This was the last spot we hit up on my trip to Dover with @KHurbanX before we headed back home. This one was the narrowest squeeze to get into yet, being extra bendy does sometimes have its benefits!
The bunker at Langdon Hole was built in late 1942 as one of the joint operation headquarters at Dover’s two underground wireless outstations. The Dover headquarters was based in the Dumpy level tunnels at Dover Castle, and Langdon Hole was thus often referred to as “Dumpy B” (“Dumpy A” was at Long Hill).
The structure looks superficially like the coastal artillery deep shelters nearby, having the same structure of vaulted steel sheeting supported by colliery hoops, but there are many differences from the access stairs to the remaining plant.
The only surviving access today is via the western entrance which included rails to allow heavy equipment to be brought in or removed, while the other entrance is blocked. Both stairs have unusual knuckle-like offsets at their bases before the bunker itself is accessed.
Again, we didn't spend long in this location. By this time we were pretty tired! I especially liked the ghostly figures painted on the wall, well placed to give fellow explorers a fright!Underground explores are swiftly becoming my favourite. There's something about being below several hundred tonnes of earth (or in this case, chalk) in a place most normal people don't even know exists is quite exciting to me. It was interesting too to see all the condensation building up on the roof and feeling how wet the chalk in the unlined sections felt due to moisture percolating through the porous ground. Also it was several degrees cooler down there, very welcome in the recent burst of heat we're having!
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The bunker at Langdon Hole was built in late 1942 as one of the joint operation headquarters at Dover’s two underground wireless outstations. The Dover headquarters was based in the Dumpy level tunnels at Dover Castle, and Langdon Hole was thus often referred to as “Dumpy B” (“Dumpy A” was at Long Hill).
The structure looks superficially like the coastal artillery deep shelters nearby, having the same structure of vaulted steel sheeting supported by colliery hoops, but there are many differences from the access stairs to the remaining plant.
The only surviving access today is via the western entrance which included rails to allow heavy equipment to be brought in or removed, while the other entrance is blocked. Both stairs have unusual knuckle-like offsets at their bases before the bunker itself is accessed.
Again, we didn't spend long in this location. By this time we were pretty tired! I especially liked the ghostly figures painted on the wall, well placed to give fellow explorers a fright!Underground explores are swiftly becoming my favourite. There's something about being below several hundred tonnes of earth (or in this case, chalk) in a place most normal people don't even know exists is quite exciting to me. It was interesting too to see all the condensation building up on the roof and feeling how wet the chalk in the unlined sections felt due to moisture percolating through the porous ground. Also it was several degrees cooler down there, very welcome in the recent burst of heat we're having!
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