I'm going to begin by correcting your assumption that the Rotor bunker is located at Portland Bill. It is not. The Bill is several miles away to the southerly part of the Isle where the lighthouses are located. I first got into the old Portland Rotor bunker in the autumn of 1971 with my best friend who I'd known since early childhood. We were Urban Explorers before the term was born and on our initial Portland bunker visit we found that the electrics were all still live so throwing the mains switch at the top of the lift floodlit the entire complex. No need to use our flashlights which, of course, provided nothing like the brilliant illumination of 21st century Cree leds! After gaining access through the massive back doors of the unassuming surface building, we rode down to the circular entrance tunnel in the service lift but on our several subsequent visits we used the staircase as a precaution of the lift failing while we were in it. Dotted around the floors of the bunker were several dead bodies of rabbits, in various stages of decomposition, which had fallen in via the several ventilation shafts whose outlets were on the surface. Obviously, they hopped around in the pitch darkness until dying from starvation. There remained many items of equipment and supplies in the bunker rooms including a massive map of Europe fixed on the wall of the ops room and photos of 'enemy' aircraft. There were also bedrooms, toilets, showers and food preparation areas. At the end of the complex, where you found that creaky old ladder, was a square-section metal staircase leading to an emergency exit at the surface. On later visits, some ten years on, we found those stairs had become thoroughly unsafe, due to corrosion, so we were unable to use them to access ground level. I last went down to the bunker sometime in the mid 1980s but, due to the house doors being welded shut, we had to gain access via the ventilation shaft which was located in the area over the north fence, between the bunker site and the Verne prison glacis - seen clearly at 1:33:51. Back then, the area was just grass and sparse low scrub but, over the ensuing years, much woody vegetation has smothered the site and, I presume, hidden the ventilation shaft beneath it. In the mid 1970s, I was fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of an elderly local man who'd worked on the original excavation of the bunker and gleaned many fascinating insights from him. One of the big problems, which plagued the bunker's operation, was the ingress of water permeating through the porous Portland limestone. The considerable amount of spoil from the excavations was tipped over the cliffs on the western side of the island and and the scree can still be seen there to this day. Thank you for a superb record of this unique site and bringing back many memories for me of my days as a pioneer Urban Explorer. 😊
One of your best vids so far Matt. Its so refreshing when the landowner works with you. Great vid and great advertising for her family farm centre! Win win!
At 50:00 they are more likely to be variable transformer than rheostat because they run cooler and would last longer and they would handle a higher load they also work better on a.c they are in banks of 3 so they are probably controling 3 phase a really great explore thanks for showing us this
Superb one of your best Matt that women was so knowledgeable and you knew a fair bit unlike some on these other explore programs and so good it had not been vandalised apart from the decommissioning.
Bloody marvellous Matt, your knowledge is fantastic, your love of what you do shines bright just like your torches, really enjoyed this explore, and a big thumbs up for Sue, take care mate.
Fantastic documentary. Spent hundreds of hours fishing off the breakwater and surrounding waters here, and always hoped to know more about the underground secrets. Thank you to the owners who also made this possible. Very knowledgeable lady.
Absolutely fascinating Matt. The snippet about the projector technology used in the plotting room was amazing. It's incredible how resourceful these engineers were with the limited technology they had to hand.
@@Balthorium It may have had a short shelf life. Just enough to project/print out the image. The original negative may have long since been degraded or even destroyed.
I live on Portland and this is one of few underground sites on Portland I've never been in. It's absolutely amazing what you have shown me today. I have seen pictures but this is another level I never knew alot of the stuff you have explained. Absolutely excellent 👍
Amazing Matt. You knocked it out of the park, my friend. Best Man on UA-cam in my opinion. Great as always Matt. Over the top. Sony, DJI cameras for that awesome footage, history, old footage, photos. Thank you. Really enjoyed this one
Matt. Well done. Very professional. You will be on the telly next. We had a walk around Portland yesterday. I fully recommend it, a Dammed fine place!! The D Day museum is worth a look too.
The asbestos in that switchgear is normally behind the wire fuses to quench the molten wire when the fuse pops, those 2 perforated boxes with gauges on top of that cubicle at 1:02:30 are Newton carbon pile voltage regulators for DC voltage, that sump pump was indeed a single stage piston compressor 👍, fabulous video ! !
