This Place has gone Nuts recently as its really on people's radar, I can't believe the council haven't cottoned on yet. I never been into anything like this before, yes been in caves and bunkers but nothing so close to home and steeped in history. There's no point going for the sake of it, it's just one of those places if you like history you can get a taster of a time gone by.
I loved the smell of it, I went on the hottest day of the year so far, so the coolness was so welcoming. We all know what the tunnels look like, I have a habit of taking in details of places so this is what I have done in these images. We took a theta 360 camera down there too just for something different in joint effort.
Opened in 1939, the shelters were the largest purpose-built civilian air raid shelters in the country.
They were originally designed to provide shelter for up to 3,850 people but due to demand they were extended to accommodate as many as 6,500 during the second world war.
This labyrinth of tunnels, nearly a mile long, were carved out of the red sandstone hills on which Stockport stands. During the dark days of the Blitz they provided shelter and a way of life for families from in and around Stockport.
In 1996, Stockport Council re-opened the shelters as a visitor attraction. They have been imaginatively restored to give visitors the feel of the era and struggle that Britain was facing.
The shelters were fitted with basic amenities: electric lights, benches and bunk beds, flushing toilets, first aid post and sick bay - there were even facilities for nursing mothers!
In the war the shelters were nicknamed the Chestergate Hotel because of the ‘luxurious’ standard of accommodation they offered the shelters also had 16-seater toilets
Everyone had to possess a gas mask and carry it with them wherever they went.
Last edited:
