A rare chance to see inside the secret wartime bunker hidden 100 feet below the ground in Edinburgh is coming up.

The Barnton Quarry bunker will be opening up to the public on the weekend of September 28 and 29.

It's one of the many places taking part in Doors Open Day across the city.

The Corstorphine bunker was built at great expense in the early 1950s and consists of two facilities, a Second World War era RAF command station and a Cold War Regional Seat of Government.

This meant it would be house civilian and military officials in charge of running Scotland in the event of a nuclear war.

The bunker is under restoration
The bunker is under restoration

It was designed to keep them safe as the world above ground dealt with nuclear fallout, war and social upheaval.

The bunker remained a secret until the 1980s and was abandoned as the Cold War came to an end, but it's currently undergoing a transformation into a museum.

Work to complete this is ongoing so parts of the Cold War facility will be off-limits on Doors Open Day.

However you can still take a look around the RAF elements of the bunker, which were used as a command centre for radar posts.

The event is free but ticketed, and you can register your interest here.


The Barnton Quarry Restoration Project, who are in charge of restoring the bunker, say it will be a great opportunity to learn about the past, present and future of the bunker.

They said: "Although built at great expense in the early 1950's this unique facility was a complete secret until the early 80s!

"Barnton Quarry bunker is actually two bunkers: The WW2 era RAF sector control bunker for Central Scotland which became the RAF Caledonian Sector Operations Centre for long range bomber detection and fighter intercept control during the early Cold War; and a Cold War Regional Seat of Government from where Scotland would be administered should the unthinkable have happened.

"This event is a rare opportunity for the public to enter the normally closed gates and visit the WW2 era bunker and the famous tunnel."


