Saturday 27th September - Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker & Barleylands
Farm Museum* and Craft Village
(includes admission to Nuclear Bunker)
Adults: £21; Children £18 Lower rates for family of 2 + 2
 www.secretnuclearbunker.com
www.barleylands.co.uk
Kelvedon is currently the biggest and deepest cold war bunker
open to the public in south east England. Come and witness
the three lives
of the bunker starting with
its role as an RAF ROTOR Station, then a brief period as
a civil defence centre through to its most recent life as
a Regional Government HQ. Designed for up to 600 military personnel,
possibly even the
Prime Minister,
their collective task was to organise the survival of the population in the
awful aftermath of
a nuclear war. The bunker was built on land requisitioned from local
farmer, J.A. Parrish.
A simple leafy bungalow guarded and disguised the entrance to this massive
and deep bunker, both
of which are heavily reinforced to withstand bomb
blast and radiation. As the heat of
the Cold War died down, the Government no longer required the bunker and its
systems, especially as it was
costing up to £3m per year to keep on
standby. When decommissioned
in 1992, the bunker was
bought back from the Government by the Parrish
family, at a closed bid public auction, and is now privately owned.
We will enjoy an interesting visit to this fascinating venue.
 We
leave Kelvedon Hatch in the early afternoon and take the relatively short
journey to Billericay where we will have the remainder of the afternoon free
to spend at Barleylands. It is free to
visit the Craft
Village which houses probably the largest collection of working crafts in
East Anglia, where there are over 50 impressive individual, specialist
workshops. You may be able to watch some of the artisans at work producing
their original and unusual gifts. You could arrange an individually
commissioned item for a special occasion, the craftsmen and women will be
only too happy to help. As we will be getting a little closer to Christmas
by now, you may want to think
about looking for some unusual, special or
personalised gifts for your family and friends. Although by now it is
Autumn, if the
weather is warm enough, you could relax in the landscaped,
paved courtyards, or order a cream tea from the cosy farmhouse tea room.
Light lunches and refreshments are also available all afternoon. The
whole village has a paved level surface for stress-free access for everyone,
and the upper
level is served by a lift.
If you wish to visit Barleylands Farm Centre then there is an
additional charge (£5 per person from
age 2 or Family Ticket £16) payable
yourself because this is an optional visit not included in the
cost of your
tour. Here children of all ages can meet and feed the friendly farm
animals, ride the
mini tractors around the farm and let off steam in the
adventure play area. They can visit Sam the ferret, cuddle a rabbit in the
bunny barn, and see if the ducks and geese are visiting the pond. The
miniature train may well be running around the farm, which costs £1 per
person.
Departing Barleylands in the latter part of the afternoon
(duration of stay dependent upon
the weather) we will return home at around 6pm.
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