Epic video, love the level of detail and the knowledge that lady had was great. It’s nice to see a site where you’re granted access and also given a history lesson of the place too.
This place is less than a mile from my house. Great to finally be able to get a tour of it from the comfort of the sofa. Kudos for not showing the entrance, it's definitely a cool way to acess a bunker but not one you'd want to show the world as everyone would be trying their luck tio get down there!
We cant show entrance as its the owners lounge... and they wanted some privacy. It would have been fun to walk through and show the way in but I guess not many people want cameras in their lounge.. me included.
@@TheSecretVault Can't agree more on the privacy side, having taken the kids to the farm enough times it's an easy one to work out where it is if you know it's there. Have you ever done any research on Southwell Park at the top of the island near the bill? Big ex MOD building with a lot of history and now currently the kids school. I used to work there when it was used commercially and housed several different businesses. Prior to conversion to the school I used to wonder the corridors convinced that I'd find something that led underground but alas never did. Before it was removed to make way for the school there was a big Oak cladded board room that was beyond creepy, hairs would stand up just looking at it, probably the 1950's font hand painted sign that read "no firearms in the board room" set the mood a little lol.
This was brilliant. My brother worked for the MOD on Portland, so just the journey across was really enjoyable. Fascinating place. All the added extras were great too, cheers Matt for all your hard work
There’s more tunnels, entrances and exits than what you saw here. Some of the tunnels are actually now used as wine cellars down in the port. There are rumours that there was also a hidden Submarine base somewhere but I’m not sure about that.
Wow what an absolutley cracking upload. A super watch, I always look forward to your videos. Great music also, Thank you for listing the songs to listen to.
Thank you Matt for showing us things that most of us don't even know exist and giving most of the chance to see things that we would not normally be able to see.
Fabulously detailed explore as always. The Kelvin Hughes projector design was genius, but must have consumed serious amounts of film, interesting that it never got installed there. Huge thanks to the lovely owner Sue for letting you document this place, incredible quality footage it's like being there with you! 👌🏻
This was so cool to see @Matt. Fancy having a house with your own bunker underneath, i dont blame her protecting it, but what a brilliant piece of history to own. X
just stumbled across you , amazing content and great knowledge , the diamond in the live stream was Sue the owner , she answered many questions i have been asking myself for years !!!
" we don't like that, we like this" *turns up camera to 2000% on top of any other content producer* Mate, I'll just say that you know EXACTLY, to a damn tee.... How to produce the most perfect content and boy do you pull it off better than anyone else I've seen, dead detailed and you walk up to things as though I'm actually stood looking at it myself plus just to overdo it for us you stand and explain everything in adequate detail... Cant thank you enough for sharing these places some can't ever get to experience. This is all we have and you make it as best as humanly possible for us. watching on 50" @2160p when you showboated it blew my brains. Legend. I'm going to be supporting as soon as I possibly can do and I haven't said that in decades of being on UA-cam. . Legend bro. Thank you!
Matt, this is a masterpiece vid. Such an in depth tour of an historic site. I was totally immersed with the content. Thanks so much for your endeavour....
This is absolutely amazing, very interesting , I love watching bunkers and stuff. I've been to portland a few times to the light house but never really new anything about the bunker until now, it's so interesting. To be honest all your vids are interesting. Keep it comming Mathew
Matt absolutely brilliant i recently discovered your channel and I'm hooked mate, you go all the best places and do such a thorough job there's not much left to the imagination, I'm now in the process of watching your past efforts, i really loved the porton down ones, love your attitude please keep up these riveting videos.👍👍
The fittings you talked about at 54:58 are actually mercury switches. They were probably actuated from four temperature sensors that sent an air pressure signal to units like the one below. It looks like the air signal to the mercury switches entered from the bottom. When the mercury capsule tipped, the mercury would complete or break the circuit of the cables entering from the top and energize heaters or cooling for the air conditioning.
Thank you for some amazing content as always, you are probably one of the most interesting and knowledgeable persons on site. The whole video you had me hooked with your knowledge on each of the machinery items. The fact that you spend hours out of your day to bring some amazing footage of places that we will never have the privilege of seeing in our life time. Fantastic
Outdone yourself with this one. Just amazing, I'm surprised the owners haven't started cleaning the bunker up and moved in. I certainly would. Thanks for movie clip, I want to see the rest now!
