For years, the public had no idea it even existed.
17:10, 17 May 2026
In the event of nuclear war, the bunker would have housed high-ranking government officials(Image: AlasdairW, CC BY-SA 3.0)
One of the most frightening periods in modern history was undoubtedly the height of the Cold War, when people across Scotland and all over the world lived in constant fear that nuclear war could erupt at any moment. With humanity on the brink of total annihilation, the UK Government had no choice but to make plans in case the worst came to pass.
These preparations, which would thankfully prove unnecessary, included plans to protect the highest-ranking members of the UK Government and the royal family in the event of a nuclear strike. If any of these important people were in Scotland when nuclear war began, they would be rushed to the country’s largest Cold War bunker—buried deep underneath an unassuming Edinburgh hill.
Barnton Quarry in Corstorphine Hill, which produced stone until 1914, was converted into a Royal Air Force Fighter Command operations room in 1942 at the height of the Second World War. After the war, it was converted into a Sector Operations Centre 100 feet underground that was used to detect and monitor long-range Soviet bombers.
Soon after, in the early 1950s, a significantly bigger bunker was constructed at the site that featured reinforced concrete walls up to 3.5 metres in thickness to protect against atomic bombs. The British Government thought that, while the bunker would be unlikely to withstand a direct strike, it would hopefully survive a bomb that was detonated in Edinburgh’s city centre.
A few years later, as nuclear weapons quickly advanced in their strength and complexity, the Sector Operations Centre became outdated and so was closed. However, in the early 1960s, it found new life as the Regional Seat of Government for Scotland and was designated the main backup headquarters to house the Secretary of State for Scotland and Queen Elizabeth II in an emergency.
The bunker was also designed to hold a staff count of around 400 people, who collectively would lead the country in the aftermath of nuclear war. Barnton Bunker was equipped with a BBC broadcasting studio and other state-of-the-art facilities that would help them govern following a catastrophic nuclear strike.
A photograph taken inside Barnton Bunker in 2018(Image: AlasdairW, CC BY-SA 3.0)
The existence of Barnton Bunker was unknown to the public for most of its early life, and only became known to the people of Scotland in 1963 after a group called Spies for Peace discovered the site and exposed it. Demonstrators from across Edinburgh and beyond then marched to the site and protested outside its gates.
According to the Barnton Bunker website, the bunker remained in operation through the 1960s and 1970s. It was eventually decommissioned in the 1980s and was given to Lothian Region Council, who would use it as an Emergency Planning Operations Centre until the end of the Cold War and later sell it to a private developer.
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Today, Barnton Bunker is operated as an unlikely tourist attraction where visitors can head on fascinating tours inside the nuclear bunker led by expert guides. Tourists can stand in the same spot where Royal Air Force crews once tracked Soviet bombers and even learn how government officials planned to lead the country after a nuclear strike.
Barnton Bunker has unsurprisingly earned very positive feedback amongst tourists, currently holding a near-perfect average rating of 4.9 out of five based on 356 reviews on Google. Visitors have praised the attraction’s knowledgable tour guides and the authenticity of the restoration works.
One tourist shared: “Did The Bunker Experience at Barnton Bunker and loved it. A guided tour through a huge Cold War nuclear bunker packed with original features and genuinely fascinating history. The guide’s stories bring it to life, including the wild bit about it being used for illegal raves in the 90s! My favourite area was the BBC radio broadcast room.
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“It’s a proper restoration project and ticket sales go back into bringing the place to its former glory, so it feels great to support something local while getting a rare glimpse into the past. Highly recommend.”
Another posted: “As a child of the 50s with a love of military history I found this bunker tour an absolute gem. A word of warning before I start, I am a fit-ish 70 year old and was okay getting around but this is a raw location with no obvious facilities and not a Disney-style attraction.
“The main attraction is its authenticity and history which Jeff our guide described knowledgeably with insight. Truly a unique experience for the area and a great restoration project made necessary by mindless vandalism and arson in the 1990s. There is a passion to only restore the facility to show what it was not to make it a glamorous tourist attraction.”
More information can be found on the Barnton Bunker website.