real time web analytics
Report - - Bidston Hill Deep shelter March 2012 | Underground Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Bidston Hill Deep shelter March 2012

Hide this ad by donating or subscribing !

Degenatron

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
This place has not been done for a couple of years at least so when the opportunity presented itself off I went.

First some History

Bidston Underground Tunnels

For many of the earlier generation the tunnels beneath Bidston were a place to play, a place to
explore and a place to hide from the world. But for many years now the tunnels have been shut off
from the outside world due to lack of maintenance and persistent health & safety issues. With the
exception of the occasional opening to the public, the tunnels are now permanently closed. Minutes
of Wirrals Civil Defence Emergency Committee in 1941 reveal that the peninsulas skilled workforce
saw it granted almost unprecedented funds to establish two deep air raid shelters. One sprawling
under Tranmere around Olive Mount, Thompson Street and Holborn Hill.. The other under Bidston Hills
Rhododendron Garden with its entrance facing Hoylake Road. Tickets were to be handed out to
ensure access to residents in the event of an air raid. By June 1943 the final bill for the project was
£163;48,006 with the corporation paying £163;6510. The tunnels were 7 feet wide and 6 feet high
with a large arched roof. A reporter in 1943 advised that due to the unreliable nature of the rock
costs increased, and it was noted that the unskilled workforce available had been markedly inferior to
the Tranmere Shelter. Less explosives were required in Bidston, and the spoil was tipped close to the
entrance which accounts for the rise in the grassed land around the Hoylake Road area. Emergency
Committee minutes also reveal that during construction the project was plagued with trespassers and
vandalism, not just a modern problem then !! Nine hundred and fifty tonnes of sand were sold to a
contractor for building purposes. Although it never saw the scale of use it was intended for, tickets do
still exist and people did shelter under Bidston. There were 2213 bunks and 793 seats, as well as a
canteen staff dormitory, toilets, medical posts and a ventilation shaft which could double as an
emergency escape hatch if necessary.

Chair of Bidston Preservation Society Peter Crawford has conducted meticulous research into the
shelter. He said "As a child i remember seeing the escape shaft building on Bidston Hill. It was a brick
structure about 8 feet tall, and inside were a series of ladders which meant people could get out if the
Rhododendron Garden entrance was hit. After the war it was a real problem for police because if
someone got in there and got into trouble there was very little chance of them being found. This was
a structure that could house 3000 people and it was totally dark. In the 1960s they saw it as a p[lace
the could be of use because of the Cold War, but there was a lot of dry rot in the timber work"

Peter hopes that with the right investment, Wirral could make the most of the Bidston shelter as a
tourist attraction revealing the true nature of the home front area. He added " The people working in
the dockland were irreplaceable, skilled labour was vital and structures like Bidston shelter show how
seriously the threat was taken".

As the police reports from the time show, the tunnels were an extremely dangerous site, and it is
worth pointing out to would be adventurers that thanks to the careful application of huge amounts of
concrete the tunnels are now completely inaccessible. However in November 2007 before they were
resealed, a small band of Wirral adventurers gained access to the caves for one last expedition. Of
course i cannot condone this action, and I'm sure that the men who entered the cave would not
recommend it to anyone, however curiosity got the better of them, and as result we have a great
many photographs of the inside of the tunnels and a short video guide of the walk through.
The above is copied from this page on OldWirral.com


These tunnels have been opened up that many times over the years that generations of locals have explored them and many have left their mark in there or just smashed anything they can. I first entered here in about 1995 but we never got far as we had a crap torch and a group of chavs ended up chasing us off, hurling rocks at us as we fled. Anyway fast forward to 2012, I receive a call from a friend and a few hours later I am stood in the tunnels that where 'Sealed forever' again.

Thanks to Shoney for the invite and the rest of the group who made it happen. Non or whom are members or have explorer aliases so I can't give them any more credit than that unfortunately.

Picture2_005.jpg


The layout of the tunnels

Bid-26.jpg


Slightly wetter than I remember it being down this end.

Bid-5.jpg


Every brick wall that could be broken by chavs has been reduced back down to bricks that now litter the floor in many places.

Bid-9.jpg


This wall is where one of the unfinished tunnels would have continued on. There is nothing to see through the hole.

Bid-11.jpg


Bid-13.jpg


Do not adjust your white balance. My HID torch really is that stupid colour.