@@TheSecretVault I'm sure the cost of electric would be monumental. Just the cost alone of updating all the electrics down there wouldn't be cheap either. There are some people here in the states that have retrofitted the titan 2 missle silos for living, but they seem to have a disposable income for that.
I live on the Rock, have done all my life, we used to go picking up blank ammo in the Forbidden city and collect newts in the Roman baths (still there just overgrown). Portland's a hidden gem. I hope that our adversaries have updated their intel because we used to be the destination for Prince Andrews nuclear bunker and a designated nuclear target.
Absolutely brilliant 👏. Thanks so much. Footage and production is excellent. Well done on gaining access. I tried a couple of years ago in view of purchasing it but got nowhere 🙃
I'm not sure the owners want to sell it. The thing is though you have to realise you have a hell of a lot of work on your hands and it would cost hundreds of thousands to turn it back into usable
Superb explore what a fantastic piece of history.With the kind permission of the owner, myself and other subscribers have been able to see something that otherwise would be impossible cheers Matt.👏👏👏
Great video. I really enjoyed the explanation of the electrics like the rheostat and those heat sink things for voltage. I guess that cooling system was like a swamp cooler. Some racing cars have water injection systems too like the BMW M3 cs. I also loved the plotter room illuminated map and radar scope. Pretty high tech 1950s gear. Top notch video with proper explanation. That valley and the bunker are really amazing. Thanks.
Absolutely brilliant video and drone footage Matt. What a superb bunker, with an equally impressive entrance. Sue seemed very nice and helpful. I found the photo’s very interesting. You certainly had the weather for it, a beautiful day. I also liked the car journey at the beginning. Thank you Matt for yet another superb video 👍🙂
Loved the fact you delved into the history of this bunker with the owner. Great work Matt! I do have a question, where does the waste water and sewage drain too? I don’t see a pumping station or septic tank at this or any of these type of bunkers. Weird question, just curious.
The water was passed through the fins you could see in that big unit the big green pumps are compressors that compress the refrigerant some where there will be a chiller that cools the water that flows into the air unit.
So interesting matt, the amount of times I’ve walked near that bridge that goes across the moat, I’d love to get in, thanks for this info now I know what’s underneath x
Really interesting Matt enjoyed watching I reckon there is more bunkers around there liked the the film footage the dammed at the end intresting viewing cheers 👍👍👍👍
That’s cool , just down the road from my house, but how did you not see all the gun batteries and tunnels just a bit to the right of this bunker site, there’s loads more on Portland than just this👍🇬🇧
Fantastic as always Matt, just looked at the price of the Sony my god id have to remortgage the house haha, it was very kind of the lady to give you access matt, history time stood still no graffiti to spoil things either, i'm surprised you didn't sing " the adventures of portland bill " haha
Top vid . Loved the chilled music played though the vid . 👍. Plus on a naughty school boy level . At 1.32.33 it sounds like a fart 👍plus what's the tune called at the end at 2hr06min 👍
Oh that was excellent, especially with the drone footage and overlays. I love the old photos and added information from the owners ( that's stuff that disappears from history, the handed down intimate knowledge). Have you tried approaching the owner of the one up at Bempton on the North Yorkshire coast just above Bridlington for a similar explore? Edit, forget that last bit, it seems like it is completely inaccessible, emergency exits filled with concrete and the main staircase removed
Such a shame it’s in that condition. Would love to see it ‘ before ‘. But as always Matt you explain things well and make people use their imagination as to what these places would’ve looked. Thank you for sharing - excellent 👍
I laughed when I saw the Wallaby - they couldn't be any further from home (I do see wild ones not to far from where I live in Sydney). They do look fat and healthy though! Good video, I've toured the Uk twice but didn't get to Portland. I came close, but not on to Portland.
I used to go to that site occasionally in the 90's and thought it looked really suss with big high fences around and small military looking buildings, back then I think it was used for security dog training with lots of signs saying keep out and there was security around too. I also didn't put two and two together and link the supply pipes in the moat to the bunker 1:57:50. I was lucky enough to nosey around and inside all the navy buildings before they were demolished.
Can't believe they let let you in, everyone been asking them for years. I even offered them a fair bit of money in 2017 to go down but they said no. Been waiting to see what this bunker looked like for decades. The bunker location actually surprised me, thought it was on the farm and not slightly off of it. Did you have a look at the Batteries that's opposite it at all?
