Drakelow Tunnels - Kidderminster, Worcestershire
285,00 sq ft of pure terror will challenge even the most hardened ghost hunter
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285,00 sq ft of pure terror. That is probably the best way to describe Drakelow Tunnels in Kidderminster. These tunnels are pitch black and sit empty and desolate. There are thought to be many ghosts and spirits lurking within the huge chambers of the tunnels and the paranormal activity witnessed on ghost hunts has been dramatic to say the least. The deaths that have occurred here are likely to be from working accidents but the tunnels themselves sit beneath an ancient sacred hill which could explain why some of the spirits here are described as monastic.
Prepare to be touched, breathed on and pushed as this has happened to so many of those guests who have spent the night tentatively walking through these tunnels with only a torch for guidance.
Ghosts of Drakelow Tunnels
There have been so many reports of paranormal activity in the haunted Drakelow Tunnels by visitors and workers alike, that an investigation here is a must for any Ghost Hunter. The site has been used by Airsoft for shooting activities and there have been reports of participants tracking a figure, only to turn the corner into a dead-end and find the person has vanished. People have reported hearing terrifying screams, feeling watched and surrounded within the tunnels and even being grabbed by unseen hands. Stones have even been thrown during our ghost hunts here which was a very frightening experience.
History of Drakelow Tunnels
The Drakelow Tunnels are maze of pitch black, underground tunnels which span over 285,000 square feet. They were constructed as part of the Ministry of Aircrafts Shadow Factory Scheme for use by Rover in WWII and were primarily used as storage and workshops. After the War, the Government took the building and prepared it as a Nuclear Bunker for use during the Cold War, with new rooms and equipment designed to house local & National Government officials, plus armed forces and medical teams. Thankfully the war ended and the bunker was sold off in the early 1990s.
During the history of Drakelow Tunnels there were 6 rumoured deaths as a result of a roof collapse, another following an impact with a truck and 2 men apparently died while riding the conveyors. Their tragic deaths and believed to account for most of the activity in tunnels 1-4 and legend has it that their names were carved into the sandstone in the spot on which they died.
Designed by Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, the Drakelow Tunnel Complex (originally called Drakelow Underground Dispersal Factory) was excavated during World War II in sandstone hills near the village of Kinver and the town of Kidderminster. It was originally constructed as a shadow factory for the Rover car company who were at the time manufacturing engines for the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was also intended to supply components to Rovers main shadow factories at Acocks Green and Solihull, to supply spare parts, and to act as a backup facility if either of the main shadow factories was damaged by enemy action.
The cost of the facility was originally estimated at £285,000, and construction, which began in June 1941, was expected to take just one year. In the event, the underground factory achieved full production in May 1943 and the final cost exceeded £1,000,000.
The site consists of numerous tunnels that stretch for around 3.5 mi (5.6 km), although public access on tours is limited to less than a quarter of the site.
The tunnels contained dormitories, storage areas, workshops, electrical equipment, toilets, offices, a BBC studio, a GPO Telephones communications facility and other facilities.
During the 1950s and the growing Cold War, the site was initially used by the Ministry of Supply for storage.
Around 1958 part of the site was developed by the Home Office as a Regional Seat of Government (RSG9). It was publicly exposed in a demonstration held there by the West Midlands Committee of 100 in the summer of 1963. Under later Home Defence schemes the bunker was designated a Sub-Regional Control (SRC), Sub-Regional Headquarters (SRHQ) and finally Regional Government Headquarters (RGHQ).
The site was greatly modernised in the early 1980s, only a small portion of the site was designated for use. New blast doors were fitted in place of the previous wooden factory doors and the interior of the site was refurbished in the areas forward of tunnel 4.
In about 1990 there was a plan to move the RGHQ to a much smaller bunker, formerly used by UKWMO, at Lawford Heath near Rugby. In the end this never happened, and the Drakelow site was decommissioned and sold in around 1993.
