# Asfordby Gun Range - May '08



## Mr Sam (May 6, 2008)

my 4th trip here only just down the road but access is allways a mad dash as its a highway for dog walkers and fishermen 

used up until the 1960's to test naval shells, basically they fired the shells into the hillside, local residents complained no eng about the noise and some even claimed cracks were apearing in their houses from the vibrations

since its closure its been used for riot police training and police dog training and i believe has just the other week had planning go through for 70 houses 

visited with Goldie87 in an 'we need to get out the house' type explore, still seen a few things i hadnt seen before and my first venture in with more than just a compct camera and torch







walkways in the woods take you to all sorts of little huts and storage areas






one leads to a short tunnel which im asuming is where they stored the shells






little guard hut on top of the bank over looking that entrance






most of the doors have been blown off but are thick reinforced things






i would of half inched that if it wasnt so corroded, ive got one on my project race car and need a second to match  im guessing its off a mk1 / 2 escort maybe even a cortina, also found mk1 escort / cortina / anglia door handle and ive seen a mk1 escort light surround down there before now, theres also an engine sump which looks pinto shaped so could of been a mk1 RS2000......would of been nice to find the whole car 






looks to be mk2 escort / capri / mk1 fiesta ........i do like my old fords 






really like this shot for some reason






into the blast tunnels themselves






Goldie posing 






ahhh cut the engine out and stick it in a mk1  found a huge spray tin twice the size of small ones with a price £1.69 






looking down into the tunnel







ammo tin.........with a load of porn in it so someones been shooting in there 






one of the tunnels


wasnt much and id been before but havent been on an explore for over a month so was good to get out


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## Neosea (May 6, 2008)

Yeah old Fords are cool. Nice find.


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## fezzyben (May 7, 2008)

cool post is that quite near the old ammunition dump nearish to ashfordby?


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## MD (May 7, 2008)

good stuff fellas.
looks a big place.


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## King Al (May 7, 2008)

Nice one guys, cool looking place


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## Foxylady (May 8, 2008)

I always enjoy seeing pics of this site. There's something nice and relaxing about it, as well as interesting. Enjoyed seeing inside the tunnels.


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## Goldie87 (May 10, 2008)

Well heres my extremely late contribution to this thread 

Little bit of history taken from the The Nottingham & Melton Railway site...



> In July 1918 the Midland Railway were asked to modify the "North Sidings" near Asfordby to accommodate a Government Gun Proof Range as requested by the Ministry of Munitions. The range was being built adjacent to these sidings, and a loop was provided by the Midland at the Government's cost, giving a total capacity for the North Sidings of 210 wagons. However a 1938 drawing discounts the loop (as a private siding), showing the capacity to be 186 wagons. The sidings for "Holwell Proof Butts" were further extended at the Government's request at the start of the Second World War - users including the Home Guard. An estimate for the work of £2300 dated October 31st 1939 exists at Kew but alas the siding drawing does not, so I cannot be sure what changes were made, or whether this arrangement of sidings remained in place until the end of 1968.
> The range became known as Asfordby Gun Range, servicing heavy-calibre guns, but the noise became a major source of annoyance to Asfordby residents. It is possible it fell into disuse for a while, because in 1965, local residents protested at plans by the MOD to reopen it, and a noise muffling tunnel was installed in 1968. When it did close in March 1971, some 70 employees were made redundant. The MOD blamed the closure of the 50-year-old range and redundancies on the local residents. The last gun was fired at Asfordby Gun Range in October 1971 in a short ceremony to mark its closure.
> During the 1980s and 1990s, the badly decaying site was occasionally used for training exercises, and also featured in an episode of the 1990s Central TV programme Boon starring Michael Elphick.








The place has a weird feeling, with all the walkways, huts and greenery it doesn't look like it belongs in leicestershire.





A halon fire extinguisher, not something you see often these days!





A room in one of the buildings.





Notice on some doors.





Abandoned fork





Flare thingy? Dated November 1983





Tunnels





Battered old government supplies can


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## fezzyben (May 10, 2008)

excuse the spelling but in the forces the flare type thingy is known as a schmoolie


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## cardiffrail (May 11, 2008)

A Schermuly flare.

Here is one disassembled






Any news on the nearby Asfordby railway line, is it abandoned yet? if so that would make a cracking explore, the rail line (with tunnels) the remains of the steelworks and the firing range.


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## Mr Sam (May 11, 2008)

the sidings into the steelworks is still very live fresh buildings have gone up in the last 6 months apparently there due to teast some new underground trains there

and nice to see what the flare would of been thanks


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## Goldie87 (May 11, 2008)

Ah thank for that fezzyben and cardiffrail, the flare we found sure was badly weathered!


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## slimrick (May 20, 2008)

I remember having a wander around there with some mates about 15 years ago. There was a room with an unlocked cage in there full of riot shields, fire proof overalls and crates of filled petrol bombs. If I'd known the price of petrol today I might have "borrowed" a few and filled the car up!


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