York Cold War Bunker — Attraction in Great Britain

Absolutely loved our time here, I’m so glad we took the time to visit. It’s very different to your usual English Heritage experience!

We watched a short video about the Cold War before the guide Sean took our group around the bunker and gave a very informative talk about what life would have been like inside the bunker as well as what the rooms were used for and how various systems work. It is frozen in time down there, if you’re a Fallout fan you’ll love it!

The tour is given to a small group and lasts about 50 minutes in total. Arrive at least ten minutes before the hour so they can check you in. It’s nice and cool in there so also a surprisingly good hot summer day activity! It’s definitely great for older kids but just be aware that the intro video is about nuclear war and is pretty grim, with some makeup effects to show the effects of radiation. If you have younger or sensitive kids you can opt out of the video; the rest of the tour is kid-friendly.

Very cool, very different and totally worth your time. Thank you to the awesome guide Sean for his enthusiastic and...

This is in the mostly unlikely place you would expect in the middle of a housing estate, I found it due to my daughter living close by and so pleased I did. English Heritage have saved a unique piece of history essential for all to know how close we were to Nuclear war and not so long ago, built in 1961 and closed 1991 during the cold war and the political unrest between East and West. Everything is original and the guides are very knowledgable, I was fortunate to get a one on one tour with Ethan as quiet time when I visited on speck. The engineering and electronic advancements for the build and Nuclear attack detection systems pioneered early telecoms that we know today. See AWDREY the Atomic Weapons Detection Recognition and Estimation of Yield system that was designed and manufactured to detect a Nuclear explosion and indicate the size in megatons, not proven fortunately for us all. Overall a great visit and a reminder of why the Great is in Great Britain.

A huge thank you to English Heritage for their sacrifice of an asset to save this historical legacy and...

Very interesting English Heritage property situated at the heart of Acomb, York that dates back to the period of the Cold War. Wandering around the property is done by guided tour only and usually lasts approx. 1 hour where the guides very informative tour on the history of the site with some interesting facts. The tour starts off with an excellent and informative intro film about the end of WWII and how the Cold War started and came to being and the tour weaves its way to the Plant room, Operations Room and Dormitories before finishing. The guides go into the importance and how they fitted into the functionality at the site at the time of the site and how they would cope in the event of Nuclear bomb being detonated. All the artefacts are still present from the time the site was operational giving visitors a good idea of what life was truly like at the time. There is a small gift shop offering a nice amount of souvenirs and the staff are very informative, helpful and friendly. Overall a very...