York Cold War Bunker

A very interesting English Heritage site: completely unique with a harrowing story attached to it. Our guide was knowledgeable and kept the narrative interesting. It's a great activity to do in York, and practically a must if you are already and English Heritage member.

Absolutely fantastic tour, our guide (05/05/25) was brilliant and was engaging and enthusiastic throughout our tour. Great information on both the cold war in the UK as well as York and the bunker specifically. There is a small 'gift shop' available at the end with a selection of books. We found we could not park directly on the estate but nearby street parking was possible. Although you cannot enter until your tour time, it makes sense to arrive a little earlier to ensure you are able to park if coming by car. Tour takes just shy of an hour.

Absolutely loved our time here, I’m so glad we took the time to visit. It’s very different to your usual English Heritage experience! We watched a short video about the Cold War before the guide Sean took our group around the bunker and gave a very informative talk about what life would have been like inside the bunker as well as what the rooms were used for and how various systems work. It is frozen in time down there, if you’re a Fallout fan you’ll love it! The tour is given to a small group and lasts about 50 minutes in total. Arrive at least ten minutes before the hour so they can check you in. It’s nice and cool in there so also a surprisingly good hot summer day activity! It’s definitely great for older kids but just be aware that the intro video is about nuclear war and is pretty grim, with some makeup effects to show the effects of radiation. If you have younger or sensitive kids you can opt out of the video; the rest of the tour is kid-friendly. Very cool, very different and totally worth your time. Thank you to the awesome guide Sean for his enthusiastic and excellent talks!

Hidden away on a housing estate (the tour guides do explain why), the bunker is a real gem. The guides were very knowledgeable and brought the history of the bunker alive. It's hard to imagine just how tough it could be for those working in the bunker, should we be subject to a nuclear attack. Incredibly interesting hour. Roadside parking nearby. Free entry to the bunker for English Heritage members.

Only open on specific weekends we'll worth booking a visit. The tour takes just under an hour and shows how basic the technology for identifying a necula attack was. The guide was very knowledgeable and interesting. If you get the opertunity book a visit.

We had a great visit around the Bunker, all thanks to a great Guide who explained everything so well.

This was a great find within York, although if you are walking it's about 40 minutes from the City Centre - but relatively flat. Very enthusiastic guide. Because of the stairs involved it might be tricky to impossible for people with mobility issues, but I am sure if you contact the staff ahead of time if there is anything they could do, they would do it. Lots of interesting knowledge from the guide, we both really enjoyed it.

I love underground spaces and visiting another Cold War bunker was brilliant. If you get a chance to visit, please do, you won't be disappointed. Great staff who are knowledgeable.

The York Cold War Bunker is a little out of the centre of York (a 30 minute walk) but it is still worth seeing. It is located in the middle of a housing estate, which given that when it was operational was staffed by local volunteers makes sense. Being an English Heritage site, the tours are given by enthusiastic volunteers. The bunker was cheaply built in the early 1960s when the threat of nuclear holocaust was a realistic threat. It was built to act as an outpost to monitor where bombs dropped and report the information to HQ, therefore it is fairly basic. It is pretty much a time capsule from 1991 when it was decommissioned and is a fascinating look at the Cold War. I really enjoyed the tour and would recommend it to anyone in the York area.