History
(from the @The Lone Ranger's report, many thanks to him)
The site of the former Bandeath Munitions Depot lies within a meander of the River Forth, north of Throsk, three miles east of Stirling. The facility began as an Admiralty Depot during World War I, with a nearby PoW camp, after which it remained in use and became a Royal Naval Armament Depot (RNAD) during World War II. Historically, Bandeath was once an estate of the Abercromby family. The original layout of the site and its railway (on which the munitions were delivered) are not clear, as, for security reasons, the Ordnance Survey maintained the polite fiction until well into the 1950s.
The depot was supplied via the main railway line, which connected to the site's own internal railway, which would distribute the munitions to the 36 warehouses arranged in regularly spaced rows across the site. The stores were enclosed within protective earth blast walls, intended to direct the effects of an accidental explosion upwards, and away from the surrounding stores. From the warehouses, the railway allowed the munitions to be delivered to the rail mounted crane on the Admiralty pier, where they would be loaded on to puffers or Victualling Inshore Craft (VIC), which would carry them along the river and out to sea, where they supplied the British fleet.
The railway branch line ran to the site from the Larbert to Alloa line at Throsk, where it crossed the river to link with the lines running W to E towards the naval installations at Rosyth and Crombie. The railway bridge could open to allow these ships to pass up the river to Bandeath.
The Northern magazines are built from breeze blocks with what looks like whin aggregate, and then harled. On the front elevation, at the side of a concrete loading dock, is an identifying number, a phone symbol on some of them, and a patch of chemical-sensitive paint which reacted to the presence of poison gas – this was apparently standard on wartime military buildings. Each store had a capacity of 380,000 pounds of explosives, and blackboards at the side of the main doors indicated how much Cat X, Cat Y or Cat Z explosives were being stored. As you’d expect, all the electrical gear was mounted externally, in flameproof boxes, and a handful of indicator lights remain.
On the south side of the site are brick-built facilities like the guardhouse and training centre, plus various large corrugated-iron-clad warehouses. They were used for handling shells and depth charges and the like, and although I'm not sure how much filling was done at Bandeath, the ammunition was fused here. The theory with the crinkly tin buildings is that they’re frangible, and would blow out in a blast, rather than containing it within an earth blast embankment.
Having lain derelict for some years, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) sold the former depot site to Central Regional Council in 1978. It was lightly refurbished in the early 1980s, and became Bandeath Industrial Estate, with timber kit manufacturers in the southern part, and mainly empty stores in the northern half. After local government reorganisation in 1996, Stirling Council appears to have used it as a dumping ground for old school equipment.
More 36 of the original warehouse buildings survive on the site, together with their associated emergency water tanks, air-raid shelters and watch posts, although their blast walls appear to have been levelled at some time. The crane still remains on the former Admiralty pier, which is now privately owned, but the crane is an empty shell, and the pier is a ruin. Only a few sections of the internal railway remain, the majority have been lifted following closure of the main line in 1978. A pillbox can also be found in the southern part of the site. There may be more, but only this one is listed.
There are also some more unusual buildings at Bandeath. Of no use as defensive pillboxes, their thick walls, tiny observation window, highly angled roof, and undefended entrance indicate their function as protective retreats for observers or firewatchers in the event of an incident at the depot, possibly an explosion within the depot, or an air raid. Further indications of the use of these structures is indicated by the positioning of the window above head height, meaning an observer would only be in danger of being struck by flying debris if actually using the window, and not just sheltering in the building, and also by their orientation, said to be set at an angle to, rather than square on to the stores. This would mean that flying debris would strike at an angle, glancing off the wall, and would also be less likely to fly straight through the window.
Explore
Doing this as during an overnight stop off on the way to Inverness as a solo was certainly interesting, probably one of the most isolating abandoned sites there are are these massive largely empty military sites. which take ages to find anything of note simply because of how wide spread the site, although with an absolutely stunning backdrop it was a brilliant place to wonder around by myself for a few hours and up there as one of my favourite exploring moments on a sunny day just because of how surreal the site is.
too many nettles for an empty building for me.
the old crane, Tagged over now looking at recent photos but will definitely make a trip out to get on it again before it falls in the river.
some shots of the buildings closer to the industrial site to finish with.
