# Minefield Control Tower - Oban - April 2012



## The Cat Crept In (Apr 22, 2012)

There is a minefield control tower at Gallanach overlooking the Sound of Kerrera; it lies on the hillside on the south side of a caravan park. 

This is an unusual building with only one other example still extant at Burnham on Crouch in Essex.

The building is a circular concrete structure with three stories. The bottom floor has two level loopholes and internally resembles a pillbox with two small rooms in the centre. There is a ladder up to the next floor which also has loopholes. There is a roof dome above with observation slits which is reached by a second ladder up to a steel landing, most of which has fallen away. 










































































Thanks for looking...


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## flyboys90 (Apr 22, 2012)

Amazing shape and nicely decorated too,surprised a use was never found for it?thanks for sharing.


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## outkast (Apr 22, 2012)

looks in better nick than the burnham one, that is full of pidgeon crap, the metal bits in your pic are also missing from the burnham example, thanks for posting the pics.


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## PaulPowers (Apr 22, 2012)

Brilliant report, it's good to see so many features remain


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## RichCooper (Apr 22, 2012)

Nice report thanks  looks a great place


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## tigger2 (Apr 22, 2012)

I've stayed near there loads of times over the past *cough* years and didn't know it was there...thanks for the report.


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## urban phantom (Apr 22, 2012)

very nice ive never seen one like this thanks for sharing


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## kevsy21 (Apr 22, 2012)

Nice find m8,something different.


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## jonney (Apr 22, 2012)

cracking find there I've wanted to see inside one if these for years, the one round here at Blyth is sealed. Thanks for posting


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## cant find me (Apr 22, 2012)

looks amazing buddy !


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## night crawler (Apr 22, 2012)

Very nice apart from the shitty graffiti.


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## cptpies (Apr 23, 2012)

Great report. There are actually four of these towers extant although only this one and the Burnham one are to a similar design. The others are at Tilbury Fort and Felixtowe docks. Anything smaller than these three level monsters is an XDO post.


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## outkast (Apr 23, 2012)

The burnham example


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## and7barton (Apr 23, 2012)

I think you mean "Coalhouse Fort", not Tilbury Fort.


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## Landsker (Apr 23, 2012)

Now I like that very much.


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## cptpies (Apr 24, 2012)

and7barton said:


> I think you mean "Coalhouse Fort", not Tilbury Fort.



I do, thanks for the correction.


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## oldscrote (Apr 25, 2012)

A great find and there's more to be seen around the area this linky gives a lot of detail

http://indicatorloops.com/obanbay.htm

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/o/oban_minefield_control/index.shtml


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## BeyondthePoint (Apr 25, 2012)

Great shots!


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## Crimz (Apr 30, 2012)

Nice photography! I especially like the shot of looking up the ladder!
~ Crim


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## maxmix (May 7, 2012)

I Love these, they are so weird, but definitely very interesting, just imagine how long they would have taken to construct (any one have any idea how they were cast????)


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## cptpies (May 8, 2012)

They were wood shuttered by the looks of the marks in the concrete.


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## maxmix (May 8, 2012)

cptpies said:


> They were wood shuttered by the looks of the marks in the concrete.



I see what you mean, do you think they were cast in "One go"??


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## cptpies (May 9, 2012)

I doubt it. I'm not an engineer but I think a number of pours would have been needed to allow the concrete to go off before it could support the weight of the next pour. This also would have allow the complicated shuttering for the embrasures to be put in as I don't think they are pre-cast versions.


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## Bunker Bill (May 9, 2012)

Great shots, a real shame about the graffiti though, interesting shape.


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## TeeJF (May 9, 2012)

All the years I've been going to Oban, and even staying on the campsite close by, and I never spotted that!


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## shane.c (May 10, 2012)

You could live there room with a view,


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