Fan Bay Deep Shelter at The White Cliffs of Dover

The interior of Fan Bay Deep Shelter in The White Cliffs of Dover in Kent, showing its arched corrugated steel construction — Looking into the officers' accommodation tunnel at Fan Bay Deep Shelter at White Cliffs of Dover, Kent , showing its arched corrugated steel construction | © National Trust Images/Chris Tapley

Completed in just 100 days, Fan Bay Deep Shelter provided shell- and bomb-resistant accommodation for the soldiers serving on the nearby gun battery in the Second World War. After a mammoth volunteer rediscovery and reconstruction effort, visiting the shelter is now a highlight of many trips to The White Cliffs of Dover.

Your visit to the deep shelter

Today, you can experience the shelter just as the soldiers did over 80 years ago. Your visit to Fan Bay Deep Shelter will be a unique and inspiring experience. You’ll be inside the tunnels for around 45 minutes, and you will be wearing a protective helmet with a head torch, which will provide lighting for your journey.

Steps into the past

After your safety briefing, you descend the 125 steps into the shelter. Your knowledgeable and friendly guide will show you wartime depictions of the scenes within the tunnels and artefacts and graffiti left by the soldiers and those who followed. You can look at the vain attempt at dismantling the shelter by the scrapman and admire the fossils in the chalk. Halfway through your tour you will emerge into daylight to see the two sound mirrors – relics of an earlier conflict. You'll complete your tour by going back underground, through the longest tunnel in the complex, before you climb the stairs and head back into daylight once more.

Views of the deep shelter

Some of the features you'll be able to see when you take a guided tour of Fan Bay Deep Shelter.

Image of a guided tour descending the stairs into Fan Bay Deep Shelter, The White Cliffs of Dover, Kent — A guided tour descending the stairs into Fan Bay Deep Shelter, The White Cliffs of Dover, Kent | © National Trust/Chris Tapley

A guided tour descending into Fan Bay Deep Shelter

The staircase of 125 steps in three flights is the original concrete and steel structure that the soldiers would have used to enter the shelter. You can almost sense the relief that they would have felt as they rushed to take cover from shells from the German guns on the French coast, just 20 miles (32km) away, or the enemy aircraft with bombs and machine guns, directly overhead.

1 of 5

Helpful advice

Tickets are sold on a first-come-first-served basis. Due to a lack of mobile phone signal, we cannot accept card payments at the deep shelter. If you wish to pay by card, or if you would like to check tour availability before walking out, please ask at the Visitor Centre shop, near the car park, or at the South Foreland Lighthouse shop. National Trust members with valid membership cards can visit for free. Please check our opening days and times on the White Cliffs home page before travelling.
Tours normally start every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour between 11am and 3pm and last for approximately 1 hour. Our guides will ensure your safety, show you around, and tell you the story of the entire tunnel complex, together with the sound mirrors. We've tried to conserve the tunnels as they were, so even in the summer, they are cool and damp and the floor can be slippery in places - please take care. We'll provide you with a hard hat and head torch, and you’ll need sensible shoes with closed toes. No flip-flops, sandals, or high heels, please.
The tunnels are accessed using the original staircase of 125 concrete steps, descending or ascending 23 metres (75 feet). The staircase has floor-level lighting and a handrail, and you’ll be encouraged to take the stairs steadily. If you are unsure about the staircase, please ask to see it before you decide to take a tour.

There will be a noticeable temperature change on the staircase as you enter and leave the shelter. The tunnels are unlit, but your head torch will give an adequate level of lighting. Most of the tunnels provide enough height and width to enable upright walking throughout the tour, although some crouching down is needed in a couple of short sections, particularly if you are tall. Please ensure you take any medication you may need into the shelter. If you feel uncomfortable or unwell at any stage during your tour, just let your guide know.
Assistance dogs only are welcome at the deep shelter. Please be aware that some dogs can become unsettled in the tunnels due to the enclosed, dark surroundings and unfamiliar smells.

Our tours are child-friendly. We must cater for everyone on the tour and very young children may find the stairs challenging and some of the presentation content difficult to absorb. We advise a minimum age of 8 years. We have a number of child-sized hard hats and head torches for their protection. It is not possible to carry babies or very small children into the shelter, owing to the risk of injury, should a fall occur on the staircase.

Image of a National Trust guide explaining a picture of the tunnels during wartime to visitors at Fan Bay Deep Shelter — A National Trust guide explaining a picture of the tunnels during wartime to visitors at Fan Bay Deep Shelter | © National Trust/Chris Tapley

The history of the Fan Bay battery

From Churchill's speech, to the construction of the gun battery and the deep shelter. From their use during the Second World War and subsequent abandonment. From the demolition and covering over in the 1970s to the rediscovery and opening and the subsequent unearthing of the plotting room and the gun emplacements. Find out lots more about the history of this almost forgotten relic of wartime and how we rescued this priceless artefact on our special page 'A brief history of Fan Bay Battery'.

The Fan Bay sound mirrors

With Louis Bleriot’s epic flight across the channel in 1909, the Dover Strait no longer offered our island nation security from attack. During the First World War, Britain came under aerial bombardment for the first time and new ways of protecting ourselves were needed.

The first sound mirror experiments were conducted in 1915 using ‘dishes’ cut directly into chalk at a quarry site near Maidstone, Kent. These early attempts soon gave way to larger, more complex concrete structures, faced with smooth cement. Sound mirrors became relatively common around the south and east coasts of England coast from Hampshire in the south, to County Durham in the northeast. The first Fan Bay mirror was built in 1916/17, the other around 1920.