Cheers all.
(from the @The Lone Ranger's report, many thanks to him)
The site of the former Bandeath Munitions Depot lies within a meander of the River Forth, north of Throsk, three miles east of Stirling. The facility began as an Admiralty Depot during World War I, with a nearby PoW camp, after which it remained in use and became a Royal Naval Armament Depot (RNAD) during World War II. Historically, Bandeath was once an estate of the Abercromby family. The original layout of the site and its railway (on which the munitions were delivered) are not clear, as, for security reasons, the Ordnance Survey maintained the polite fiction until well into the 1950s.
The depot was supplied via the main railway line, which connected to the site's own internal railway, which would distribute the munitions to the 36 warehouses arranged in regularly spaced rows across the site. The stores were enclosed within protective earth blast walls, intended to direct the effects of an accidental explosion upwards, and away from the surrounding stores. From the warehouses, the railway allowed the munitions to be delivered to the rail mounted crane on the Admiralty pier, where they would be loaded on to puffers or Victualling Inshore Craft (VIC), which would carry them along the river and out to sea, where they supplied the British fleet.
The railway branch line ran to the site from the Larbert to Alloa line at Throsk, where it crossed the river to link with the lines running W to E towards the naval installations at Rosyth and Crombie. The railway bridge could open to allow these ships to pass up the river to Bandeath.
The Northern magazines are built from breeze blocks with what looks like whin aggregate, and then harled. On the front elevation, at the side of a concrete loading dock, is an identifying number, a phone symbol on some of them, and a patch of chemical-sensitive paint which reacted to the presence of poison gas – this was apparently standard on wartime military buildings. Each store had a capacity of 380,000 pounds of explosives, and blackboards at the side of the main doors indicated how much Cat X, Cat Y or Cat Z explosives were being stored. As you’d expect, all the electrical gear was mounted externally, in flameproof boxes, and a handful of indicator lights remain.
On the south side of the site are brick-built facilities like the guardhouse and training centre, plus various large corrugated-iron-clad warehouses. They were used for handling shells and depth charges and the like, and although I'm not sure how much filling was done at Bandeath, the ammunition was fused here. The theory with the crinkly tin buildings is that they’re frangible, and would blow out in a blast, rather than containing it within an earth blast embankment.
Having lain derelict for some years, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) sold the former depot site to Central Regional Council in 1978. It was lightly refurbished in the early 1980s, and became Bandeath Industrial Estate, with timber kit manufacturers in the southern part, and mainly empty stores in the northern half. After local government reorganisation in 1996, Stirling Council appears to have used it as a dumping ground for old school equipment.
More 36 of the original warehouse buildings survive on the site, together with their associated emergency water tanks, air-raid shelters and watch posts, although their blast walls appear to have been levelled at some time. The crane still remains on the former Admiralty pier, which is now privately owned, but the crane is an empty shell, and the pier is a ruin. Only a few sections of the internal railway remain, the majority have been lifted following closure of the main line in 1978. A pillbox can also be found in the southern part of the site. There may be more, but only this one is listed.
There are also some more unusual buildings at Bandeath. Of no use as defensive pillboxes, their thick walls, tiny observation window, highly angled roof, and undefended entrance indicate their function as protective retreats for observers or firewatchers in the event of an incident at the depot, possibly an explosion within the depot, or an air raid. Further indications of the use of these structures is indicated by the positioning of the window above head height, meaning an observer would only be in danger of being struck by flying debris if actually using the window, and not just sheltering in the building, and also by their orientation, said to be set at an angle to, rather than square on to the stores. This would mean that flying debris would strike at an angle, glancing off the wall, and would also be less likely to fly straight through the window.
Explore
Doing this as during an overnight stop off on the way to Inverness as a solo was certainly interesting, probably one of the most isolating abandoned sites there are are these massive largely empty military sites. which take ages to find anything of note simply because of how wide spread the site, although with an absolutely stunning backdrop it was a brilliant place to wonder around by myself for a few hours and up there as one of my favourite exploring moments on a sunny day just because of how surreal the site is.
too many nettles for an empty building for me.
some shots of the buildings closer to the industrial site to finish with.
Cheers all.
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