If you fancy a trip to see a relic of nuclear war, then the open days to go into an underground bunker near Haywards Heath have been announced.
The Cuckfield Royal Observer Corps post is a small underground bunker, one of over 1,500 that were built to monitor the fallout from a nuclear war. Closed down in the 1990s as no longer needed, most are derelict or flooded, but some have been restored, such as the one in Cuckfield.
It’s been restored to the state it was when it closed down, with newspaper articles still talking about Soviet aggression, tins of preserved food for the survivors and lots of equipment to monitor the nuclear attack and fallout.
For a full visit review – go here.
The Cuckfield ROC open days for 2023 are:
- Saturday 15th July – 12pm to 4pm
- Sunday 16th July – 10am to 2pm
- Saturday 12th August – 12pm to 4pm
- Sunday 13th August – 10am to 2pm
For the latest updates, check their Facebook page.
No need to book, just turn up. Due to the size of the bunker you might need to wait a bit to climb down inside, but there are displays above ground to keep you occupied.
Entry is free and donations are appreciated – at the moment, very very appreciated.
To get there, I found it easiest to take the train to Haywards Heath, then it’s a relatively pleasant 45-minute walk to Cuckfield, which is even more enjoyable if you go via Blunts Wood.
In my wayward youth friends and I used to scour the countryside and suburbs to find where these bunkers were located. Once you found one you could get a line towards the next ones by taking compass bearings off markers on one of the fittings on top. When you got two bunkers you could then triangulate the location of others. Happy days and a cheap pastime with petrol at less than 50p a galloon. Never found our local Regional Seat of Government (RSG) though until about 15 years ago when it was declassified.