Hey guys, this is my first report and pretty much my first explore for years, so I may be a little shaky in places, but feel free to take a look and leave comments, I welcome any advice that'll help solidify my reports in the future.
THE HISTORY: In the 1940's, most of Paulsgrove was farmland, owned by a rich family known as the Coopers. When the threat of air raids increased during World War 2, the Coopers built a private air raid shelter into the chalk pit/cliff situated at the north of their farmland. It was likely used by the family during the blitz. After the war, the shelter was abandoned and the chalk pit was quarried in the following years, leaving the old entrance to the shelter around 20-30ft up the cliff face today.
THE PLACE: The place itself is nothing big. This is a simple, two roomed shelter connected by a smaller (roughly knee height) crawl tunnel. One room is a simpler square room whilst the bigger second room is an irregular shape. There are two entrances, the main entrance is a brick portal where a blast door likely would have been hinged, the other entrance is actually a small escape hole. The shelter itself is in good condition and shows no signs of collapse.
THE EXPLORE: Now, I won't lie... I went hilariously underprepared for this explore, trainers weren't the best idea considering I had to scale a 30ft cliff on my own, also ruining my jeans in the process. And after taking my photos, I couldn't get back down the original way I climbed up, so I had to edge along the cliff and slide down a gravel incline whilst screaming unmentionable words. I guess that serves me a lesson.
THE PHOTOS:
Both ways into the shelter can be seen in the cliff face, the main entrance and less visible escape port are both circled.
The shelter's main entrance.
The first room after walking through the main door, with the crawl-tunnel in the wall on the right.
The crawl-tunnel as you enter it from the first room.
The crawl-tunnel viewed from the second room. It becomes much better constructed after the initial section, allowing you to crouch through instead of crawl.
The second room, it's irregularly shaped, like two trapeziums joined together.
Well, that's everything. Small place, but it's a start for me. Pretty good photos for myself considering all I had was an Android Phone. Thanks for taking a look.
THE HISTORY: In the 1940's, most of Paulsgrove was farmland, owned by a rich family known as the Coopers. When the threat of air raids increased during World War 2, the Coopers built a private air raid shelter into the chalk pit/cliff situated at the north of their farmland. It was likely used by the family during the blitz. After the war, the shelter was abandoned and the chalk pit was quarried in the following years, leaving the old entrance to the shelter around 20-30ft up the cliff face today.
THE PLACE: The place itself is nothing big. This is a simple, two roomed shelter connected by a smaller (roughly knee height) crawl tunnel. One room is a simpler square room whilst the bigger second room is an irregular shape. There are two entrances, the main entrance is a brick portal where a blast door likely would have been hinged, the other entrance is actually a small escape hole. The shelter itself is in good condition and shows no signs of collapse.
THE EXPLORE: Now, I won't lie... I went hilariously underprepared for this explore, trainers weren't the best idea considering I had to scale a 30ft cliff on my own, also ruining my jeans in the process. And after taking my photos, I couldn't get back down the original way I climbed up, so I had to edge along the cliff and slide down a gravel incline whilst screaming unmentionable words. I guess that serves me a lesson.
THE PHOTOS:
Both ways into the shelter can be seen in the cliff face, the main entrance and less visible escape port are both circled.
The shelter's main entrance.
The first room after walking through the main door, with the crawl-tunnel in the wall on the right.
The crawl-tunnel as you enter it from the first room.
The crawl-tunnel viewed from the second room. It becomes much better constructed after the initial section, allowing you to crouch through instead of crawl.
The second room, it's irregularly shaped, like two trapeziums joined together.
Well, that's everything. Small place, but it's a start for me. Pretty good photos for myself considering all I had was an Android Phone. Thanks for taking a look.