Apparently people have been allowed in from time to time but the keys have been handed now from the previous owner who was a father to one of the bunkers current owners. If you can show your insurance then they are happy to take enquiries. I have made enquiries to see the battery but have not heard back yet.
@@TheSecretVault oh right, nice to know. I'm insured so may give them a shout in a few months but as you've already gone and done it, no need to record it haha
Very surprised you wre allowed in, on any urbex site the owners always insist the entrance is welded shut due to asbestos contamination. Thats not the inly site worth an explore on portland!
Great video Matt and what change to see an owner letting you in to explore and Also she was was so knowledgeable about the place she owns and was able to share with you. Love the bit where you scared the donkey stiff and he didn’t waste it lol 😂. Keep up the good work can’t wait till your next one. Ps are you planning on exploring the hidden city ?
Awesome video. FYI the hidden city is actually known as 'The Forbidden city', and is now patrolled and covered by cameras and motion detectors operated by the Port's Security - they even changed the laws to prosecute trespassers. Quite a lot of video footage of it on UA-cam though.
92 now but spent best part of 1955 to April 1957 RAF Radar Engineer on site at Portland. Live operations ceased in 1955 . Afew operators were left to help maintain the equipment which was run up and tested everyday. Occasionally used at request of coast guard to look for boats which were in distress.
Revisiting the comments here, I'm currently on a cruise ship with an elderly gentleman who used to be an RAF radar operator stationed here in this video of Portland. He said he was based here in 1952, there used to be guard dogs who'd attack if you strayed near the bungalow. He said they watched our submarines on his radar down the English Channel, into the Bay Of Biscay watching the conning tower as they sailed. They'd direct our Gloster Meteor fighters to intercept enemy aircraft. There used to be a vertical lift to take you down to the bunker where some workers couldn't cope with the clostrophobia. On training days, they'd practice escaping through the hatches that exited inside the adjacent prison walls, prisoners would be put back in their cells for this drill, the bunker staff would leave bars of chocolate and woodbines for the inmates hidden around the prison paths. I've spent many hours sea fishing in the harbour, and today was a real treat to sit and listen to this gentleman. He could recall the landmarks recorded here.
I'm going to begin by correcting your assumption that the Rotor bunker is located at Portland Bill. It is not. The Bill is several miles away to the southerly part of the Isle where the lighthouses are located. I first got into the old Portland Rotor bunker in the autumn of 1971 with my best friend who I'd known since early childhood. We were Urban Explorers before the term was born and on our initial Portland bunker visit we found that the electrics were all still live so throwing the mains switch at the top of the lift floodlit the entire complex. No need to use our flashlights which, of course, provided nothing like the brilliant illumination of 21st century Cree leds! After gaining access through the massive back doors of the unassuming surface building, we rode down to the circular entrance tunnel in the service lift but on our several subsequent visits we used the staircase as a precaution of the lift failing while we were in it. Dotted around the floors of the bunker were several dead bodies of rabbits, in various stages of decomposition, which had fallen in via the several ventilation shafts whose outlets were on the surface. Obviously, they hopped around in the pitch darkness until dying from starvation. There remained many items of equipment and supplies in the bunker rooms including a massive map of Europe fixed on the wall of the ops room and photos of 'enemy' aircraft. There were also bedrooms, toilets, showers and food preparation areas. At the end of the complex, where you found that creaky old ladder, was a square-section metal staircase leading to an emergency exit at the surface. On later visits, some ten years on, we found those stairs had become thoroughly unsafe, due to corrosion, so we were unable to use them to access ground level. I last went down to the bunker sometime in the mid 1980s but, due to the house doors being welded shut, we had to gain access via the ventilation shaft which was located in the area over the north fence, between the bunker site and the Verne prison glacis - seen clearly at 1:33:51. Back then, the area was just grass and sparse low scrub but, over the ensuing years, much woody vegetation has smothered the site and, I presume, hidden the ventilation shaft beneath it. In the mid 1970s, I was fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of an elderly local man who'd worked on the original excavation of the bunker and gleaned many fascinating insights from him. One of the big problems, which plagued the bunker's operation, was the ingress of water permeating through the porous Portland limestone. The considerable amount of spoil from the excavations was tipped over the cliffs on the western side of the island and and the scree can still be seen there to this day. Thank you for a superb record of this unique site and bringing back many memories for me of my days as a pioneer Urban Explorer. 😊
omg
Just watching this while slightly hungover on Sunday morning here in Australia. Cornflakes, coffee, TheSecretVault bunker explore = perfect morning.
