Within the grounds of a luxury five-star retreat set in stunning countryside, running underneath a golf course lays a huge WWII Airraid shelter with 52 passages. Multiple entrances at the side of the golf course exist at semi-ground level, however, most are bricked up or have a padlocked enclosure on the entrance.
The tunnels were used by the London, Midland, and Scottish (LMS) Railway company when its offices were relocated to these shelters and Manor House during WWII.
Large undertakings in towns and cities were actively seeking alternative accommodation for their staff at the request of the Government.
With this in mind, the LMS felt it would be wise to evacuate their London-based headquarters organisation. For security purposes, any purchase had to be kept “Top Secret”
Today, the passages are filled with broken benching, wooden toilets, golf balls, a few footballs, and a huge amount of cave spiders. It’s the first time I have actually come across this type of spider, and in some forums, the air-raid shelters are known as the ‘Spider Tunnels’ – you can see why when you enter them!
Each block in the shelter is perfect square-shaped, with 4 passages. there are numerous blocks, all connected to each other, and all had their own entrance.
The shelter appeared to be larger than the ones I have visited in both Liverpool and Stockport.