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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Met Office launches nationwide search for new storm names and wants YOU to pick
Emily Sergeant
Is your grandma a force of nature? Does your best friend cause an impact wherever they go? Now you can give them the recognition they deserve…
By naming a storm after them, of course.
We know all the talk is about heatwaves at the moment, especially after weather forecasters have recently predicted that the UK is in for a ‘hotter than average’ summer this year, but let’s turn our eye to the upcoming storm season for a second, shall we?
That’s right – the Met Office is inviting the public to submit their suggestions for storm names for the upcoming 2025/26 season.
Now in its eleventh year, the Met Office works with Met Éireann in Ireland and KNMI in the Netherlands to compile the list every time the season rolls around, and this headline-grabbing naming initiative helps the media and the public communicate about the impacts of severe weather events more easily and effectively.
As part of the naming process, each of the three meteorological organisations will get to name storms using selected letters, with the aim being to reflect the diversity of the three countries, and in-keeping with usual storm naming conventions, names will be picked for every letter of the alphabet except for Q, U, X, Y and Z.
According to the Met Office, a number of factors are considered for a name to be on the list – including how difficult it might be to pronounce, if the name has different meanings in different countries, and if it could be considered controversial in some way.
Once the list of names is decided upon, it will be formally announced by the Met Office in September when storm season begins.
The Met Office has launched a nationwide search for new storm names and wants you to pick / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
“The storm naming system has helped us communicate weather to help people stay safe,” commented Will Lang, who is the Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, “and wow we need the UK public to help us compile a new list.
“Whether you want to honour a weather-lover in your family, remember a family pet, or get a friend’s name in the headlines, we welcome submissions from the public to help us pull together next year’s list of storm names.”
People can only submit their names online via the submissions page here, where there’s also the option of adding a reason for the suggestion, and must not be submitted via social media as they will not be counted.
You have until 3 July 2025 to make your submissions, and the new list will be revealed in early September.
Featured Image – Johannes Plenio (via Unsplash)
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First Look: Fitzpatrick’s – Stockport’s new Irish Bar gets off to a stunning start
Danny Jones
Stockport has a brand new Irish bar as the growing Greater Manchester trend continues, with Fitzpatrick’s officially debuting to the public on Thursday, 19 June.
Taking over the former Bask site just outside the train station, Fitzpatrick’s is the borough’s answer to American sports bar meets an Irish pub and grill, with live music, a wide array of food and more.
We had the privilege of walking in on opening day, and the place was absolutely packed to the rafters from the off, and we didn’t even stay until the end. More fool us…
We had a grand auld time seeing @fitzstockport open their doors yesterday evening. ☘️
As you can see, it hasn’t taken them any time at all to get an atmosphere going; good weather on their inaugural day, but the free-flowing beer, classic pub food flying out of the kitchen, and musicians reeling off classic Irish folk music did most of the heavy lifting.
Plus, that beer garden and covered outdoor terrace area are pretty perfect in any weather, to be fair.
The scran on their maiden evening mainly consisted of pizza, chips and other easy-to-serve-up plates as they gradually ease into the first week or so of service, but with a full menu of burgers, pies, breakfasts and even Sunday roasts to come, we’re very excited to try the full gamut.
Regardless, the staff were pulling pints like pros, John himself had plenty of involvement greeting people and getting behind the bar, and the atmosphere was buzzing from minute one.
ln fact, that was arguably the best part about it all: there was that genuine feeling of a new community cornerstone being born, with the well-known Stopfordian reeling off names and recognising what seemed like almost every face that walked through the door.
You don’t get that everywhere.
A lay of the land at Fitzpatrick’s Stockport. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Although this was their first proper day of trading, they had already gauged the kind of crowds they could expect by soft launching with friends and family last week.
That being said, as mentioned, there was a real tight-knit, community feel to the place, full of County kits, young families and older couples alike, all of whom seemed to be dovetailing together as if the pub had always been around.
SK is often dubbed one of those places where everyone kind of knows everyone, even despite how big the town is as a whole, and this definitely felt like proof of that perception.
Of course, there is some familiarity with the space having previously been Bask, but the location of the stage, a newly decked out bar and the large jumbo-tron style TV set-up for live sport in the centre of the room (providing prime viewing from virtually all angles) have made a big difference.
Based solely on the hordes of people that piled into the place the second the doors opened, we can’t wait to see what the gaff is like once it’s in so-called ‘full swing’. John and his team might just be on to something big here.
Speaking to The Manc, he said: “As a local lad, I wanted to put something into the space that reflects a lot of my history and culture. Music, food, sport and a great atmosphere are all things I love, so I wanted to reflect that in this gorgeous space.”
Open 4-11 from Tuesday to Thursday, 2pm until late on Fridays, and the same only from 1pm at weekends, we can imagine Stockport punters are about to be spending a lot of time in Fitzpatrick’s.
Emily Sergeant -
29th January 2021 
