Our first exploration around our local military areas.

We used to visit these places as kids all the time; this is the first time we took a camera.
I met up with mk1kabab after work and decided to visit these as a warm up before venturing to more complex places in the future.
The places we decided on were;
* Penlee battery
* Maker battery
* Maker redoubt
* Underground oil tanks (WW2 I think)
* Whitsand bay pill boxes

Anyway here are the pictures enjoy.

penlee battery


This was easier to enter than last time thanks to someone removing the hatch completely.


Main tunnel.


Air vents was one in most of the rooms.


Old Stella.


Vents.

maker battery



Mooring point.


Shell lift.


Most of the bunkers were sealed up and the open ones were full of junk.



Gun mount.


Close up.

maker redoubt


In the moat.


Mk1kabab trying to look cool stood between the draw bridge supports.


Arch.


We entered this room through the roof and proceeded in through the opening in the end wall.


And this is what we found, so we crawled in.


Not sure what it was for but it was about 1ft wide and went round the back of the first room.


Then we decided to venture down here.



Fairly disappointing, one small wet room with vents in the roof.



Don’t we all!

Underground oil tanks


There were two tanks and this was the entrance to the first.


And this was the other.


Winch close up.


Vent.





Filling points.


Going in.



Huge valves and tank entrance.


Mk1 having a look, they were full of water so next time we will be equipped with wellies and flares.



Inside a tank, these things were massive at least 100ft diameter id say.




whitsand bay pill boxes




Roof braces.



Rame head

Well that was our first day I think we did fairly well

sweet m8, would be very interested in the whitsand bay site

well done on cremyll, theres actually 4 tanks there, did u find the tunnels?

Well

The Whitsand bay pics look a lot like the PFC's at Maker to me ?

The view towards Rame suggests Freathy

Not pill boxes

http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=9693&highlight=Maker

Graybags

Nice explores & pics guys. The Whitsand Bay stuff are actually the PF Cells as Graybags says. Six of them in total. The roofs are looking dodgy as hell nowadays.

Great explore that so much to see.

we only found the 2 tanks up in the woods there are more tank looking things and a couple of pump houses (I think) further down by cremyll, did not find the tunnels though! We would be very interested in going in them!

if u check out a 1:25000 os map the tanks are clearly marked, u must of seen a 2 story building on the edge of the woods, it is next to the footpath that runs up into the woods from the road to lower anderton...

in the valley behind it is a tunnel, 150m or so long.

if you follow the road futher around towards millbrook you will pass a couple houses and a gate on the left.... look into the field and in the middle you will see some trees that look out of place.... the second is in there, although its gated and a major hassle to get in/out, and ultimately not worth the hassle! its totally empty although in great condition...that one was a magazine for a nearby torpedo boat station - never used as it was unfinished....

hope thats of some help, we've spent hours and hours up there over that last few yrs!

The narrow passage you found at Maker would have been the lighting passage running behind the magazine. For obvious reasons lamps couldn't be allowed into the magazine so it was lit through windows from behind. This passage allowed access to the lamps to light them.

cptpies said:

The narrow passage you found at Maker would have been the lighting passage running behind the magazine. For obvious reasons lamps couldn't be allowed into the magazine so it was lit through windows from behind. This passage allowed access to the lamps to light them.

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I don't think they was lamp passages dude. The magazine is basically a room built within a room if that makes sense, more than likely designed to take the impact of an explosion & limit damage to the redoubts main walls. I've been in this & an identical room nearby at Grenville & the holes into the passageways have just been knocked through over the years. At some points a champion pie eater would actually get stuck they are so narrow! The rooms are also built into the accomodation so i'd say they were only used for light ammunition only.

Every time I've seen a lighting passage it has been identical to that, and running around the edges of magazines....

I know exactly where you are talking about now Kernow! I heard rumors that there were tunnels round there, some supposedly running to maker redoubt and Kingsand don't know if there is any truth in that though!

Badoosh said:

I don't think they was lamp passages dude. The magazine is basically a room built within a room if that makes sense, more than likely designed to take the impact of an explosion & limit damage to the redoubts main walls. I've been in this & an identical room nearby at Grenville & the holes into the passageways have just been knocked through over the years. At some points a champion pie eater would actually get stuck they are so narrow! The rooms are also built into the accomodation so i'd say they were only used for light ammunition only.

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I am that Champion Pie Eater!

the whitsands site is right next to the road and further round that freathy nearer the cafe than the holiday park. named them as pills as id never heard of pfc's before, if thats def what they are ill change it.
the narrow passage at redoubt did have some slots in the lower section of the walls but they didnt go through to the "magazine" room and the passage was only on one side and its head height was lower than the magazine room. can any one shed some light as to what the other room we went in was for (the one down the hole)?

chaz_p said:

the whitsands site is right next to the road and further round that freathy nearer the cafe than the holiday park. named them as pills as id never heard of pfc's before, if thats def what they are ill change it.
the narrow passage at redoubt did have some slots in the lower section of the walls but they didnt go through to the "magazine" room and the passage was only on one side and its head height was lower than the magazine room. can any one shed some light as to what the other room we went in was for (the one down the hole)?

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There's more Position Finding Cells further down the road, the ones at Penlee are buried in the field on the right as you driving into Penlee car park though look hard enough & you'll find traces of them, Bovisand & Maker Heights. Some interesting stuff around Picklecombe Fort too . I'm probably wrong on the passageway theory but i haven't bothered editing my post above as it's always good to find yourself wrong & lear from mistakes. The hole you refer to i'd guess was some sort of reservoir.

the site of the old AA battery is just on the other side of the road, although the only above ground feature remaining is the familiar "P" shaped road!

theres a wierd two story building in the field nearby thats plain wierd tho! one small room, with no apparent access to whatever is above!

where abouts is that building im trying to google earth it not sure if im looking at the right thing?

http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=50.324755&lon=-4.204191&z=19.9&r=0&src=msl

its got a small blast wall covering the door

Apologies

I stand corrected chaps, the PFC's are actually Treninnow or Knatterbury PFC's above Whitesands Bay - My Bad, sorry

And please, no more builders bums pics thanks

G

yeah that is a weird building i've been to it but i haven't got a clue what it is! and i cant really remember much about it, i didn't spend long there though so it cant of been very exciting. but i may go back up for a look at the weekend

Building

mk1kebab said:

yeah that is a weird building i've been to it but i haven't got a clue what it is! and i cant really remember much about it, i didn't spend long there though so it cant of been very exciting. but i may go back up for a look at the weekend

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According to the defences of Plymouth, possibly a lookout of some sort, similar to the one at Brownhill battery

G