One of your best vids so far Matt. Its so refreshing when the landowner works with you. Great vid and great advertising for her family farm centre! Win win!
Yes Sue and family have been very kind in letting me film here.
Matt's choice of music alone raises the vibrational level of human consciousness in his viewers.
Yeah I love the background music he uses.
OUT STANDING MATT IT DESERVES AN OSCAR FOR A REEL FILM
This is the best well made plus interesting video so far, cheers matt
That was awesome absolutely riveting …… doing what I do and having a deep love of the secrets of. Portland I loved this….. thanks so much Matthew xxxx
I appreciate the amount of effort that you put into filming this one and all of your videos...hands down legend. Thank you
Ah great a nice long explore cant wait to watch this one Matt!
At 50:00 they are more likely to be variable transformer than rheostat because they run cooler and would last longer and they would handle a higher load they also work better on a.c they are in banks of 3 so they are probably controling 3 phase
a really great explore thanks for showing us this
Brilliant video Matt, must be one of your best. Thanks for sharing. So good and interesting
Dam good show old chap - haha thanks mate really thank you for your effort making incredible videos, been subbed for years !!
😊😊😊
Superb one of your best Matt that women was so knowledgeable and you knew a fair bit unlike some on these other explore programs and so good it had not been vandalised apart from the decommissioning.
Great video yet again loving how you caught a shot of the QinetiQ building next to portland bill light house
Bloody marvellous Matt, your knowledge is fantastic, your love of what you do shines bright just like your torches, really enjoyed this explore, and a big thumbs up for Sue, take care mate.
It was pretty amazing he knew what all those weird looking electronics were.
Regards from Sweden! We have some bunkers too, but this was an 10 of 1-10! Good work!
Fantastic documentary. Spent hundreds of hours fishing off the breakwater and surrounding waters here, and always hoped to know more about the underground secrets.
Thank you to the owners who also made this possible. Very knowledgeable lady.
Absolutely fascinating Matt. The snippet about the projector technology used in the plotting room was amazing. It's incredible how resourceful these engineers were with the limited technology they had to hand.
Ten second lag time for film development? Whaaa? Wow
@@Balthorium Yes to develop a film ready for projection that quick is some crazy technology... even better than a polaroid pic...
@@Balthorium It may have had a short shelf life. Just enough to project/print out the image. The original negative may have long since been degraded or even destroyed.
I live on Portland and this is one of few underground sites on Portland I've never been in. It's absolutely amazing what you have shown me today. I have seen pictures but this is another level I never knew alot of the stuff you have explained. Absolutely excellent 👍
Amazing Matt. You knocked it out of the park, my friend. Best Man on UA-cam in my opinion. Great as always Matt. Over the top. Sony, DJI cameras for that awesome footage, history, old footage, photos. Thank you. Really enjoyed this one
Matt. Well done. Very professional. You will be on the telly next. We had a walk around Portland yesterday. I fully recommend it, a Dammed fine place!! The D Day museum is worth a look too.
Thank you Matt and Soozy you legends, start to finish this was a pleasure to watch.
The asbestos in that switchgear is normally behind the wire fuses to quench the molten wire when the fuse pops, those 2 perforated boxes with gauges on top of that cubicle at 1:02:30 are Newton carbon pile voltage regulators for DC voltage, that sump pump was indeed a single stage piston compressor 👍, fabulous video ! !
Epic video, love the level of detail and the knowledge that lady had was great. It’s nice to see a site where you’re granted access and also given a history lesson of the place too.
Thank you Mathew this was unreal very interesting, You are a wonderful drone pilot.
Dude.. Thanks for doing this video, and going into such depth (pardon the pun) as to how the place functioned. Fascinating 👍
This place is less than a mile from my house. Great to finally be able to get a tour of it from the comfort of the sofa. Kudos for not showing the entrance, it's definitely a cool way to acess a bunker but not one you'd want to show the world as everyone would be trying their luck tio get down there!
We cant show entrance as its the owners lounge... and they wanted some privacy. It would have been fun to walk through and show the way in but I guess not many people want cameras in their lounge.. me included.
