Well done that man!
That is all.
Although also looking forward to an aviation themed geek's guide too, obvs.
A forward-thinking Reg reader has put the entirety of our Geeks’ Guide series onto a Google Map, for your navigational and geographically organised reading pleasure. Smart cookie Gypsythief has assembled the Geek's Map to Britain, which features all of our Geek's Guide features about lesser-known places of British …
One more to add to the map and to your features maybe - Porthcurno beach in Cornwall:
As well as the more famous clifftop open-air theatre, was where the early international submarine telecoms cables came ashore, linking the UK to the far reaches of the British Empire during the 19th century, becoming the world's largest underwater cable termination point and important during the wars.
There's also the remains of an early wireless mast allegedly used to spy on Marconi's transmissions. And in current times, a telegraph museum
>There's an article on these boards isn't there?
Google finds no mention of Porthcurno on www.register.co.uk, and 10 mentions on the forums.
Was at Porthcurno in May of this year, the museum has definitely improved since my last visit (1999) - My 12 year old daughter found it engaging. With the demolition of the C&W college you get a better feel for the site (plus there is now a decent car parking and as from April a good beach cafe). I was a little disappointed that they had cleared the beach of cables.
Looks like the Geek's Map is in need of a second set of pins: places of interest that El Reg Geek Guide has yet to visit.
"Looks like the Geek's Map is in need of a second set of pins: places of interest that El Reg Geek Guide has yet to visit."
I was thinking that too. The nearest places within a day trip drive are Edinburgh and Manchester for me. There's no Geeks Guide to the North East of England despite. At the very least, a fully equipped Cold War bunker in York that's a good visit. Maybe we should be suggesting place for El Reg to visit then they can have an office lottery to see which staffer gets the all expenses paid trip to go write the article :-)
Whilst up in York visiting the bunker, pop to Yorkshire Air Museum. One of my near neighbours piloted the Nimrod there (XV250) and was made an MBE for 'over the horizon' surveillance missions during the Falklands conflict.
Or come a bit further for something a bit more grease-monkey-ish at NELSAM...
As long as we're in York, The National Railway Museum is worth a visit. I'm not a train freak, per se, but anything stream powered is a good thing in my book. Lots of fun for the kids, too.
Those pre-radar "sound mirror" things somewhere on the South Coast
Aviation museum in Farnbrough, the name of which escapes me - it's on the main road near the airport.
The Sellafield Visitor Centre (I went there a good few years ago, and assume that it's still a thing)
Sadly the Sellafield Visitor Centre is no more
That's a shame. I visited it years ago and remember that they had an (empty) fuel container out the front of the building. The prankster in me always wanted to make a return visit and sneak a fully cooked chicken into it, to see what reaction* it got from passers-by
* pun not intended, just fortuitous happenstance
Sadly the Sellafield Visitor Centre is no more
I didn't realise it had gone, but I knew the whole "visit Sellafield, nuclear power is really quite friendly and nothing at all like those horror stories in the press" experience had been substantially watered down. At one time, you could (as a member of the public) go on a coach round the site, and at school (on a pre-arranged visit, presumably with some "soft" security screening) we got to walk across the pile cap on one of Calder Hall's reactors.
These days it's much higher fencing (complete with electricity and tamper detection) and "coppers" with sub machine guns. Security has even impacted steam train excursions as they used to use the turning facility at Sellafield to turn the engine round. As this involved the engine (with it's crew) entering the facility by a few yards, AIUI it got axed "because terrorism" - just think what two guys with a steam train restricted to a pair of steel rails could do !
Aviation museum in Farnbrough, the name of which escapes me - it's on the main road near the airport.
This one? http://www.airsciences.org.uk/
That reminds me...
The world's largest hovercraft museum - https://www.hovercraft-museum.org down near Fareham. Looking at it on Google maps/earth is entertaining, I hope for the sake of the house owners whose gardens back onto it, they never need to fire up the engines... [edit: which I've just noticed is referenced at the bottom of the original article...]
Brockworth.
Near Gloucester. We built the first jet aircraft - Gloster Meteor.
OK, First Allied jet aircraft.
If you visit on the right day in spring, you can also go to Coopers Hill and watch people trying to fly down a hill in pursuit of cheese. And also Witcombe Roman Villa, for anyone who thinks "location, location, location" is a new thing when it comes to siting quality digs.
Very well done.
Minor cavil, though: where are the Crossness / Abbey Mills pumping stations shown on either the map or el Reg's summary page? Couldn't find 'em on either ... have they been "sanitized"?
Huzzah! Congratulations, you earn the bonus points!
Dunsop Bridge was the little easter egg I referenced in my forum post.
Q: "So why is Dunsop Bridge on the list?"
A: "it's the exact centre of Britain"
Many years ago, my brother and I were cycling through Dunsop Bridge. For some reason long lost to the mists of time, he'd heard about this whole centre of the known universe Britain thing, so we stopped to admire the little brass plaque that had been installed inside the phone box by the bridge to commemorate it.
Plonking a plaque in phone box in the middle of nowhere to mark the middle of Britain is one of those bits of pointless science that I find to be great fun, so I thought I'd bob it on for the kicks'n'giggles.