For over 50 years this vast underground complex remained secret, hidden on the outskirts of a sleepy Cheshire town, This would have been the centre of Regional Government had nuclear war broke out. Who knew what was going on in the countryside?Over 50 years ago World War II was being lost and Britain was struggling for its very survival. In the Air Ministry in bomb-blitzed London, officials were looking for sites to locate the new Radio Detection and Direction Finding (RDF) equipment or radar as it came to be known. In 1941 Hack Green, a site previously used as a bombing decoy site for the main railway centre at Crewe was chosen to become RAF Hack Green, to protect the land between
Birmingham and Liverpool from hostile attack.
Explore the communications room, look at the largest Nuclear collection in Europe, experience what it would have been like in the bomb shelter and visit the BBC studio that was to be used if the government had to evacuate to these bunkers and which would have been used to communicate with survivors.
After your visit head a mile down the road to the award winning Overwater Marina for lunch. Park in the guest car park and then visit the café at Bridge 80 which offers a tasty selection of lunches and home made cakes. If the weather is good sit outside and watch the canal boats coming and going from the marina. After lunch take a walk along the canal into Audlem. This is a pretty walk and as you get nearer to Audlem you will walk alongside the flight of 15 locks. Sit and watch awhile as the canal boaters fill and empty the locks to get to the top, no mean feat and I speak from experience! Carry on into the pretty little village of Audlem whose community are amongst the proudest villagers in england. Residents here pay a voluntary annual fee for flags and flowers to be put out across the village in the summer months.
Browse the independent shops, maybe visit one of the tearooms or village pubs for a drink and then either walk back to the marina or take the little boat from the bottom of the locks, the Audlem Lass which is purely run by volunteers who ask for a small donation of £1.00 with all proceeds going to the RNLI.
Wander back to Foxes Field where you can enjoy tea/coffee and home made cake whilst you decide where out of the many pubs and restaurants in the area you are going to have your evening meal.