WW2 Radio Station, Paulsgrove, Hampshire
On possibly the wettest summer’s day in history we walked across the stretch of grassy land now in front of the northern face of the Paulsgrove chalk pit towards a former World War Two radio station.
The radio station, now frequented by kids, is actually in great condition considering how well known it is by the locals. I’ve seen more litter in harder to get to locations than here.
About 20-30ft up the side of the chalk pit is the entrance. Having visited the radio station once before I wasn’t expecting how difficult it would be in the wet! Slip-sliding all over the place it took a good ten minutes grasping on to tufts of grass and taking leaps of faith to reach the entrance, a three foot high cave-looking adit since it was backfilled in the past.
The passageway soon opens up and consists of sections of rough rock and corrugated iron archways. Three chambers in total for the transmission of messages, receiving & a third near the entrance which is unclear what it may have been used for. The final chamber as you walk through the radio station is down on a lower level via a set of stone-carved stairs. It’s in this chamber where there’s a bore hole up to the surface which would have linked to the long since removed aerials. Beyond, a passageway to the escape tunnel.
Messages bound for France would pass through this radio station via the aerials installed on the surface almost 100ft above. Probably the most fascinating fact about this small, unassuming radio station is that the first signals to come from the Normandy beaches delivering the messages of success would have been received here; amazing, and that fact alone should be reason to preserve these historic tunnels.
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Just an update… visited here today and can confirm it is still open. Remarkably good condition as well, I was expecting a lot more vandalism.
Excellent, thanks Ben! Always good to hear feedback on this important places!
Thanks mate, easy enough find too, and the scramble up the cliff wasn’t as bad as I thought. Did you check out the Cooper shelters when you went?
Yep! Now they were a proper nightmare to get to in the wet!
Can you tell us the route you took to get to the entrance trying to plan a trip to explore this area but no one likes to give away how they got there
And quite rightly so, Ami. Sorry, but I’m not in the business of giving information away like this. There is more than enough information in the report and title for you to find this location with a bit of research. Good luck and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the visit more knowing you’ve found it yourself!
Planning to visit this week from Portchester. Can you explain exactly where it is?
Hi, is it still accessible and does anyone have a postcode/more specific location for it?
Hi Zuki, I am a local resident, live less than 5 minutes away. The closest you will get to the site is on Chalkpit Road in Paulsgrove. You can see on Google Maps the end of the road is cut off with a wooden fence. That wooden fence is now a chainlink fence that is easy to navigate over. You need to pass through quite a bit of brush and debris, there is no security, and the site is still accessable but its not recommended, as the climb to the entrance is… well halfway up a cliff face… it’s obviously really dangerous.
Edit: Due to the sunny weather, the brush and muddy paths have been dried up and there is an easier way to get to the entrance, if anyone reading wants to visit!
This is another site I surveyed back in the 1980s (for health and safety purposes). Surveyed the whole underground site. Parts were starting to collapse (hence why it was blocked off. There were still bunk bed rooms and a kitchen as well as the old control rooms.
My favourite part was the steps. Some wag in the past had drawn a series of stick figures on the steps. The 1st was a person starting the climb standing upright. As he assended he gets more and more bent over breathing more and more heavily until at the top steps he is crawling. ? Loved it.
I suspect due to my report it was filled in for health and safety reasons. There is also a lot of asbestos used in the construction which was in very poor condition.
Update: Had a rumnage and found I still have the plans.. ?
Would be great to see them if you can find a way to digitise?
Love this place, there is also a huge network of tunnels under this place too, long sealed up with back fill. If you know where to look you can see where the entrances once were. Also, some tunnels just up the road in the caravan site which sometimes become accessible
Where’s the caravan park, I have no clue?
This brings back memories. Used to go to the tunnels every day after school in the 90’s
What’s the postcode to this place please?
This place is still accessible, no security.
The main problem with it is getting to the 3 entrances as the paths have fallen it’s more of a climb to get into it and unless you have a patch of dry weather there is no chance as our mate found out when he fell back down face first. These tunnels are also quite boring as it’s just a short passageway and is harder to get into for what it’s worth.
The entrances are really hard to find as well. So unless you know where they are or you have a mate that does you have no hope of finding these entrances. If anyone does want to go see this place and wants to find the entrances feel free to email me and I will happily tour guide you around – max.seaman13@gmail.com
Went here today and it is a really interesting bunker – 3 main chambers, main entrance and air vent at the other end, no security, quite cold inside even on a hot day, fantastic photos.
Still easily accessible from the common and no security as of July 2019
I went there today and got some awesome pics! I wouldn’t of known about this if it wasn’t for you, thanks!
Access still available or is there security?
Easy last night (24/1/19) – no sign of any security measures, and clearly many people visit there. Short ascent was easy, but would be very slippery if wet.
How do you get to this? Looked last night. Does anybody know the road name that leads to it at all?
Well, we parked on ‘Chalkpit road’… :)
Just been there today on Sunday 7th July 2019 all still accessible and in good condition!
How hard should it be to reach the entrances now, and is there any CCTV nowadays?
Thanks
-Toby
The radio station is located next to a large open public green area, as accessible as a walk in the park.
Thanks ;)
What is the address for this place? Would love to go and visit!
Sophie, it’s a hole in the side of a chalk pit – there’s no address. Just do some Google searching, head to the location and you’ll find it no problem!
Where abouts? Only because I’m doing a film exam and was wondering where it is? Thanks Gracie
The answer to your question is a clickable link on the site. This will take you to another website where the exact location will be revealed!
I’m glad someone is paying attention, Mike! It’s not difficult is it.
Love it!
Places like this really are treasures and should be preserved.
Fascinating, amazing how many places are forgotten and therefore lost to most people! Well done, keep them coming!
Great explore mate!
Well done!