Castlemartin
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The community of Castlemartin includes the great sweep of Freshwater West beach and a large part of the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) tank range established on the Castlemartin Peninsula in the late 1930s and further developed during the Cold War period.
Great Furzenip to Linney Head
This section of coast is within the danger area of the Castlemartin training ranges and is only accessible on National Park guided walks.
It includes the important Linney Training Area (SR 892 969) which was set aside for the training of the 79th Armoured Division during WW2.
Hard Target, Chieftain (A1) Linney Head
Several secret weapons were tested here and it was the scene of a number of exercises during the build-up to D-Day. These exercises involved the construction of replica German defences - including mine-fields, trenches and anti-tank walls - which were attacked from the sea by the 79th Armoured Division.
Blockhouse Winch, Linney Head
Many replica German structures still stand, including ‘Tobruk’ shelters, machine gun posts and German style gun emplacements. Also visible are the remains of the various types of matting which were used in tests designed to allow tanks to cross areas of soft sand.
Merrion to St Twynnell’s
This area contains a number of 1940-50s radar installations which comprised a Chain Home Low (CHL) (AMES 70A) and a ground control intercept (GCI) station from the Cold War period.
Blockhouse OP, Linney Head
The large bunker on the south side of the road (SR 941 974) is an R6 two-storey semisunk ROTOR bunker, while each of the small, square concrete buildings would once have had radar scanners on the roof. The nearby bungalow was once the guardroom.
On the north side of the road (SR 943 976) is a large single-storey building dating from the late 1950s. This was another structure associated with the radar station known as a ‘Type 80 Modulator’ building.
Type 13 height finding radar as used at RAF St Twynnell's
On the ridge road to the north was a Cold War Gee-H station which was built to provide accurate navigation for the V-Bomber force. It remained operational until the early 1970s and is now a private house (SR 942 977).
Axton Hill
The disused building at the foot of Axton Hill (SR 930 986) was once the pump-house which supplied water to the wartime tank range at Castlemartin, the limestone plateau on which the range stands being devoid of natural spring water.
Further reading
Castlemartin ...a Chuckle and a Cackle by Denis Alderman;
Fit to Keep Company With - the Lambtons of Brownslade by Denis Alderman;
An Experience Shared 1939 - 1945 by Vernon Scott, published by Laleham Publications.
Locations of Interest
- Freshwater West
- A memorial in the car-park records the WW2 landing craft disaster that occurred on April 25th, 1943. Back to map
- Castlemartin village
- Castlemartin Pound, in the centre of the village, was fitted out with ‘pill-boxes’ during WW2 and used as a machine gun emplacement. Back to map
- Castlemartin Camp
- This site can trace its origins back to the late 1930s when plans were being made to expand the British Army and it became a Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) camp and tank range. Back to map
- Flimston
- Flimston Chapel stands in isolated splendour at the heart of the military range. Dating from the fifth century, it was restored in 1903 by the Lambton family of Brownslade as a memorial to their sons who were killed in the Boer War. Back to map
- Warren
- Alongside West Lane, Warren, can be seen a number of buildings, some mounded with earth. This was RAF Warren. Back to map
