Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Bidston Hill Underground Tunnels Part 1

by this you mean me and wheels ? i'll be available when wrist is better... lol

No I mean like a couple of trolley jacks might do, just to have a look, but summit like a really strong fork lift truck yano.

I think we tried to lift this last year, and we found it impossible, the day we had a skirmish across the hill haha!

Its not one of our sites
Its deeper in the woods from the big dig site

That's what i get when i read it.
And also there could be more coming about more shafts?

Its all good stuff.

thanks all for keeping me up to date, stuck on night shift for the next couple of nights so i will pop back now and then to have a proper look through when i get time, and the moped was already there lol, to all of you in that part of the world i wil catch up over the next few days, one question, is this a history site for all wirral???

oh ps, when in our tribe of misfits (some may remember, i am the lad who welded three bmx bikes together and my couz and friends rode it everywhere (16 years ago) and about this time the lads (not me, too spooky) got into a massive tomb underground tomb in the cemetry nearby, i think it was off mercer road (i forget names of the streets now) and they discovered quite a few things, i remember rocky's brother found that if u break into tombs you get a free trip to arrowe park hospital and told u have scarlet fever, not good not good, apparently never had it in the wirral for over 20 years (at time of happening) but not my idea of fun, please i was not there that day lol, soz to ur little bro rocky if he sees this and gets dropped in the pooh, cant remember what we told his folks but i remember researching it and turns out that the plague victims where buried there. just letting you know incase any of u end up with scarlet fever and people wonder where u have been digging. take care from the land of frogs legs and speak soon.

Welcome to the site, & yes, it's for all of Wirral.
I'm an ex-pat too, though not as far away.

Cheers, Chris.

plasidmaster
I'm a Ex-pat from the age of 2year until my return at the age of 21 so i wouldnt have seen you and your bmx lol..

We have 2 Tombs we know of at Flaybrick and another area
that has been developed with new houses which could be
the same place.

Could it be this one Click me

And the other one.. which i dont this we have a picture of but
its not too far away from this the picture with 3 faces.

It has steel covering the opening now. Click Me

Yep the site is just for wirral people, so no matter where
we live we can always catch up.

Thanks for sharing your stories.

the site mark is referring to on the hill is about another 10 mtrs down the path from the cock pit and about 10 metres into the undergrowth and is very overgrown.
i was up there yesterday and on reflection it would take some serious lifting or digging to carry out any further investigation

as mentioned in an earlier post i have been speaking to a guy who is actually writing a book about the north end /bidston and he tells me that when the tunnels were constructed the original plan was to have two/three shafts on the hill but as the tunnels were never actually completed these shafts were also never completed.although the buildings to cover the entrances were and these were used by the home guard at some point as shelter whilst fire spotting.I am trying to get some maps and info from him but he is abit reluctant to let me have to much until the book is published(hopefully this year).during the course of his research he has discovered that the tunnels are still classified(why)so this would explain the lack of public information about them. :>

interesting

jonno39

There are a lot of connections your making there that make sense.
Home guard and vent shaft buildings, and how there were plans
for more shafts but never completed.

Very useful info

I would love to see a picture of the entrances on Hoylake Road
when they were open in there hey day.

As were sure there are other entrances but where is the question.
Apparently there were 3 along the front spaced out.
We got in to one and explored the tunnels.

The other 2 are a mystery to be fair, no real evidence except word and mouth.

Thanks for the info jonno

I have read there were actually AA guns situated on the hill, though where I don't know. Though I do know that AA were situated behind what was Vyner Primary School, from Google maps you can actually notice the difference in the earth works behind the school where the guns were located, and just by Bidston station I'm sure there were 'Starfish' decoys where burning oil would be lit to detract German bombers from bombing Bidston/Birkenhead docks. As a kid remains of those structures where still there in the marsh area by Bidston Station, now fully overgrown but no doubt the structures are still there. I'm surprised I have not come across any photos of the Bidston Shelter, be it the main entrance or ventilation/escape points, as Tranmere tunnels photographs are available.

cheers paul, and did you not sing call me al, sorry bet if you had a penny for everytime...........

As an ex military man myself I can only assume that as the dock are still of strategic importance, in this day and age since bin laden airways started to fly in 2001 I imagine a decision to keep the shelters for future use is still in place, after all we are still up G.W Bush's arse to make sure we can all get fooked on herion and steal Iraq's oil. this is technical known as the war on terror of course and that area having the docks and elly port refineries being just down the road is probably reason for nothing being said about declassification at this time. I could however be totally wrong and maybe Gordon Brown has not seen this site so he is un aware that the tunnels exist!!

some of you are also mentioning about a book being put together, when this happens i would be very interested in a copy, please keep me informed on that.

As for ack ack guns I was told that these were on the right hand side of the road (between hoylake road and the ford estate) i think it was viner road, my couz went to the first school there and my aunt vaugly remembers them being there, the obbo was also defended quite well apparently as it provided infomation with regards to the tides for the shipping and even the tidal info for the d-day landings and dunkirk evacuations was provided by the obbo on biddy hill. after talking to her with regards to further entrances, she tells me that one was considered on the side of the hill from the west, the easiest way she described this was the bloody big drop down the side of the obbo(looking towards moreton way, but as the tunnels never stretched as far this it was never built, it was going to be built into the hill side, maybe this is where i got the previous notion of an entrance in the old yard at the obbo.

In regards the Observatory.. That has 2 Basements.. Dunno weather they where planning an entrance cause from word of mouth i did mention a while back of being a Door in the light house but now the guys have been in the tunnels i dont see how this was with the evidence but saying that there is a long stretch of tunnel with a huge steel door.. Could the tunnels the guys have surveyed and posted on here be the tip of the iceburg and the real secret why the tunnels are closed is behind that steel door.

or there could be seperate, probably unrelated, tunnels under the observatory and lighthouse complex??