMO), with help from the Royal Observer Corps (ROC), people in these bunkers scattered all over the UK would feed back information to the government. This included pre-warning them about attacks, while determining the impact sites and what the fallout levels were.

Calum goes into all sorts of fascinating detail - such as what tools the volunteers used, like the ground zero indicator and the bomb power indicator.

CalumRaasay / YouTube
CalumRaasay / YouTube

He even visits a selection of these bunkers. Some have fallen into disrepair - they're flooded and in all kinds of disarray - but others are in better condition.

Particularly the Skelmorlie Secret Bunker in Scotland, which has been perfectly preserved in its original condition, and is now a museum anyone can visit.

While many people have never heard of these bunkers, others have rushed to the comments section to share their personal connections.

"My mother was a member of the ROC back in the day and spent many hours inside one of them up here in Orkney. Apparently after being locked in there for a full 24 hours as part of an exercise, there wasn't enough oxygen left in the air to sustain a match when one of the folk tried to light a cigarette at the end," one commenter shared.

While another wrote: "Great video, excellent research. My father-in-law was one of those volunteers and went down to RAF Waddington to attend the parade to be stood down by HRH."

Featured Image Credit: CalumRaasay/YouTube