WEBSITE OF THE DAY – secret-bases.co.uk

A website that will have you digging out your Ordnance Survey maps, binoculars and walking boots double quick

13 November 2006 0:00 GMT / By Ian Hughes

Today’s website of the day is secret-bases.co.uk the end-result of countless hours of research by Alan Turnbull, a man for whom the words “out of bounds” don’t really mean too much.

Dotted all over the UK are hundreds of secret Government and military installations. Some of them are quite obvious – MI6’s Vauxhall HQ for instance – but other’s you’d never know were there. Near me, I’ve discovered, thanks to this site, the MoD’s stealth technology research centre, an underground ammunition store and the Government’s forensic explosives laboratory. (And we thought the muffled thumps were the newly-weds next door.)

All the locations are out there to be discovered thanks to tools such as Google Earth, Ordnance Survey and of course, the wonder of wonders, the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Mr Turnbull has just done most of the hard work for you.

With aerial photos of the most fascinating and secret places in the country and brief outlines of what it is you’re looking at, you’re likely to spend hours transfixed by the revelations.

You may recall the media furore about said revelations not that long ago and claims from some quarters that they were damaging to national security. Well, here the author sets the record straight and outlines his reasons for publishing what is essentially data that’s already in the public domain. It would seem that the official reaction has changed somewhat too.

Trust me, you’ll never drive between junctions 17 and 18 of the M4 again without noticing something a bit odd.

www.secret-bases.co.uk

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