The bunker, also known as Magic Mountain (Credit: Alconbury Weald)
Quietly tucked away in the Cambridgeshire countryside lies a relic of the Cold War.
While the thought of apocalyptic bunkers would have sparked images ofDoomsday preppers pre-pandemic, they’ve become big business.
Fast forward to 2024 with devastating wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, many more might jump on the opportunity to at least visit one.
But during the Cold War, nuke-proof bunkers made sense.
Built in 1988, the ‘Magic Mountain’ bunker at the former RAF Alconbury base in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, boasts blast-proof corridors and an escape tunnel.
The corridors are divided for the decontamination process (Credit: Alconbury Weald via YouTube)
At a cost of £50,000,000, it was was made of steel and reinforced concrete to endure a possible nuclear attack during the uncertain times.
The site was an active airbase between 1938 and 1995, housing both American and British troops over the years.
The sturdy bunker survived an air raid by the Nazi Luftwaffe during the Second World War.
Later, together with the nearby RAF Molesworth, it was for US army’s secret intelligence gathering operations and reconnaissance flights.
To make the bunker extra secure, blast proof guillotine doors divide the corridors.
Deep inside the bunker (Credit: Alconbury Weald via YouTube)
The bunker’s communications centre was used for secret operations (Credit: Alconbury Weald via YouTube)
Pilots would take off layers off clothing at each door before reaching the decontamination showers, Rebecca Britton, project manager with developer Urban & Civic explained on video tour of the mysterious site.
Located deep within the bunker are the power plant and communications hub.
They enable life in the bunker even after an explosion, including an air flow system to push out contaminants from the outside world.
The escape route, known as ‘a dead man’s hatch’, at the very back of a briefing room was the way out in the case an enemy had entered the bunker.
The site was earmarked to become a rail and freight terminal before it was bought in 2009, The Sun said.
Restoring the site took almost a year, Britton said.
The surrounding features such as the watchtower and areas damaged by bomb explosions needed restoring, the outlet reported.
Now more than 6,000 homes have been built as part of the new Alconbury Weald estate, with the airport runway turned into a planted area for residents to enjoy.
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