The UK’s underground city of Burlington

The 1950s brought with them the looming doom of the Cold War and, as people were filled with the fear of a nuclear strike, they began to tunnel beneath the Earth in an attempt to find safety - from the tiny bomb shelters that individuals would build in their backyards to complete cities.  One of the biggest of these cold war relics is the Burlington Nuclear Bunker, built more than 100 feet beneath the city of Corsham, England.

The total area of this city is around 35 acres and it is connected by more than 60 miles of roads.  The purpose of Burlington was to act as the primary Emergency Government War Headquarters and house the most important members of government as well as up to 4000 necessary staff.  It was in this way that the UK would keep their government running even after the bombs had fallen (or so they believed).

Burlington is, supposedly, completely blast-proof and capable of withstanding a nuclear strike.  It had all the resources and facilities needed to exist for more than three months without making contact with the outside world.  There is an underground lake, a water treatment plant, an extensive phone system, a power station and even a pub.  Of course, they didn't really think things all the way through, since three months isn't really a significant amount of time in the course of a nuclear strike.

When the Cold War ended in 1991 the complex remained on standby for many years, just in case something should go wrong.  It was finally decommissioned in 2004, the supplies and water removed and the staff reduced to just four.

This is a great place for urban explorers who have a bit of courage.  There is no public access and it’s easy to get lost, but to seriously adventurous individuals, it’s a gold mine of maze-like corridors and Cold War history waiting to be explored and photographed.  Or, for those of us not in the UK and not wishing to spend some time locked up, it can be explored via this series of photo galleries.

Burlington photo courtesy of NJ via Wikicommons