Secret Bunker Tours

Address:	Soar, Nr. Salcombe, Devon
Postcode:	TQ7 3DS - click here for a map
Telephone:	01548 531923 or 07970 251386

SECRET BUNKER TOURS howell@ashworth5.orangehome.co.uk 1, R6 Rotor Bumker 2, R6 Rotor Bumker 3, Well & pump house 4, GCI RAF Hope Cove 1949 5, Type 7 Radar RAF Bolt Head 1949 6, Type 80 Radar building 7, RSG Bunker entrance 8, Bunker back up water pump The Salcombe area is steeped in military and wartime history. During 1941 land was requisitioned high on the plateau near Soar. The RAF began to establish a GCI Radar Station and contractors were brought in to clear hedges to allow two runways to be laid using sommerfield tracking laid on coconut matting. The airfield was named RAF Bolt Head and the adjacent Radar Station as RAF Hope Cove. There were also Radar Stations on the cliffs near The Port Light which was named RAF Bolt Tail and at Prawle named RAF West Prawle. RAF Bolt Head was an active forward fighter base from 1941 until 1945 when the sites were reduced to a care and maintenance basis. Later in 1949 the government began to develop the Rotor Programme to up date and develop the UK Radar Stations to counter the perceived threat from the Soviet Union. The plan with regard to the Radar facility at Soar was to build a new R6 Bunker on two floors and install new updated equipment which became fully operational in 1955. During this time the wartime domestic camp was utilised for RAF Service Personnel and the wartime GCI Buildings utilised for storage. The RAF departed for Sopley in 1958 and the Bunker closed down. During early 1960 The Home Office took control of the Bunker and converted it to a Regional Seat of Government and the facility was kept active until around 1994 when it was closed permanently. During 1999 it was offered up for sale in a closed bid and has been in private ownership to this day 2010. There are plans to develop the site as a Museum and as an introduction Chris Howell will be taking guided tours of The Bunker and Airfield.