Eventually you will arrive at a large gravely car parking area which also has a small play area for the children. After parking, you see a sign in the corner of the car park that says “Way In” and you follow it down a narrow sloping footpath into the woods. You go through a wire mesh perimeter gate and back in time to the 1960’s following the pathway past a couple of outbuildings, garage etc and into the front yard of just a very ordinary looking bungalow. As you go into the front entrance of the bungalow there are several helpful signs that explain all sorts of things from the entrance fees to how you navigate your way around the unattended tour. Once inside the front door to the right there is an enormous amount of bright orange wands which are basically very long phone looking digital devices that contain the audio guide to the tour.

As you follow the arrows painted on the floor of the bunker you hold the wand to your ear and listen to the running commentary as you go. There are sound effects of all kinds as you make your way through the corridors of the bunker. There are also several sections in the bunker offering short films that you can sit and watch to further enhance the experience. There is also a section where you can try on some army uniforms, hats and gas masks etc. A self service digital camera is also available close by if you want to take photo’s of each other in the different outfits.

The bunker is made up of three different levels and as you go through each section you will see how they intended to deal with every aspect of daily life including sleeping, washing, planning, mapping, telecommunications, dead bodies, injuries, sewerage and filtering the air. It is mind boggling if you actually take the time to sit and think what it would be like to live and work in this place, locked away from the outside world for who knows how long. Wondering what it looks like outside. The tour ends in the canteen which has a very nice lady behind the counter offering the usual refreshments and a pleasant smile. Once you leave the canteen, you go through the door into a pipe shaped tunnel at the end of which, you emerge out of the undergrowth of the hillside back into the woods. Although there is a slope installed at the entrance, disabled access is limited. Also no dogs are allowed.

This is a very interesting place to visit. It is fully functional and fairly well kept. It will take approximately an hour and a half to see everything and watch all the films as you go through.

Click here for the official website of the bunker, detailing current admission fees and opening times etc.

Ok, now for the BAD BITS

As this is a detailed summary of my visit to the bunker, I think that it is important to point out the negative bits as well as the positive bits of the visit. On the whole I think this is a great place to spend a couple of hours with the family. It is interesting and very educational. But there were a couple of things that as a customer I found a little irritating. The first being that in several sections of the bunker there are notices mentioning that you are on cctv and we are watching you, and then, just in case you forget, there is other notices that say “remember, we are watching”. In the canteen, there are honesty boxes for you to place your payment in for different things that you purchase, and once again there are notices that say “We are watching you, remember you must pay, if not you will b………….” what ever that means. I can only assume that this is a threat that the company will prosecute you if you do not pay.

As most people are decent, honest, and law abiding, is there really any reason to constantly remind them that they are being watched and they are likely to be prosecuted if they don’t pay the few pennies for something they have purchased. It is one of those things that you are not made aware of until you visit and then you don’t have any choice but to suffer it. I have mentioned it here in order for you to make an informed choice whether or not to visit based on what to expect when you arrive there.

The other thing I really need to mention is that if you intend to take photographs during the tour, you will need to pay for a permit which is purchased at the site and will cost you, at time of writing, £5.00. When I visited, obviously I knew I wanted to take pictures, and so I checked the official website for information and found an email address which I used to send an enquiry asking for permission to take pictures if I visited the bunker.

I got a reply from Mr Parrish who is the owner of the bunker which said that if I wanted to take pictures then I need to purchase a permit from the lady in the canteen and it would cost £5.00. A few weeks passed and I finally got round to visiting the bunker. When I arrived I noticed a the sign at the entrance to the bungalow saying that payments were made on exit as opposed to payment on entry. I wasn’t happy with my taking the pictures without first getting the permit mainly because I wanted to make sure they knew I wasn’t just taking snap shots with my camera phone and that I would be using professional equipment.

I wanted to avoid any unnecessary unpleasantness that may arise after the fact and so I walked round the outside of the bungalow and went looking for the canteen in order to make sure I got the permit and full permission before I went ahead. At least this way, if there was a problem, we could just leave and I wouldn’t upset anyone. When I finally found the canteen at 10:20am , I noticed that there was no one in attendance. I called out several times and looked all round the canteen and adjoining rooms for a good few minutes but found no one and so I left and went back and joined my family back at the main entrance.

