Bunkers hidden in Welsh hillside

Press, 13 November 1981, Page 13

Bunkers hidden in Welsh hillside

By

TONY HEATH

“Observer,” London

A disused slate mine deep underground in North Wales is being prepared for a key role in the event of a nuclear war according to the Labour M.P., Mr Frank Allaum. The Manod Mountain three miles from the village of Ffestiniog is honeycombed with tunnels carved out when quarrying thrived in the area. The system contains caverns of cathedral-like proportions, some more than 70ft high. According to Mr Allaun the caverns contain two new concrete bunkers. New highvoltage cables are fixed to

the side of a tunnel which leads to two large caverns lit by arc lights. The M.P. also said that aship recently unloaded computer parts at Porthmadog nearby on the Cardigan Baycoast. These were destined for the mine, he claimed. Manod lies at the end of a metalled road that twists and climbs for three miles up Cwm Teigl, a remote valley well off the tourist beat. Unlike ordinary slate mines the entrance is big enough to take a three-ton truck. A huge metal door

protects it and a long pipe protrudes from the mountain. A green Land-Rover with Department of the Environment markings was parked at the entrance when a photographer arrived to take pictures last week. She was obstructed by a man from a squat concrete building nearby who shouted: “No pictures. You will be reported to the police for taking pictures without my permission.”

He retreated into the building before we could ask who employed him. No notices indicate that the property is private and although villagers are reluctant to discuss the mine, they confirm that security vans call there. Recently an unmarked van drove up and workmen at a quarry were told to look the other way. Sir George Young, a junior

Minister in the Environment Department, told Mr Allaun: “The department is not engaged in the work as described bv you.” While ’ the Home Office concedes that the Government is looking for a subregional war headquarters it maintains that a location has yet to be chosen. The Manod would be a front-runner as a secure hide away. The extraction of slate has left a massive layer of hard rock overhead. It is as tough as reinforced concrete and as much as 100 ft thick. During the last war

treasures including the Crown Jewels, the bronze screen and stalls from the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey and paintings from the National Gallery were stored in the mountain. Mr Allaun said: “I suspect that it is not only for art treasures. I suspect important people are going to be sheltered there.” There is an airfield within 25 miles and the Central Electricity Generating Board is applying for permission to strengthen Porthmadog quay in anticipation of the arrival of heavy equipment.