@@TheSecretVault Can't agree more on the privacy side, having taken the kids to the farm enough times it's an easy one to work out where it is if you know it's there.
Have you ever done any research on Southwell Park at the top of the island near the bill? Big ex MOD building with a lot of history and now currently the kids school.
I used to work there when it was used commercially and housed several different businesses.
Prior to conversion to the school I used to wonder the corridors convinced that I'd find something that led underground but alas never did.
Before it was removed to make way for the school there was a big Oak cladded board room that was beyond creepy, hairs would stand up just looking at it, probably the 1950's font hand painted sign that read "no firearms in the board room" set the mood a little lol.
@@TheSecretVault are you sure
This was brilliant. My brother worked for the MOD on Portland, so just the journey across was really enjoyable. Fascinating place. All the added extras were great too, cheers Matt for all your hard work
There’s more tunnels, entrances and exits than what you saw here.
Some of the tunnels are actually now used as wine cellars down in the port.
There are rumours that there was also a hidden Submarine base somewhere but I’m not sure about that.
Wow what an absolutley cracking upload. A super watch, I always look forward to your videos. Great music also, Thank you for listing the songs to listen to.
Thank you Matt for showing us things that most of us don't even know exist and giving most of the chance to see things that we would not normally be able to see.
Absolutely fantastic Mathew, Enjoyed every single bit of it :)
Think this is going to take some topping , excellent work Matt . 👍👍
Fabulously detailed explore as always. The Kelvin Hughes projector design was genius, but must have consumed serious amounts of film, interesting that it never got installed there. Huge thanks to the lovely owner Sue for letting you document this place, incredible quality footage it's like being there with you! 👌🏻
Lovely video shots of the area !!
This was so cool to see @Matt. Fancy having a house with your own bunker underneath, i dont blame her protecting it, but what a brilliant piece of history to own. X
Thank you for the awesome explore and thank you for taking us along. Love the history and that someone made the entrance into their home! 😎
What a top video Matthew , brilliant , very interesting and thorough ,
thank you , really enjoyed it 👍
Not far from my flat either lol didn't knows you were coming to fragil Rock matt great video been waiting all my life to see this finally 👌❤️
Nice. Great video!
Thanks Matthew!
👍👍👍👊😎
well done really interesting film there is a lot of history on portland
Excellent footage and lots of history well done.
just stumbled across you , amazing content and great knowledge , the diamond in the live stream was Sue the owner , she answered many questions i have been asking myself for years !!!
" we don't like that, we like this" *turns up camera to 2000% on top of any other content producer*
Mate, I'll just say that you know EXACTLY, to a damn tee.... How to produce the most perfect content and boy do you pull it off better than anyone else I've seen, dead detailed and you walk up to things as though I'm actually stood looking at it myself plus just to overdo it for us you stand and explain everything in adequate detail... Cant thank you enough for sharing these places some can't ever get to experience. This is all we have and you make it as best as humanly possible for us.
watching on 50" @2160p when you showboated it blew my brains.
Legend. I'm going to be supporting as soon as I possibly can do and I haven't said that in decades of being on UA-cam. .
Legend bro. Thank you!
Matt, this is a masterpiece vid. Such an in depth tour of an historic site. I was totally immersed with the content. Thanks so much for your endeavour....
This is absolutely amazing, very interesting , I love watching bunkers and stuff. I've been to portland a few times to the light house but never really new anything about the bunker until now, it's so interesting. To be honest all your vids are interesting. Keep it comming Mathew
I have a horrible feeling that the MOD are going to regret the decommissioning of all these facilities one day.
Matt absolutely brilliant i recently discovered your channel and I'm hooked mate, you go all the best places and do such a thorough job there's not much left to the imagination, I'm now in the process of watching your past efforts, i really loved the porton down ones, love your attitude please keep up these riveting videos.👍👍
Awesome you got to get in and see it!
The fittings you talked about at 54:58 are actually mercury switches. They were probably actuated from four temperature sensors that sent an air pressure signal to units like the one below. It looks like the air signal to the mercury switches entered from the bottom. When the mercury capsule tipped, the mercury would complete or break the circuit of the cables entering from the top and energize heaters or cooling for the air conditioning.
