Western Approaches Self Guided Tour

Western Approaches offers a truly unique glimpse of a hidden, secret world which had an important place and role to play in war torn Liverpool. Now, the bunker is a hidden gem and an important time capsule left as it would have been in 1945. Visiting the bunker not only explains the vital work achieved within it, it also brings to life stories of the people who served there and even lived there. 80% of the 300 staff who worked there at any one time were women aged between 17-22 and we recognise the hard work, sacrifice and expertise these women had and the roles they performed. Walk through hidden rooms and discover the stories locked in the wartime bunker that protected the tactics and secrets of the British Armed Forces plotting to bulwark the Western Approaches and aid the Allied victory. The bunker is a museum but we fully encourage visitors to sit at the desks, touch the typewriters and telephones used by the staff to discover a truly immersive experience.

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   Western Approaches HQ Museum - The Battle of the Atlantic Experience

   Western Approaches HQ is a secret WW2 bunker underneath Liverpool's City Centre, close to The Town Hall. Walk through hidden rooms and discover the stories locked in the wartime bunker that protected the tactics and secrets of the British Armed Forces plotting to bulwark the Western Approaches and aid the Allied victory. Glimpse the documents and tools the forces used to monitor enemy convoys and inform the British government of their findings whilst keeping their intelligence secret from the enemy, including one of only two surviving wartime phones which had a direct connection to the war cabinet in London. See where commanders and WRNS and WAAF personnel worked every day and night in the Map Room, the nerve centre of the Battle of the Atlantic. Here they monitored convoy routes and vital shipping lines, and pin-pointed enemy locations on a huge map laid across the table; total accuracy was necessary to enable the Royal Navy to contact and destroy the enemy. The Map Room which was the nerve centre of the bunker has remained exactly how as it was left when the doors were closed on 15 August 1945. Experience a self guided tour of the museum where you can walk through the corridors, sit at desks, play with typewriters and teleprinter machines, look at the telephone exchange and try on uniforms. There is also a room at the end of the tour where hot drinks are available at war time prices and there are traditional games to play and a film to watch about life in Liverpool during the war.

• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
• Please note there are steps down into the bunker

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.