|
Subterranean Living
Bob Walker
Perched high on a hill overlooking the Nottinghamshire countryside, it's the latest des res for these troubled times.
For just an anticipated few thousand pounds, a nuclear shelter built 15 feet under the ground can be yours. Damp and without mains electricity it may be, but there's no shortage of inquiries about this disused Royal Observer Corps monitoring base.
The bunker at Kelham Hill near Newark is impossible to see from the small country lane that runs nearby. A short trudge over a field brings you to the small concrete entrance tower and a few nondescript pipes, all that remain of the bunker's equipment which would have been used to measure nuclear blasts and radioactive fallout.
Robin Ware, who's handling the sale for Chartered Surveyors J.H. Walter, says there has already been great interest in the sale of the Nottinghamshire bunker and two others in rural Lincolnshire.
One of those to take an early look around the site was Nick Catford who helps run Subterranea Britannica, a study group dedicated to investigating man-made underground sites across Britain. He owns a similar bunker himself and has visited more than 1,500 others.
Mr Catford thinks the most likely buyers will be enthusiasts like himself or former members of the Royal Observer Corps.
He also believes that it could prove tempting for those concerned about possible attacks by terrorists using weapons of mass destruction. He already knows some people who are so concerned at the international situation that they've already built shelters in their own homes.
|
|
|
|
Nick Catford at the entrance to the bunker
Nick Catford and Rob Ward in the underground bunker
Listen - |