Thank you for some amazing content as always, you are probably one of the most interesting and knowledgeable persons on site. The whole video you had me hooked with your knowledge on each of the machinery items. The fact that you spend hours out of your day to bring some amazing footage of places that we will never have the privilege of seeing in our life time. Fantastic
Outdone yourself with this one. Just amazing, I'm surprised the owners haven't started cleaning the bunker up and moved in. I certainly would. Thanks for movie clip, I want to see the rest now!
You would need a lot of air supply to live down there... and massive air pumps would not be cheap to run.
@@TheSecretVault I'm sure the cost of electric would be monumental. Just the cost alone of updating all the electrics down there wouldn't be cheap either. There are some people here in the states that have retrofitted the titan 2 missle silos for living, but they seem to have a disposable income for that.
Great Video really interesting. well done.
Great video....
I live on the Rock, have done all my life, we used to go picking up blank ammo in the Forbidden city and collect newts in the Roman baths (still there just overgrown). Portland's a hidden gem. I hope that our adversaries have updated their intel because we used to be the destination for Prince Andrews nuclear bunker and a designated nuclear target.
Absolutely brilliant 👏.
Thanks so much. Footage and production is excellent. Well done on gaining access. I tried a couple of years ago in view of purchasing it but got nowhere 🙃
I'm not sure the owners want to sell it. The thing is though you have to realise you have a hell of a lot of work on your hands and it would cost hundreds of thousands to turn it back into usable
Great Matthew!
AWESOME, thank you and the owner, great to look around.
What an interesting lady she is. Seems to know lots about the history of the place, very informative. Great video Matt. 👍👍👍👍
Wow! Fantastic video Matt!! Amazing place and great Drone footage!👍🏼
Superb explore what a fantastic piece of history.With the kind permission of the owner, myself and other subscribers have been able to see something that otherwise would be impossible cheers Matt.👏👏👏
Great video. I really enjoyed the explanation of the electrics like the rheostat and those heat sink things for voltage. I guess that cooling system was like a swamp cooler. Some racing cars have water injection systems too like the BMW M3 cs. I also loved the plotter room illuminated map and radar scope. Pretty high tech 1950s gear. Top notch video with proper explanation. That valley and the bunker are really amazing. Thanks.
Amazing work thank you ….
Absolutely brilliant video and drone footage Matt. What a superb bunker, with an equally impressive entrance. Sue seemed very nice and helpful. I found the photo’s very interesting. You certainly had the weather for it, a beautiful day. I also liked the car journey at the beginning. Thank you Matt for yet another superb video 👍🙂
Hi Matt brilliant explor,you would wonder how they ever build such a impressive layout great explor thanks for sharing enjoyed watching 👍
Loved the fact you delved into the history of this bunker with the owner. Great work Matt! I do have a question, where does the waste water and sewage drain too? I don’t see a pumping station or septic tank at this or any of these type of bunkers. Weird question, just curious.
Amazing video Matt… Just watched Exploring with Fighters which lead me to your channel.
Fascinating thank you!
Well done Matt.
Well done Matthew, what an incredible place. The inhabitants are pleasant, must of been a welcome change from the ogres that fester in other areas :D
Yes the place up north has now banned cameras and videos.
GOOOOD work mathew ... iam watching it and marvel
the balcony/gantry was probably used to view the plotting table
Thank you great video and drone footage
Your finally back. We've been waiting!
The water was passed through the fins you could see in that big unit the big green pumps are compressors that compress the refrigerant some where there will be a chiller that cools the water that flows into the air unit.
Excellent, thank you for a fascinating video. Interesting to see a slightly more imaginative approach to building the entrance 'cottage'
So interesting matt, the amount of times I’ve walked near that bridge that goes across the moat, I’d love to get in, thanks for this info now I know what’s underneath x
Great video mat👍
Nice explore Matt, that is a we gem of a place.
Really interesting Matt enjoyed watching I reckon there is more bunkers around there liked the the film footage the dammed at the end intresting viewing cheers 👍👍👍👍
That’s cool , just down the road from my house, but how did you not see all the gun batteries and tunnels just a bit to the right of this bunker site, there’s loads more on Portland than just this👍🇬🇧
Fantastic as always Matt, just looked at the price of the Sony my god id have to remortgage the house haha, it was very kind of the lady to give you access matt, history time stood still no graffiti to spoil things either, i'm surprised you didn't sing " the adventures of portland bill " haha
Top vid . Loved the chilled music played though the vid . 👍. Plus on a naughty school boy level . At 1.32.33 it sounds like a fart 👍plus what's the tune called at the end at 2hr06min 👍
Great Video Mathew :) Really good content and very creepy mate.
