Western Approaches Museum in Liverpool

A brief history of the Western Approaches Museum

After disastrous losses to German U-boat fleets and Luftwaffe attacks in the first years of the war, the British government moved the so-called Western Approaches Command to this dedicated bunker complex under Derby House in Rumford Street, Liverpool.

A branch of Combined Operations that commanded both the Royal Navy and the RAF, the task force was entrusted with protecting the all-important convoys that were coming over from the US and beyond. Almost all of those went through a key part of the Atlantic Ocean known as the Western Approaches.

The complex was constructed especially for their use. It consisted of a whopping 100 rooms and was set between thick barricades of concrete deep beneath surface level. Throughout the war, the bunkers played a key part in Allied success. They were the home of anti-submarine defences and ensured that lines of supply remained open during some of Britain's darkest days.

The bunkers were closed in 1945 at the end of the Battle of the Atlantic. They remained locked shut for decades until 1993, when the whole place was reopened to the public, with many of the rooms completely restored to how they would have looked during the war.

What are the highlights of the Western Approaches Museum?

The Western Approaches Museum is one of the most immersive WWII museums in the North of England. Visitors get to delve under the buzzing city streets into a vast bunker complex that contains countless rooms and tunnels. All of that was purpose-built for the upper command of the Atlantic front, and you'll be walking through areas that played a huge part in the Allied victories of the 1940s.

Perhaps most of all, it's the central Operations Room that takes the biscuit. Preserved to look just as it was in 1945 when the bunker closed at the end of the war, it still contains some of the most iconic features of a wartime command space – the sprawling map on the wall, the desks covered in tactical charts, the low-hanging industrial lights.

You'll also get to see hidden sleeping quarters, a film room where Churchill is thought to have screened top-secret war footage, and the Cypher Room, where the codes unravelled by Bletchley Park would have been received and actioned.

Good to know about the Western Approaches Museum

Guests to the Western Approaches Museum can pick between self-guided and guided tours. The first take around 1.5 to 2 hours. The latter will cost more but you'll have a dedicated historian to help you make sense of all the various gizmos and gadgets that lurk in the bunkers.

The Western Approaches Museum is located on Rumford Street, just to the north of the main heart of Liverpool City Centre. There's very limited onsite parking on the street in front. There is a small NCP parking opposite, and the larger NCP Liverpool Capital Car Park just to the north.

The closest train station is Liverpool Moorfields. That's around 3 minutes of walking to the east. Liverpool Central is a 15-minute walk to the southeast. The station at James Street is also only 5 minutes away.