Bid-15.jpg


This used to be a row of toilet cubicles with sinks at the end.

Bid-16.jpg


Bid-28.jpg


Bid-30.jpg


That thing in the middle is the remains of the original incoming electricity distribution boards, bus bar chamber and switch gear. Behind it is the bottom of the ventilation/escape shaft which I regret I did not photograph on this occasion due to time constraints.

Bid-45.jpg


Bid-12.jpg


Bid-41.jpg


more toilets

Bid-31.jpg


I wish I had composed this shot a little better but hey ho.

Bid-43.jpg


Ok I promise, no more cheesy coloured lighting.

Bid-49.jpg


Bid-48.jpg


Since last time this bike has moved further than any sane person would ever bother dragging it.

Bid-51.jpg


Bid-19.jpg


Thanks for looking.
 

Degenatron

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Thanks again for the comments everyone.

My previous visit was a bit short so I retuned to get a few more shots. It would be a bit daft to start another report so soon, so I will just add the pictures here.

BiddyTwoStack.jpg


The ventilation fan half way up the ventilation/escape shaft.

BiddyTwo-72.jpg


Power distribution equipment at the bottom of the shaft.

BiddyTwo-66.jpg


Some parts of the roof had concrete lining.

BiddyTwo-65.jpg


BiddyTwo-62.jpg


BiddyTwo-59.jpg


I'm Dougie Lampkin YEHHH!

BiddyTwo-52.jpg


BiddyTwo-51.jpg


One of the more soggy areas

BiddyTwo-43.jpg


Blast wall and First Aid area. This was the original entrance to the tunnels.

BiddyTwo-32stack.jpg


Light painting stupidity. Sorry I could not resist.

BiddyTwo-29.jpg


BiddyTwo-27.jpg


This is all that remains of the toilet cubicles. It had real flushing loos rather than Elsan ones.

BiddyTwo-16.jpg


The blast wall back lit shot. That really is glow in the dark paint I 'charged' with the torch prior to taking the shot.

BiddyTwo-11.jpg


The other entrance behind the blast wall. This was the way in back in 2010.

Thanks for looking.
 

Helen Hoyle

28DL Member
28DL Member
This place has not been done for a couple of years at least so when the opportunity presented itself off I went.

First some History


The above is copied from this page on OldWirral.com


These tunnels have been opened up that many times over the years that generations of locals have explored them and many have left their mark in there or just smashed anything they can. I first entered here in about 1995 but we never got far as we had a crap torch and a group of chavs ended up chasing us off, hurling rocks at us as we fled. Anyway fast forward to 2012, I receive a call from a friend and a few hours later I am stood in the tunnels that where 'Sealed forever' again.

Thanks to Shoney for the invite and the rest of the group who made it happen. Non or whom are members or have explorer aliases so I can't give them any more credit than that unfortunately.

Picture2_005.jpg


The layout of the tunnels

Bid-26.jpg


Slightly wetter than I remember it being down this end.

Bid-5.jpg


Every brick wall that could be broken by chavs has been reduced back down to bricks that now litter the floor in many places.

Bid-9.jpg


This wall is where one of the unfinished tunnels would have continued on. There is nothing to see through the hole.

Bid-11.jpg


Bid-13.jpg


Do not adjust your white balance. My HID torch really is that stupid colour.

Bid-15.jpg


This used to be a row of toilet cubicles with sinks at the end.

Bid-16.jpg


Bid-28.jpg


Bid-30.jpg


That thing in the middle is the remains of the original incoming electricity distribution boards, bus bar chamber and switch gear. Behind it is the bottom of the ventilation/escape shaft which I regret I did not photograph on this occasion due to time constraints.

Bid-45.jpg


Bid-12.jpg


Bid-41.jpg


more toilets

Bid-31.jpg


I wish I had composed this shot a little better but hey ho.

Bid-43.jpg


Ok I promise, no more cheesy coloured lighting.

Bid-49.jpg


Bid-48.jpg


Since last time this bike has moved further than any sane person would ever bother dragging it.

Bid-51.jpg


Bid-19.jpg


Thanks for looking.
I had no idea that this place had ever existed. The size of it is astonishing. As a heritage site it would be fascinating to visit What a shame that’s not possible. Helen
 
Top