Welcome to 23 Post Skelmorlie

Fifteen feet below the ground, a close-knit team of dedicated and highly trained volunteers waited for the message they hoped would never come. Throughout the Cold War, the underground monitoring post of the Royal Observer Corps at Skelmorlie played an important role as part of the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation.

Built as part of an extensive network of posts designed to confirm and report effects of a nuclear attack on the United Kingdom, this monitoring post is undergoing preservation as a tribute to the thousands of men and women who served in the Royal Observer Corps until it's stand-down in September 1991.

The post is accessed by climbing down a 15 ft vertical ladder from an entrance shaft on the surface and consists of two underground rooms, one of 15ft x 7ft 6ins, which was known as the Monitoring Room, and a smaller room housing a chemical toilet. Once inside visitors can experience what it must have felt like to have been a member of the ROC at an operational underground post during the height of the Cold War thanks to the post being furnished with original fittings and equipment on open days.

The Chief Observer and other former members of the Corps are on hand to provide demonstrations of the variety of equipment inside the post, the procedures that had to be followed and describe what would have happened if the post had received an "Attack Warning Red" alert indicating that nuclear war had begun. More information is available on arranging a visit to the post, or why not view our image gallery of pre and post-refurbishment pictures.

Skelmorlie Post Open Days European Heritage Ayrshire Doors Open Day Sunday 2nd September European Heritage Inverclyde Doors Open Day Sunday 8th September For further information or to book a place on one of our open days, please contact us.