Drakelow Tunnels

Useful Information

Location:	Drakelow, Kidderminster, United Kingdom, DY11 5SW. Beneath the Kingsford Country Park, north of Kidderminster, Worcestershire. B449 or A442 north. B4189 to Wolverley, through Wolverley then left on Drakelow Lan. Parking lot signposted on the right. (52.427065, -2.265344)
Open:	1st and 3rd Sat of Month 10, 12 (Discovery Tour), 14:45 (Discovery Tour). Online booking mandatory. [2026]
Fee:	Adults GBP 9.92, Children GBP 7.75. Discovery Tour: Adults GBP 15.87, Children GBP 8.30. Donations welcome. [2026]
Classification:	Underground Factory Atombunker
Light:	Electric Light
Dimension:	L=5,600 m, Ar=26,500 m², T=10 °C.
Guided tours:	D=60 min. Discovery Tour: D=105 min.
Photography:	not allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Paul Stokes (2004): Drakelow Unearthed, ISBN 0 904015 76 9 online
Address:	Drakelow Tunnels Society, Drakelow, Kidderminster, United Kingdom, DY11 5SW. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1941	beginning of construction.
MAY-1943	achieved full production.
1945	shut down with the end of the war.
1955	used as a transit store for redundant plant.
1958	used as a secret bunker for the Regional Seat of Government.
1980s	refurbished as Regional Government Headquarters.
1993	sold off after the end of the Cold War.
2009	Friends of Drakelow dissolved, site closed.
2010	new volunteers found Drakelow Tunnels Society and reopen.

Description

Drakelow is a maze of tunnels, constructed during World War II as an underground factory. The sandstone hills near Kidderminster offered ideal prerequisites for the construction of vast tunnels, as the rock is very stable and soft enough to make the digging easier. The result was a system of tunnels, some 15 or 20 parallel tunnels running almost north to south which are connected by half a dozen tunnels crossing them rectangular. The four main tunnels in the center were used for transportation. The side tunnels were used as workshops.

When the factory was started, the cost were estimated £285,000, and it should take a year to complete. But the need was urgent and there was little time for planning, as a result the final cost were more than a million Pound, and it took more than a year. But finally the underground factory started to produce in 1943. The factory was operated by Rover, who produced engines for the Bristol aircraft Company. With the end of the War it became obsolete and was abandoned. It was then used as a storehouse for some time.

During the Cold War the system was reactivated. The tunnels were renovated in 1958 and infrastructure installen. In the early 1960s it became the emergency bunker of the Regional Seat of Government for Defence region 9 (RSG9). The bunker was suitable to accomodate 350 people. During the 1960s and 1970s the bunker war renovated and refurbished several times. In the early 1980s it became the bunker of the Regional Government Headquarters (RGHQ92), a renovation by the Home Office which cost two million Pounds. Among the installed infrastructure was a complete TV studio of the BBC, which would be able to send important information to the public, even if the regular infrastructure was destroyed.

Today the site is called the Drakelow Tunnels Museum, which is actually an underground exhibition inside the front part of the tunnels. It shows the original equipment of the bunker as well as historic documents and photographs. The site is open once a month on a Sunday for two guided tours during the summer. The actual events are sold on eventbrite, online booking is mandatory. The site is also used for events, and its open to film crews. It has seen photo shoots, music videos, TV dramas and documentaries, Hollywood blockbusters and more. Other events here include military training, search & rescue, police training, and fire training. We are not sure how serious the paranormal events at the site are, actually Brittain has some tradition in haunted houses. The site is operated by the non-profit Drakelow Tunnels Society, donations and entrance fees are used for the maintenance and renovation of the site.