Hertfordshire Branch Meetings

Branch Programme of Events - 2007 / 2008

We are continually trying to put together a programme which will appeal to the widest audience, so any suggestions as to subject matter or speakers we may contact, will be gratefully received.

Meetings generally begin at 8 pm and refreshments are available from 7.30 pm. Do come along early and do some networking, or just have a chat with other Society members.

Tuesday 20 May 2008

Kelvedon Hatch nuclear bunker

AGM and Visit

Having been until recently, a secret site, it does not have an address as such; the address shown on the Kelvedon Hatch Nuclear Bunker Website is the address of the owners. Neither is the access road shown on any of the mapping websites.

The postcode given for the bunker is CM15 0LA and this in conjunction with your favourite mapping website, will get you in the right general area.

However, there is one mapping website that shows the location of the bunker and taken in conjunction with Google Earth shows the access road, see below. The arrow marks the bunker. Travelling north along the A128, the turning to the bunker is to the left, about a quarter of a mile after leaving Kelvedon Hatch.

General arrangements

The site will be opened for us at 7.00 pm and refreshments will be available for purchase at the canteen. The AGM will begin at 7.45 pm and will last for about 30 minutes. After the meeting the bunker will be available for you to explore. We are asked to leave by 10.00 pm. when the site will be closed.

The entry fee for members will be paid by the Branch. Guests will be responsible for paying their own entry fees (£6.00).

Getting there

The site is signposted for a radius of around 10 miles with brown "heritage" type signs — "Secret Nuclear Bunker". Once on the A128, the site entrance is not signposted until the actual entrance is reached — on the left northbound or on the right southbound. The entrance is a relatively inconspicuous turning off the A128 into a field, with a brown sign on the opposite side of the road. The turning opens into a small gravelled area with a single track private road running off to the left. This private road winds back and forth for half a mile before opening into a gravelled car park. The bunker entrance bungalow is on the right of the car park, and a footpath leads off the right hand back corner of the car park, to the canteen.

On arrival, visitors should follow the footpath (about 1 minute's walk) from the car park to some iron mesh gates on the left hand side at the end of the footpath, through which access is gained to the canteen via a short open walk and a tunnel. The canteen will have hot soup, rolls and probably coffee available, but will not be staffed. Payment for items consumed is to be made into an "honesty box".

The AGM

The meeting room that we shall be using for the AGM, is adjacent to the canteen.

The AGM is open to all (only members may vote). We do urge you to attend so that you may participate in the election of your committee, whose main business is to organise branch meetings and represent members through the Branches Congress.

Volunteers for the committee are always welcome; if you would like to join, please get in touch with Siva Niranjan, Branch Secretary.

Nominations to the positions of Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer should be with the Secretary 14 days ahead of the AGM; nominations for other positions and for those without portfolio may be made at any time before the close of the elections phase of the AGM. Some of our most effective volunteers have put their hands up at the very last minute.

The tour

After the AGM, we must leave via the canteen entrance and walk back down the footpath to the bungalow to get into the bunker for the tour. Disabled people in wheelchairs can be admitted to the tour via the canteen on request. The top floor of the bunker is fully accessible. The middle floor can be accessed by disabled people who are able to use a stair lift, but the bottom floor is reached via steps only and is not recommended for disabled access. The tour is supported by "information wands" and we will be supervised by the owners while on site. They believe between one and two hours are optimum for the tour, depending on how much of the interactive material is accessed.

Branch Provisional Meetings/Dates

Keep watching this space for changes to the list of Provisional Dates!

This section is included for planning purposes only, and to make you aware of the Committee's progress, so that you may keep your diaries free. Please note that when a Meeting is firmed up, including most details, it will be transferred into the Branch Programme of Events above.

We do not, as a rule, hold Meetings on Mondays or Fridays, so where an entry is denoted w/b, it indicates that the Meeting will be held on the Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of that week.

Outside Branch and External Meetings

In this section, we announce meetings and events which are not in the Hertfordshire Branch Programme, but which may prove of interest to members.

Note that the information is entered as received, and the Branch takes no responsibility for any errors which may occur in the announcement or in any of the details.