How sound mirrors work

Sound mirrors used a curved surface to concentrate the sounds generated by the aircraft’s engine, reflecting these into a funnel-shaped collector to which was connected a stethoscope. This increased the range at which the aircraft could be heard. A specially trained operator would listen intently for the distant noise and warn of a potential air raid, giving an estimate of height and bearing. Many lives were reportedly saved in the Dover and Folkestone area in 1917 by the earlier sound mirror.

Over a decade after the first mirror was constructed, the collector would be replaced by a sensitive microphone and the stethoscope by an electronic amplifier and headphones. The mirrors were superseded by radar in the late 1930s.

Visiting the sound mirrors

Your guided tour of Fan Bay Deep Shelter includes a visit to the two sound mirrors at Fan Bay. You can even try out the sound mirror effect for yourself on our specially designed platform.

Image of the southern sound mirror at Fan Bay Deep Shelter — The southern sound mirror at Fan Bay Deep Shelter | © National Trust/Richard Meadows

Captain Strange and Fan Bay

Visiting Fan Bay has become an even more exciting experience as a wartime leader of the battery has been brought to life by one of our dedicated volunteers.

Arthur Lionel Strange was born in Wolverhampton in 1920. He joined the army at 18 years old and was commissioned as a second Lieutenant in 1941. Strange took command of Fan Bay Battery in August 1944 and was promoted to Captain, Temporary Major. He remained in command at Fan Bay until early 1945.

Unfortunately, like the deep shelter, Captain Strange became somewhat forgotten and unknown. Fan Bay’s amazing re-discoveries has led to a quest for knowledge of the site and its key role in the outcome of the Second World War.

Volunteer Gordon Wise as Captain Strange who commanded Fan Bay Battery from August 1944 until early 1945 | © National Trust/Duncan Wood

Meet ‘Captain Strange’

On selected days from April to October, Gordon Wise, one of our volunteers who led the excavation of Fan Bay Deep Shelter, helps to bring Fan Bay to life. Sporting an accurate replica uniform, Gordon enjoys sharing his wide knowledge of the history of the area with our visitors.

'Captain Strange' will be on duty on the following dates in 2024:

Saturday 4 May - Early May bank holiday weekend
Sunday 5 May - Early May bank holiday weekend
Monday 6 May - Early May bank holiday weekend

Saturday 29 June - Weekend
Sunday 30 June - Weekend

Saturday 27 July - School summer holiday weekend
Sunday 28 July - School summer holiday weekend

Saturday 24 August - Summer bank holiday weekend
Sunday 25 August - Summer bank holiday weekend
Monday 26 August - Summer bank holiday weekend

Saturday 7 September - Heritage open day (Capt. Strange will be at the Wanstone site)
Sunday 8 September - Heritage open day (Capt. Strange will be at the Wanstone site)

Saturday 28 September - Weekend
Sunday 29 September - Weekend

Saturday 26 October - Autumn half term
Sunday 27 October - Autumn half term

An image of a footpath snaking through fields at the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent with the white tower of South Foreland Lighthouse poking out over the top of the hill

Donate

Everyone needs nature, now more than ever. Donate today and you could help people and nature to thrive at the places we care for.

Make a donation

Place

South Foreland Lighthouse

Striking and historical lighthouse high on The White Cliffs of Dover

Visitor with dog at the Northumberland Coast, Northumberland

Article

Visiting White Cliffs and the Lighthouse with your dog

The White Cliffs of Dover and South Foreland Lighthouse are two pawprint-rated places. Find out about bringing your dog to the Cliffs and the Lighthouse, and what to watch out for to make sure you have a safe and enjoyable visit.

Hands cupping a full bowl of squash soup

Article

Eating and shopping at The White Cliffs of Dover

Stop for freshly made refreshments with a view at the famous White Cliffs of Dover. Browse the shop for souvenirs, gifts and items from local makers.

View from the sea of a stretch of The White Cliffs of Dover, Kent, beneath a blue sky

Article

History of The White Cliffs of Dover

Discover the history of The White Cliffs of Dover. From housing a prison to helping the war effort, these famous cliffs have stories to tell.

Image showing one of the 15-inch guns installed at Wanstone, Dover during the Second World War

Article

Wanstone Rediscovered

One of the largest Second World War gun battery sites in the UK was in danger of being lost forever. Find out how we are rediscovering and conserving this unique time capsule.

Black and white image of 15-inch gun Clem taken just prior to commissioning in May 1942

Article

Wanstone Battery - a brief history

We trace the history of the Second World War cross-channel guns 'Jane' and 'Clem'. Be amazed by the staggering size and capability of these weapons from over 80 years ago.

Image showing the Command Post at D2 shortly after the acquisition in 2017

Article

D2 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery - a brief history

Find out more about the D2 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery at Wanstone, near Dover, how it was built, the important role it played in the Second World War and what the remains tell us.

Aerial view of two concrete gun emplacements surrounded by grass

Article

Fan Bay Battery - a brief history

Established on the orders of Winston Churchill, Fan Bay was one of a series of coastal gun batteries that defended the English coast during the Second World War. Find out more about the guns, their emplacements and the infrastructure that supported them; and how the battery fell into disuse, dereliction, was covered over and destined to be forgotten. This is the story of Fan Bay Battery and how it was rediscovered.

Areas A-Z

Things to do

Place types

Fan Bay Deep Shelter at The White Cliffs of Dover