Brinksway Air Raid Shelters
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Brinksway Air Raid Shelters where constructed between 1938-1939 during WWII. And cut into the soft sandstone rock which is visible all round Stockport.
With Manchester being only a stones throw from Stockport. The local authorities built the shelters to protect the civillians from German air attacks.
There were six shelters built in Stockport. Now only three remain, one of which is now a museum. Dodge Hill and Brinksway are the only other two remaining shelters which are in there original condition and have not changed since WWII. The other three were demolished.
Brinksway is the largest of all the air raid shelters in Stockport. Including the three that are now buried somewhere beneath the M60 motorway.
As with Dodgehill, Brinksway has changed little since WWI. With the exception of grafitti and the odd beer cans or hyperdermic needles scattered round the place, its pretty much how it was from all them years ago. And as with Dodge Hill, all the bunk beds still remain in situ.
The corridors are small and the place is dustier than the other shelters. In certain sections the air is very thin too, the place is also relativley cold.
Compared with the other shelters, Brinksway leads the way with the feeling of claustrophobia. The blackness consumes you. Torchlight is virtually swallowed into the darkness.
Despite its difficulty to light, the shelter is definatley worth visiting. Brinksway could shelter around the same number of people as the Chestergate shelters, some 4000 in total.
There seems to be more grafitti in Brinksway than there does is in Dodge Hill. Saying that though Brinksway does sit besides one of Stockports least desirable residential areas which probably accounts for that.
This is the second time I have been to Brinksway, the first time we abandoned the explore less than half way due to our torches being rather inadequote for the job.
This time armed with a Fenix the explore was completed with success and a great sense of satisfaction. All though at times we did struggle to light the place because of the utter and complete blackness.
Still it was an enjoyable trip and one well overdue. Just a shame the other shelters are long gone. Exploring the three remaining ones did kind of compensate for that though.