Thanks a lot Bro.
All the best :)
Hey really cool , what a place , thanks for showing us it Mathew :-)
Oh that was excellent, especially with the drone footage and overlays. I love the old photos and added information from the owners ( that's stuff that disappears from history, the handed down intimate knowledge).
Have you tried approaching the owner of the one up at Bempton on the North Yorkshire coast just above Bridlington for a similar explore?
Edit, forget that last bit, it seems like it is completely inaccessible, emergency exits filled with concrete and the main staircase removed
Such a shame it’s in that condition. Would love to see it ‘ before ‘. But as always Matt you explain things well and make people use their imagination as to what these places would’ve looked. Thank you for sharing - excellent 👍
I laughed when I saw the Wallaby - they couldn't be any further from home (I do see wild ones not to far from where I live in Sydney). They do look fat and healthy though! Good video, I've toured the Uk twice but didn't get to Portland. I came close, but not on to Portland.
I used to go to that site occasionally in the 90's and thought it looked really suss with big high fences around and small military looking buildings, back then I think it was used for security dog training with lots of signs saying keep out and there was security around too. I also didn't put two and two together and link the supply pipes in the moat to the bunker 1:57:50. I was lucky enough to nosey around and inside all the navy buildings before they were demolished.
Can't believe they let let you in, everyone been asking them for years. I even offered them a fair bit of money in 2017 to go down but they said no. Been waiting to see what this bunker looked like for decades. The bunker location actually surprised me, thought it was on the farm and not slightly off of it.
Did you have a look at the Batteries that's opposite it at all?
Apparently people have been allowed in from time to time but the keys have been handed now from the previous owner who was a father to one of the bunkers current owners. If you can show your insurance then they are happy to take enquiries. I have made enquiries to see the battery but have not heard back yet.
@@TheSecretVault oh right, nice to know. I'm insured so may give them a shout in a few months but as you've already gone and done it, no need to record it haha
I had been trying for years myself so I know how you feel
Very surprised you wre allowed in, on any urbex site the owners always insist the entrance is welded shut due to asbestos contamination. Thats not the inly site worth an explore on portland!
Great vid, thanks Matt!
Top video! Grtz from Belgium 🇧🇪
Right on my doorstep. Fantastic video, thanks for sharing
Great video Matt and what change to see an owner letting you in to explore and Also she was was so knowledgeable about the place she owns and was able to share with you. Love the bit where you scared the donkey stiff and he didn’t waste it lol 😂. Keep up the good work can’t wait till your next one.
Ps are you planning on exploring the hidden city ?
Awesome video. FYI the hidden city is actually known as 'The Forbidden city', and is now patrolled and covered by cameras and motion detectors operated by the Port's Security - they even changed the laws to prosecute trespassers. Quite a lot of video footage of it on UA-cam though.
Great video really interesting
92 now but spent best part of 1955 to April 1957 RAF Radar Engineer on site at Portland. Live operations ceased in 1955 . Afew operators were left to help maintain the equipment which was run up and tested everyday. Occasionally used at request of coast guard to look for boats which were in distress.
Revisiting the comments here, I'm currently on a cruise ship with an elderly gentleman who used to be an RAF radar operator stationed here in this video of Portland.
He said he was based here in 1952, there used to be guard dogs who'd attack if you strayed near the bungalow. He said they watched our submarines on his radar down the English Channel, into the Bay Of Biscay watching the conning tower as they sailed. They'd direct our Gloster Meteor fighters to intercept enemy aircraft.
There used to be a vertical lift to take you down to the bunker where some workers couldn't cope with the clostrophobia.
On training days, they'd practice escaping through the hatches that exited inside the adjacent prison walls, prisoners would be put back in their cells for this drill, the bunker staff would leave bars of chocolate and woodbines for the inmates hidden around the prison paths.
I've spent many hours sea fishing in the harbour, and today was a real treat to sit and listen to this gentleman. He could recall the landmarks recorded here.
Amazing, very insightful 👍
Never knew the bunker was between the moat.
Just saw the Dover video... ended up on this one. You have a new subscriber!
Interesting and informative, brought back some memories from over 50 years ago.