Radar Station and Observer Corps Post, Aberystwyth - Feb '11

These two sites stand a little way apart on Constitution Hill above the town of Aberystwyth

The first is the remains of a radar station built to detect low flying aircraft. There is no evidence that it was part of the Chain Home system but a Chain Home radar Station did exist 10 miles away at Llanon (demolished). A modern radar array stands nearby whose purpose is apparently to track missiles and UAVs on the Aberporth Marine Range 33 miles south and to transmit a 'friendly warning' to anyone daft enough to stray into the danger area.


Buildings around first mast site




View to the modern radar station


Mast foot?


Isolated building on the hill overlooking Clarach Bay


Remains of electrics


Modern radar station


Government Property

The second is an Observer Corps post used to spot incoming aircraft. I don't imagine they were ever particularly busy: during the war only a handful of bombs fell on Ceredigion and no-one was killed. A cold war post stood nearby but no trace remains.


Post and trig point






Observation chamber with rangefinder column



Remains of telephone line to the post

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Thanks for reading,

A.

That looks like a really good explore. thanks for sharing

This is very interesting, primarily because there seems to be so little information on it. Even the CH station at Llanon gets scant mention in the several books I've got on it. I feel a trip to the Public Records website coming on! Thanks for sharing!
GDZ

Nice post and in what looks like a great location to spend an afternoon.
Agreed thanks for posting

SK

Thanks chaps. Walked up the other side of the hill today and discovered two buildings I'd previously missed next to the local golf course. I'm not sure how they fit in with the other buidings but a connection of some sort seems more likely than not, probably to the radar station rather than the observer corps post.


Ruined building


Barrack-type building


Light switch


Llined with delicious asbestos


Free Wales Army graffiti - I suspect this is less than serious given the graff of a man smoking a spliff in the same paint. Unless they're militant nationalists on drugs, of course, in which case may God help us all...


Google Overview, to give some idea of the scale and dispersal of the sites. The Golf course is the large area in the centre of the image.

That's odd! I could've sworn I'd replied to this one. lol
Really liking this and the additional buildings too. Cheers, TA.

Nice report - thanks for posting.

Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who once quipped that Golf was a good walk wasted? Given the goodies on the periphery of this Golf course, I'm inclined to see his point.

Nice report Archivist, well composed photos of interesting remains, thanks for posting.