Scotland's Secret Bunker & The Fisheries Museum 5th Oct 2015

Hidden underneath a farmhouse near St Andrews is a secret Scotland kept for 40 years. The farmhouse was put up for sale with Estate Agents who were unaware of what was underground. On purchasing the house the new owner then brought in builders who discovered a steel door! What was behind the door must have been a real surprise - or shock!
2014 was the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the Bunker to the public. The Bunker lies 100ft underground and is the size of 2 football pitches, one on top of the other.

There is a 450ft tunnel .......

 

 

 leading you to the Security Office.....

 

 

... before reaching the entrance to the Bunker  - through the blast doors...

 

These doors weigh 1½ tons each!
  

The Bunker was built to safeguard Scotland during the Cold War in the event of a nuclear attack. Scotland would have been governed from here, where it was  hoped, those in charge would be safe from any bombs. The Bunker is encased in 15ft of reinforced concrete. Central Government and military commanders would have been living here for some time in the event of a nuclear war so there are all the facilities they might have needed, including cinemas, café, dormitories, medical facilities, chapel etc.

 

Dormitories

 

Canteen & Medical

 

 There are Operational rooms and Command Centres for many organisations.

 

 

This exhibit reminds you that although the Cold War may be over.......

 

  .... it was not that long ago.

There is one resident at the Bunker ....

 

 



... with her own entrance.

These are not real ... but just there to explain why they need Cleo!

The Secret Bunker is an amazing place. There is so much to see - you could be down there for weeks!


We then moved on to The Fisheries Museum, which had been highly recommended to us. This museum tells the story of the Scottish fishing industry, its boats, harbours and communities and is situated in historic buildings on the harbour at Anstruther. The buildings date from the 16th-19th Centuries and surround a cobble-stone courtyard which has associations with fishing from the 14th Century!

The buildings have all been linked internally to create the different galleries and visitor trail around them.
The museum is split into different galleries, beginning with one telling us about the fishing industry before the 19th Century.

Through the different galleries we then learned about the Herring Boom which was so important to the industry in the 19th Century. Changing Fishing Methods told of the new technology developed in the 20th Century and Developments in Boat Design told of the influences on changing boat shapes and technology.
There are many fantastic scale models of boats within many of the galleries ...

.... and also proof of a thriving Model Boat Making Club.

There is even a working boat yard - within the museum -where they are restoring a boat! As we watched the volunteers were busy shaping a piece of wood to fit where the original piece had rotted away.

3 boats in the museum are recognised as being of national significance by the Register of Historic Vessels. The Reaper, The Research and The Lively Hope are all included in the National Historic Fleet.

There are exhibits within the museum that give you a little experience of what life as a fisherman was like.

The final gallery is the Fishermans Cottage, a real cottage fitted out as it would have been when it was lived in by a fishing family.

The Fisheries Museum is a fantastic museum to visit. It is like the Tardis - it looks small from the outside and does nothing to prepare you for the extent of the building and its exhibits within. It is absolutely stuffed full of artefacts, models and history. The recommendation we got was spot on. A brilliant place and well worth a visit.