Visit to Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker and Flatford, East Bergholt

A trip to Visit Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker and Flatford, East Bergholt

Tuesday 18 June 2024

Cost: £36.50 (National Trust members: £33.00 – please bring membership card on the day)

Dews coach departs:

1. Madingley Road Park and Ride:  8.15 am
2. Trumpington Park and Ride: 8.30 am

Coach departs Flatford at 4.30 pm

This secret Nuclear Bunker had three lives starting with its role as an RAF ROTOR Station, then a brief period as a civil defence centre through to its most recent life as a Regional Government HQ.

Designed for up to 600 military and civilian personnel, possibly even the Prime Minister, their collective task being to organise the survival of the population in the awful aftermath of a nuclear war.

There is a café at the bunker. We aim to be there for about 2 hours and then travel on to Flatford.

Constable spent his entire childhood in the Dedham Vale and these memories sustained him for life. The hamlet of Flatford and the landscape of the Stour Valley dominated his paintings from the early 1800s. A year before John’s birth the Constable family moved from a house next door to Flatford Mill to a mansion in East Bergholt. John Constable spent most of his school life at Dedham Grammar School, walking across the fields each day from his home. After he left school Constable went to work at his father’s windmill in East Bergholt and in his spare time he used to sketch the landscapes. We will have a private one hour guided tour, led by one of the experienced volunteer tour guides which will give us an in-depth exploration of the famous views that inspired the artist John Constable, such as the Hay Wain and Flatford Mill. There is a café at Flatford where you might choose to have refreshments before or after the tour.

If you have mobility issues please contact one of the organisers. Please note: There are no lifts at the Bunker.

Closing date for applications is Friday 31 May.

Please fill in all the details including coach stops.

U3AC is not responsible for any loss, injury or damage incurred during Cultural and Social Activities.

Please note that refunds cannot be made once a place has been given unless we have someone on the waiting list to refund you.

All organisers are instructed to follow U3AC’s rules in respect of personal data provided by members.

Event information