Stockport Air Raid Shelters
Underground tunnels partly reopened as exhibit space
Where?
Get there
- Public Transport
Bus/Train, 2 mins walk - Private Transport
Town carparks
- Closed Monday, 1–5, £6
- (times/price are a guide only)
Public transport: Buses to Stockport centre, many. Train station ‘Stockport’ 7 mins. Private transport: well‐regarded Mersey Shopping Centre and NCP carparks across roads, and can drop on road outside. Weekend open Sat 10am, Sun 11am. Duration: 1hr. Price is for adult entry, self‐guided tour.
Review
The Stockport Air Raid Shelters were built for WWII, dug into the sandstone of the Mersey cliffs. There are shelter tunnels in other places, but these were the longest. Has a nice, if small, shop and reception built on the outside. Self‐guided and guided tours available—the guided tours go a little deeper into the tunnels. Self‐guided and tour visitors, everyone, are allowed into the tunnels in batches. You get a handheld audio‐commentary device to point, if you want, at posters. Starts with a few minutes of setup presentation, with amusing constructivist effects like a blackout… which make other multi‐media shows look over‐slick. A few hundred metres of tunnels to wander, with alternate routes—the path is not one line. Nice job of reconstructing posters and propping tools—showing features, explaining circumstances but leaving much also to the imagination. And the benches, sandstone tunnels, canteen and medical bays are mysterious. Everyone in the city knows about the shelters.