I then decided to go ahead with the tour and take pictures as I went, I thought that as there were cameras everywhere, someone would notice that I was taking pictures and If there was a problem I assumed I would get a visit. I managed to go round the whole tour without any problems at all and enjoyed it immensely. When I got to the canteen which is at the end of the tour, my wife was talking to the lady behind the counter saying that my husband is on the way and he will pay when he gets here. When I walked In I gave the money to my wife and she paid our bill which was £6.50 each for two adults, my son was free (under 5) and the photo permit was £5.00. Our whole bill came to approximately £20.00 with drinks.

Now this is the part that you need to be aware of before you visit the Secret Nuclear Bunker at Kelvedon Hatch.

While I was drinking my coffee, my wife passed me a pink A4 piece of paper telling me that the lady has said that I have to sign this before I leave. A copy of which I still have and can be shown on request. I tried to read through it but it was completely blurred with some of the text missing in places, but I could make out that it was some kind of legal document that they wanted me to sign.

I asked the lady if I could have a copy that I could actually read and she said no because they were all like it. She then said that all the document said was that I was signing to say that I agree to give up copyright to any and all images that I had taken and that I promise not to make any money from the images without first agreeing with Mr Parrish which would mean paying him some more money if I did.

I told the lady that I couldn’t possibly sign something that I cannot read and she said that the boss is sitting just over there and you need to sign it so as not to upset him. Again I told her that I will not sign the paper and I don’t agree with what she say’s is on it. Then all of a sudden, this man, who I now know to be Mr Parrish appeared behind the counter and without introducing himself or any other usual niceties just blurted out that If I do not sign then he will not allow me to leave with the photo’s that I have already taken.

I told him that I was not going to sign something after the fact and he preceded to tell me what was in the document and again demanded I sign it. We spent the next few minutes arguing backwards and forwards and then I decided that this was not going to be resolved and so I turned and walked out towards the exit with my wife and son following.

Once we got outside the bunker, Mr Parrish shoved past me and blocked my exit shouting abuse at me saying that I had stolen from him and that I was just a common thief and once again demanded that I come back and sign the document. My wife and son became very upset at this outburst and decided to go a wait back at the car. All the way back to the car my 4 year old son was asking my wife why daddy and that man were fighting (I don’t thank Mr Parrish for that).

While arguing I tried to walk away but Mr Parrish just wouldn’t back away, he was very intimidating and at one stage tried to grab me. He insisted on looking at the pictures and told me that I would have to delete them before I leave. I said no. In the end, after several minutes of arguing, Mr Parrish all of a sudden changed his mind and said that to be honest I don’t care who signs the paper, take as many pictures as you like. He then took my hand and shook it, how strange. I have been thinking about it since and cannot understand really what it was all about. All I do know is that, there are civilized ways to sort out misunderstandings like this and to be intimidating and aggressive in front of young children is not the way, this is why I am mentioning here what happened.

I guess if you don’t want to take pictures or if you do are happy with signing some ridiculous document that you cannot read then you will be ok. The couple of hours that I spent at this place was for the most part enjoyed by myself, my wife and my son. It is a great shame that we had to bump into this man Mr Parrish who likes to talk but not listen. I was intending to visit the other events that are going to be held at this site later on throughout the year, but after this I am not going to give Mr Parrish another penny.

People like Mr Parrish want it all ways. They want you to visit so they can make money from you and then they expect to make even more money out of your hard work taking the pictures and marketing them. They never make all the facts completely clear before you pay. I agree, the sign at the entrance mentions that you have to purchase a permit to take pictures, which I did, but there is no mention of giving up copyright etc.

Photographs cannot portray the atmosphere of actually being at a place. But they can generate an enormous interest in a subject or place. My pictures are not going to stop anyone who is interested in this subject from visiting the bunker, but Mr Parrish’s behaviour might.

When you first arrive, you park in a large parking area and in the corner you see the sign that say's simply "Way In".

View looking back across the Car Park. In the distance there is a small play area for the children. Top left is where you drive in.