Thursday 10 June 2010

Defensive structures

10th june10, Craster to Dunstanburgh, 8am

A fairly dull day but there's always something to photograph.



Dunstanburgh Castle has appeared often enough on this blog but this is the closest view


The gateway is famously spectacular - more so than it needed to be which gives rise to speculation that this was a bit of a vanity project for its builder.


A bit weather beaten but not bad for a 1314 construction. (although the sandstone is 300 milion years old so it's not going anywhere fast)





Meanwhile, S of the castle these buildings housed a WWII radar station. Radar was one of Britain's greatest wartime secrets as it gave a tremendous advantage. At the nearby quarry in Craster there were buckets on an elevated wire which transported stone to the harbour. As these interfered with the radar function, they had to be dismantled and a flimsy excuse was given to the villagers due to the secrecy of the truth.





The buildings were apparently converted to be used as part of a prisoner-of-war camp later in the war and I fancy that this trough with drain was a latrine of multiple occupancy. If it had a window the view would have made it quite a pleasant place for a toilet!

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