Ashbury ROC Monitoring Post
(Opened 1960, Closed 1991)
Situated about 7 miles east of Swindon we really had to look for clues to find this one.
And this telegraph pole was one big clue. It was in the middle of nowhere, with all its wires broken. We parked the car and explored just beyond the pole.
And there at the base of the telegraph pole was another ROC Post. The phone lines from the this Post would have once been carried by the pole.
The boys investigate the hatch.
And once again it opens!
I go down first, with Max not far behind. The metal block to the right of the ladder is the counter-weight for the hatch.
This ROC post was in much better condition with no vandalism. It was quite damp though, probably as a result of the hatch being left slightly ajar.
This cupboard was standard issue for all the ROC Posts.
The ventilation shaft could be sealed in the event of radioactive fallout by sliding a metal section across. Hmmm, I'm not exactly sure how safe this would have made me feel...
The power to the ROC Post was supplied by batteries, and the selector for these still remained.
Ben plucked up the courage to join us down below.
Two happy lads.
Max inspects the Fixed Service Meter tube.
And we're on the surface again.
The top of the ventilation shaft.
We managed to shut the hatch properly to prevent any further rain entering, before heading home. We'd done nearly a 200 mile round trip to visit these three ROC Posts, but it was well worth it.
For further information about ROC Posts look here.
That evening I read that another Post was located about 20 minutes away from our house, so the next day we hit the road again: