(This is a companion to the main post I did on Kelvedon Hatch bunker, which can be found here).

Visiting Kelvedon Hatch by public transport is possible, albeit awkward. Even the website doesn’t really advise it. I made the journey myself in May 2021, and to help anyone else who wants to do it, I’ve included some instructions below. A summary is at the bottom!

First of all you’ll need to take the train to Brentwood. You can tap on and off at this station using contactless. When you arrive, cross this bridge to find the bus station on the right, next to a discount supplies shop.

Wait at this bus stop for the 21 bus to Ongar. It’s a single storey bus – be warned that it appears from a corner road, so you won’t see it coming from a distance. This bus is normally once an hour – there’s a timetable on the bus shelter. You can pay by card – at time of writing, a day return costs £3.10. The bus stop you’re going to is literally called “Secret Bunker” so you can say you’re going there.

The bus takes about twenty minutes to get from Brentwood station to the nuclear bunker. There’s no dot matrix display on the bus, so look out for the nearby obstacle course and ring the bell when you see it (or if you’re not shy just ask the driver to let you know).

Unfortunately the nuclear bunker is actually quite far from the bus stop. Walk down this road, through some fields.

Soon the road will curve to the right – you can either follow it to the bunker, or (if you’re impatient) just walk up the hill towards the radio tower – the visitor car park will appear on your right.

Once you’ve found the entrance pictured below, walk down the woodland path.

It’s a bit windy, but the path should eventually lead you to the cottage hiding the bunker entrance, and the toilets. From here you can enter the bunker and start your visit.

Finally, some quick notes about getting back – the bunker exit is different to the entrance. You can follow the road back to the entrance, or walk up this track to get back to the hill to the radio tower.

Walk back the way you came to the bus stop, on the opposite side of the road to where you got off. Note that the bus does turn round the corner quickly, so keep an eye out or you could miss it.

Try and remember when your bus back will be, or just save the bus schedule on your phone as there’s no signal inside the bunker (including the canteen). If you finish your tour with lots of time to spare, you can mill around in the canteen until about fifteen minutes before you need to walk down to catch your bus.

In summary:

• Catch any train to Brentwood.
• Get the 21 bus from the station to Ongar, and stop at the “Secret Bunker” stop.
• Walk through the countryside until you find the bunker.