Christow ROC post

A concrete bunker tucked into the Devon countryside outside Newton Abbot, the Christow ROC post is one of those Cold War relics that stops you dead. You're looking at a Royal Observer Corps post from the 1960s - essentially a buried command centre where volunteers would have monitored radiation levels if the worst had happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis era and beyond.

What you actually find is a squat, reinforced structure with narrow entrance hatches and thick concrete walls. Inside, if you can access it (opening hours are sketchy), there are monitoring equipment stations and the kind of cramped underground space that makes you grateful you lived after 1989. It's properly atmospheric - not in a fun way, but in that unsettling way nuclear bunkers are.

History enthusiasts will find this worth the detour. Cold War buffs definitely will. Families with young kids might struggle - there's not much to occupy them, and the site itself can feel a bit bleak on a grey day. Allow twenty minutes, maybe half an hour if you're really into the period detail.

The practical problem: access isn't straightforward. It's not a formal attraction with signposting and café facilities. You'll need to do homework before driving out. When you're staying at Oakmoor Touring Park nearby, it's close enough for a morning outing, though the adult-only vibe there suggests different holiday priorities. If you're based at Devon Heaven Hideaways near Exeter instead, it's still within reasonable range if you're keen on Cold War archaeology.