After reading about the fire in Manchester's
Guardian Underground Telephone Exchange, a formerly secret telephone exchange built 34m underground during in 1954, I decided to do some digging to see what else is out there (digging, get it?). Sorry, I know this will bore some people to tears, but for some reason this really interested me. Well, it seems that the UK is awash with underground tunnels and rooms, some still in use, but many lying disused.
The most widely known are the London Underground tunnels that, for one reason or another, are no longer used. In many cases they are just sealed up, and the stations almost become time capsules, untouched for years. For further reading,
Underground History has a very comprehensive write-up and accompanying photos.
Staying in London, there are also an extensive network of tunnels used by the government, some that are officially acknowledged, such as the
Cabinet War Rooms, and some that are
not. Outside of London there are
ancient tunnels in Glastonbury, a secret British Military Installation at
Rudloe Manor near Bath, which is rumoured to be the
UK Government's new nuclear command centre.
I found a few good sites with extensive information - take a look at
Urban Underworld,
Darkplaces,
Subterranea Brittanica and
this page on freerepublic.com.