This large WW2 air raid shelter in Port Glasgow was built for the workers of the large ropeworks nearby, in record time by a gang of Polish builders. Apparently there were five original entrances, from different parts of the factory. Apart from some junk, and a small fire in one entrance, it’s untouched internally – but time and rot has taken it’s toll. There’s still a lot of detail, though – canvas doors and toilet screens, cabling and pipework, remnants of benches – and, at one end, the air conditioning and generating plant. Continue reading →

Barnton Quarry has had several lives – first it was a stone quarry of course, then in WWII it was the operations room for the Turnhouse sector of Fighter Command. After the war it was unused for a few years, then in 1952 a whole second bunker was built underground to turn it into a R4 ROTOR bunker – ROTOR was a radar early warning system. Abandoned again, it became a Regional Seat of Government (RSG) in the 1960s, where the Scottish government could hide in the event of nuclear war – a BBC studio was built where encouraging messages could be broadcast to the surviving population.

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This dates from the same era as the Torpedo Testing Station at Arrochar. It is, basically, a giant tank of water which was used to test the launching, running and possibly impact of torpedoes.

The tank itself is imposingly massive, with gantries and cranes at one end to lift up the test torpedoes. The other side contained labs.

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This downlink station with it’s distinctive golfball satellite dish enclosure is a local landmark – it is now (probably) up for sale, and has been completely stripped out.

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The Army Drill Hall in Paisley was designed by local architect TG Abercrombie, and built in 1896. Abercombie served with the TA himself as a captain in the 2nd Renfrewshire Rifle Volunteers (later the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders). The building is now abandoned, and rather trashed, but it’s still worth a visit.

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Over in Fife to look at something else, and realised I was near this – HMS Jackdaw near Crail is a WWII airfield, now mostly turned over to small industrial/storage use. But, in a field full of sheep scoffing turnips, is the torpedo trainer.

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