Nare Head’s hidden bunkers win Roseland volunteers a national award

Walk the coast path over Nare Head and you could pass straight by them. Two low, unassuming bunkers sit on the headland, and between them they hold stories of wartime deception, Cold War tensions and the people who kept watch over Britain through some of its most uncertain years.

Now the volunteers who bring that hidden history to life on the Roseland Peninsula have been recognised with a national heritage award.

The National Trust’s Roseland team has received the Royal Observer Corps Association (ROCA) Heritage Award. It recognises the volunteers’ work preserving the history of the Royal Observer Corps (ROC), and it marks 20 years of partnership between the two organisations.

📷Nare Head. Credit: Phil White

A decoy and a nuclear monitoring post

Tucked away on the headland are two reminders of Britain’s wartime past. One is a Second World War decoy bunker. The other is a nuclear monitoring bunker, built in the 1960s during the Cold War.

Both are easy to overlook in the surrounding landscape. But they offer a glimpse into a very different chapter of Cornwall’s history.

📷Veryan Bunker. Credit: Mark Russell

Former observers among the guides

Each year, National Trust volunteers work alongside the Roseland ranger team to open the bunkers to visitors, explaining their history and the roles they once played.

Some of those volunteers are former members of the Royal Observer Corps, and they bring their own experience and knowledge to the tours.

For decades, ROC volunteers gave up their spare time to help monitor threats to Britain. During the Second World War they reported aircraft movements. Later, in the Cold War, they took on a nuclear monitoring role. The organisation finally stood down in 1995.

Today their stories help visitors understand a period of history that might otherwise be forgotten.

📷Nare Head bunker. Credit: Phil White

“Easy to walk past”

Harriet Wherry, Lead Ranger for the National Trust on the Roseland, said: “It’s a privilege to receive this award on behalf of the whole team. These bunkers are easy to walk past without realising the extraordinary history they hold. Our volunteers bring that history to life, and having people who were once part of the Royal Observer Corps sharing their knowledge makes the experience particularly special.

“Working together means we can continue caring for these important pieces of Cornwall’s heritage and sharing their stories with future generations.”

📷Nare Head bunker. Credit: National Trust Images

A bronze Spitfire for the team

The award is a bronze Spitfire trophy. ROCA presents it every year to an individual or group making a significant contribution to preserving the organisation’s heritage.

Lawrence Holmes accepted it on behalf of the team at the association’s annual meeting in Derbyshire.

Anyone hoping to see inside will get another chance when the National Trust’s guided tours return in 2027.

📷Nare Head bunker. Credit: National Trust Images

📷Veryan Bunker. Credit: Mark Russell

📷Harriet Wherry & Lawrence Holmes at the ROCA Heritage Award gathering. Credit: Shirley Daw