After neglecting my camera and receeding to lurker status on here for the last few months I took a bit of a road trip down to kent at the start of the week. After a few failed attempts on a few new sites we ended up driving down to Dover, camping on the cliffs and checking this area out when we got up.
Thanks to Godzilla for the heads up!
The site was occupied by a large gun battery with three 9.2 inch guns, built during 1941. The battery had a range of 20 miles, just shy of the french coast and was used to shell German shipping in the channel. The gun emplacements themselves were filled in but easily found if you know where to look. there is still an accessible crew shelter on one of the guns, although there isn't much to see at all.
First off was one of the deep shelters which I stumbled across purely by fluke.
The entrance
Looking down the stairs
Looking back up to the entrance with the ventilation on the floor.
First impressions of the shelter. It was heavily fire damaged and reeked of smoke. I found myself short of breath pretty quickly. There wasn't much left inside.
The shelter is laid out like the one nearby at St Mags with two main parallel bores and three intersecting spur tunnels. At one end of each main tunnel there is a staircase to the surface.
Looking back through the first main tunnel.
The second main tunnel.
Looking up the second set of stairs, this entrance has been infilled and I didn't see the point of finding the location on the surface.
Looking back down the stairs.
The view up towards the infilled southern entrance. The shelter begins to feel very deep underground at this point.
Back on the surface, one of the plotting rooms for the battery was right next to the deep shelter.
The main entrance.
The ladder in. there's some chunky spiders in there.
One of the first rooms you come to which would have had seating on the wall.
The plotting room, with the escape tunnel on the left wall.
Another view.
Ventilation plant still in good nick.
Then on to number four magazine across the valley.
The entrance.
The tunnel splits into two leading to the magazine chambers.
Shell storage with hoists on the ceiling.
There is another plotting room nearby, this is laid out slightly different to the last and iis heavily fire damaged. Some nice features remain, like the heavy blast doors. I didn't bother taking the camera down as we were pushed for time.
And finally a view of a large brick building nearby which I presume was either a mess or accomodation.
Thanks to Godzilla for the heads up!
The site was occupied by a large gun battery with three 9.2 inch guns, built during 1941. The battery had a range of 20 miles, just shy of the french coast and was used to shell German shipping in the channel. The gun emplacements themselves were filled in but easily found if you know where to look. there is still an accessible crew shelter on one of the guns, although there isn't much to see at all.
First off was one of the deep shelters which I stumbled across purely by fluke.
The entrance
Looking down the stairs
Looking back up to the entrance with the ventilation on the floor.
First impressions of the shelter. It was heavily fire damaged and reeked of smoke. I found myself short of breath pretty quickly. There wasn't much left inside.
The shelter is laid out like the one nearby at St Mags with two main parallel bores and three intersecting spur tunnels. At one end of each main tunnel there is a staircase to the surface.
Looking back through the first main tunnel.
The second main tunnel.
Looking up the second set of stairs, this entrance has been infilled and I didn't see the point of finding the location on the surface.
Looking back down the stairs.
The view up towards the infilled southern entrance. The shelter begins to feel very deep underground at this point.
Back on the surface, one of the plotting rooms for the battery was right next to the deep shelter.
The main entrance.
The ladder in. there's some chunky spiders in there.
One of the first rooms you come to which would have had seating on the wall.
The plotting room, with the escape tunnel on the left wall.
Another view.
Ventilation plant still in good nick.
Then on to number four magazine across the valley.
The entrance.
The tunnel splits into two leading to the magazine chambers.
Shell storage with hoists on the ceiling.
There is another plotting room nearby, this is laid out slightly different to the last and iis heavily fire damaged. Some nice features remain, like the heavy blast doors. I didn't bother taking the camera down as we were pushed for time.
And finally a view of a large brick building nearby which I presume was either a mess or accomodation.
