The beauty of Worsley Woods is something well known round these parts.
Part of a well-trekked three-mile circular walk – often highlighted as being one of the best across Greater Manchester – that also provides you with the chance to stroll along the Bridgewater Canal and take in the picturesque Worsley village and its cultural heritage, you can easily find yourself exploring the rich woodland area of this Salford suburb for hours.
But tucked away in a far corner of the RHS Bridgewater plot is something that’s really worth seeing.
If you know just where to look, then you’ll come across a bunker from the Cold War that may one day blossom into a protected ancient monument.
Sure, it’s not exactly a pretty site – now well camouflaged by graffiti and foliage – but it’s long been a destination for so-called ‘urban explorers’, and in 2009, was also a magnet for thousands of party-goers who attended illegal, underground raves.
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It’s history goes back much, much further than that though.
Mark Waugh / RHS Bridgewater
Dug into hillside in 1951, the bunker was constructed when the potential of a nuclear strike by a Joseph Stalin-led Soviet Russia was deemed to be at its height.
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According to a report by Salford University’s Applied Archaeology Department, it was built by the War Office as an anti-aircraft operations room on land at Worsley New Hall, and was part of a national network of defences, which included an alternative seat of government to the House of Commons underground at Box Hill, near in Corsham in Wiltshire.
In the event of a potential Soviet attack, it was thought the British population could be protected by anti-aircraft guns, and so the country was divided into 33 gun-defended areas arranged in five groups.
The bunker at Worsley was part of this web, with the next nearest at Frodsham.
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The two-storey square structure at Worsley was a main operations room, surrounded by eight reinforced concrete rooms and a viewing gallery and it would have had its own electricity supply and ample space for stores of food, but as nuclear technology advanced during the Cold War, defence policies changed.
It soon became clear a nuclear attack would come not from bombs being dropped by planes, but rather by inter-continental ballistic missiles.
Austerity in the 1950s also led to defence budget cuts.
By 1956, the Worsley bunker was being used as a Royal Navy store, by 1961, it had been transferred to the local authorities as a control centre in the event crisis, and then by 1968, it was closed for good.
Geograph / Anthony Parkes
The story of the bunker doesn’t end there though, as in more recent decades, it has continued to have a varied history.
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Through the 1970s to the early 1980s, it was used by Greater Manchester Fire Service. Then in 1985, it was leased to to the Worsley Rife and Pistol Club who turned it into a shooting range, before Peel Investments acquired it in 2000.
In April 2009, one of several raves were held in the bunker attracting thousands of people.
Due to extensive vandalism occurring at the event, and in the years prior and post, both entrances were eventually blocked up, and it has remained empty ever since.
But when RHS Bridgewater eventually opens in May, the bunker will form part of its estate.
RHS Bridgewater will be the country’s fifth national garden.
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The Worsley Woods plot where the bunker stands was sold by Peel to the RHS, and Salford City Council then put £19 million towards the creation of the garden.
The £44m attraction – which covers 156-acres of land – was due to welcome visitors in July 2020, but just like most things, this was delayed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, although planting and preparation has been in full swing ever since, and it is set to transform the grounds of the former Worsley New Hall when it opens to the public this year.
What’s in store for the bunker in the future then? Well, it doesn’t sound like it’s going away any time soon.
A spokesperson for the RHS said: “The bunker definitely won’t be demolished, as it’s a really interesting part of the site’s heritage.
“There are no firm plans for how it’ll be used just yet, this will be looked at as part of the next phase of garden development from 2022 onwards.”
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You can get the latest updates on RHS Bridgewaterhere.
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The cheapest Christmas Markets in the world for mulled wine have been revealed
Daisy Jackson
The most affordable Christmas Markets for drinking mulled wine have been revealed – and Manchester is nowhere in sight.
With Christmas markets across Europe preparing to welcome millions of visitors, festive fans looking to enjoy a warming cup of glühwein without breaking the bank might want to take note of the latest findings.
Festive experts at Christmas Tree World have analysed mulled wine prices at Christmas markets around the world to discover where visitors can enjoy the seasonal favourite for less.
Topping the rankings is Brussels’ Winter Wonders, where mulled wine is available for as little as £2.14 – about a third of the price of a mulled wine at the Manchester Christmas Markets.
Cologne Cathedral Christmas Markets and Strasbourg’s Christkindelsmärik share second place, with starting prices of just £2.56.
Other European favourites also feature prominently in the rankings. Budapest’s Christmas Market at the Basilica takes fourth place, with mulled wine costing £3.19, while Prague’s Old Town Square Christmas Market comes in sixth at £3.55.
Germany makes another strong appearance, with Dresden’s Striezelmarkt and Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt (which handily just launched new direct flights from Manchester) both offering mulled wine for £3.85.
Meanwhile, Vienna’s Christmas World rounds off the European entries in ninth place, with prices starting at £4.28.
For those planning a festive adventure further afield, Tokyo’s Christmas Market also makes the top five, with mulled wine costing £3.22.
However, not every destination offers such a bargain. Across the Atlantic, New York City’s Winter Village takes the title of the most expensive market in the study, with mulled wine costing a rather less festive £11.74. Chicago’s Christkindlmarket isn’t far behind, charging £8.80.
Manchester Christmas Markets start on Friday 6 November – we’ll see how our prices stack up then.
Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Emily Sergeant -
29th January 2021 
