Secret site
The Churchill Barriers
Holm to South Ronaldsay, Orkney
In October 1939 a German U-boat slipped into Scapa Flow and sank HMS Royal Oak. Churchill ordered the eastern entrances to be blocked with causeways of rock and concrete blocks.
Read the full story, see it on the map, get directions and find what else is nearby in the free Hidden Britain Atlas map.
- When
- 1940–1945
- Where
- 58.8800, -2.9000
- Group
- Secret bunkers & war sites
Visiting
Drive the A961. Blockships can be seen from the roadside.
Nearby mysteries
- The Italian ChapelSecret site · Lamb Holm, Orkney · under a mile away
- HMS Royal OakShipwreck · Scapa Flow, Orkney · 4 miles away
- HMS VanguardShipwreck · Scapa Flow, Orkney · 7 miles away
- Cuween HillAncient monument · Near Finstown, Orkney · 9 miles away
- The Scuttling at Scapa FlowShipwreck · Scapa Flow, Orkney · 10 miles away
- Tomb of the EaglesAncient monument · Isbister, South Ronaldsay · 10 miles away