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Report - - RAF Fuel Depot, Micheldever (July 2015) | Military Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - RAF Fuel Depot, Micheldever (July 2015)

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Palisade

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
I had wondered what this very large concrete building was for a long time, as I had seen it many times from the train window. Then a couple of days ago I finally looked up Micheldever on 28DL and found my answer, as it had already been visited.

Here is the history: Micheldever Fuel Depot (according to the internet) was built by the RAF in c.1939 for use as an oil terminal during the war. More recently the site was used by Elf /Shell Oil and Minster Fuel. The depot became inactive in the early-mid 90s, and the final clean out of the tanks took place in 1995. Since this date the site has been used only for small scale storage (Source: http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/13303/ld-notice-micheldever.pdf).

I decided to go and have a look for myself, so I stopped off on the way back from work... The site was easy to access: a crawl through some bushes, a squeeze through a small gap in the fence and I was in. I did however then have to climb down a VERY steep slope of exposed chalk by hanging onto the side of a fence, getting my black clothes nice and chalky in the process! I was a bit nervous as I climbed down, a – because I wasn’t sure if there’d be any CCTV, b – because I had to duck down every time a train went past, and c – I was on my own so didn’t want to meet any unfriendly people. However, when I got to the bottom I soon realised there were no cameras or people, so I got on exploring…

The depot building is of an impressive size. It is built into the side of a hill; the ground having been previously removed so that the top of the depot, despite being a tall structure, is still at a lower level than the surrounding land. There are 28 tunnel portals along the length of the building, from which large fuel pipes exit and then run along the outside of the structure. Unfortunately only one of the inside rooms was accessible on my visit, due to large metal sheets securing the other doorways. In this room there were more pipes and pieces of machinery, as well as electrical boxes.

My photos are pretty poor as I only planned this trip while I was at work, so didn’t have a proper camera on me. But as this is an exploring forum, and not a photography one, I’ll stick them up anyway…

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ACID- REFLUX

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Well for what it"s worth i like it :thumb and better pics than some on here that should know better ;)

Look forward to your next report .
 

The_Raw

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Pics look good enough to me and it looks like a pretty interesting place you've found there. Wonder what's hidden behind the metal sheeting? ;)
 

Bertie Bollockbrains

There is no pain
Regular User
Thanks for that. I drive along the A303 a couple of times each week and having seen your report I think I will now give this site a visit myself. Don't worry about only one tank being open, I recently did a fuel depot in the vicinity of Bristol where every tank was locked - so you're one up on me.

For your information, there's an underground fuel depot in Portsmouth that is wide open right now with many hundreds of metres of tunnel to explore. PM if you need details.
 

Palisade

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Thanks for the comments guys. I'm afraid it was just a room rather than a tank that was open Bertie. But then I didn't look down every single tunnel as there were 28 (I think).
 

Budice

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Nice one. This was mentioned on Underground Britain the other evening
 

Palisade

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Thanks Budice. I've not seen any of Underground Britain so might have to watch that.
 

Bertie Bollockbrains

There is no pain
Regular User
Somebody not on our side has seen this report and acted. Since this was posted, the fences have been patched and all doors sealed. Nothing to see here right now.

Best leave this site alone for a while.
 

newage

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Guys nothing to do with this site, one of my work managers did a heath and safety visit a few months back and that's why it got sealed up, our company is responsible for the site even thought it's not been used for years and never will again.

Cheers newage

Somebody not on our side has seen this report and acted. Since this was posted, the fences have been patched and all doors sealed. Nothing to see here right now.

Best leave this site alone for a while.
 

Barbarella

28DL Member
28DL Member
Greetings, I've been out of the 28DL loop for quite a long time, after moving to London and making the assumption that sites are probably way more secured than up in rural Scotland!

I visited this site yesterday afternoon. Indeed, a lot of the infrastructure has now gone and the trees and bushes are making a good go of obscuring what was once there. However, there are still things to see; the lighting poles still exist along the top edge of the raised structure, from where you get good views of the site overall, and other small original remnants are around. It's a pretty discrete place to be: access is straightforward and secluded (although steep) in more than one location and I did not see a soul. It's by no means the most amazing site, but it's peaceful and there are some juicy brambles to be had! I went back to the station at around 1am where you will see many a freight train thunder through.

Any recommendations for other places in the Basingstoke/Winchester area? I'm working here all week, restoring a local milestone by night...

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