Recent Events at Barnton Bunker: Autumn Highlights & What’s Next
It’s been a proper whirlwind at Barnton Bunker lately — the kind of season that reminds us why this place is so special. Volunteers and visitors have helped fill the bunker with creativity, curiosity, and community spirit, and each event has played its part in pushing restoration forward while shaping what the bunker is becoming. Here’s a recap of what we’ve been up to underground and on the hilltop.
Doors Open Days & Garden Launch Weekend
After the success of Doors Open last year, we figured it only made sense to bring it back. It’s a brilliant chance to share the restoration project and our vision for the future with anyone curious about what’s going on inside a once-abandoned nuclear bunker.
On Saturday we offered free tours of the above-ground WWII radar rooms and the hilltop grounds — including time to meet our animal friends, the goats and emus! (Two things not included in the new underground weekend tours.) It was a chance to bring newcomers into the original military complex, share the story from a volunteer perspective, and talk about how we want this place to grow into a home for the arts, history education, music, and an inclusive culture built by international volunteers and local residents alike.
Sunday became a full-scale celebration in its own right: the launch of our Community Garden. Alongside tours, the grounds filled up with stalls, food, music and hands-on activities — a proper “bunker festival” day that showed off what we’re building here above ground as well as below it. We had live sets from local youth musicians, art workshops, readings, dance and an open-mic that brought bunker volunteers and visitors together in true community style.
There were brilliant local groups and makers throughout the day too — from D&E Gardens and Lothian Handyman demos, to Edinburgh’s Library of Things, Mushrooms with Some Fungyus, The Lighthouse Bookshop, Save the Roseburn Path, El Dorado Taqueria, Mr Whippy, and more. And yes… we even hosted Soul Water Sauna’s “Wandering Bear,” bringing a little heat to a Cold War relic in the woods.
The whole weekend was made extra special by long-term volunteer Natalie and the garden team, who’ve been shaping this initiative with real care for nature and community. We also celebrated the first harvest of honey from our new hives — proof that good things are growing here already. Over 1,000 guests came through the gates across Doors Open and the Garden Launch, and we’re so grateful to everyone who showed up, supported, and helped make it feel alive.
Winding Walk
Winding Walk was inspired by the “Volksmarch” hikes I grew up with in Germany — long community walks through countryside and villages, usually ending with a big celebration. I wanted to add a bunker twist: poetry readings along the way, plus stamps collected on a hand-drawn map at six checkpoints. (Partly inspired by my time walking Japan’s Shikoku 88 pilgrimage, where each temple has its own stamp.)
Both the 6.5 and 8-mile routes took walkers through river paths, beach stretches, forest trails, and hidden nature routes near the bunker. Marking those trails took nine solid hours — but completely worth it. People loved doing it at their own pace, seeing Edinburgh in a new light, and reflecting on nature-centric poetry at the rest stops. I’d love to see this one return in the new year.
Haunted House with Greyfriars Bobby in A.I. Wonderland!
Halloween brought back the protagonist from last year’s haunted house, everyone’s favourite loyal pooch — Greyfriars Bobby. Last time he fought through The Radioactive Underworld to find his owner. This year, he wandered into a warped version of Alice in Wonderland… as if it had been rendered by really bad early A.I. programs.
Featuring hand-crafted sets and art pieces made entirely by volunteers, we followed Bobby down the A.I. rabbit hole into our fascinations and fears around artificial intelligence. I wanted it to be fun and scary (especially for adult slots), but also a bit heartwarming — celebrating in-person connection, technology in moderation, and creativity, companionship, and cooperation as pillars of what makes life human.
Everyone who played the A.I. creatures and Wonderland characters absolutely smashed it. I’m genuinely grateful for the long hours, enthusiasm, and pure dedication that brought this strange tale to life. We hope everyone who attended had a frightfully good time — and left with a renewed appreciation for the real people we can still share genuine moments with.
Remembrance Weekend
Remembrance Weekend included free tours of the bunker and grounds for veterans, plus an immersive meditative art piece titled The Memory Field — exploring the personal moments that shape how we experience love and loss. You can see glimpses of it on our YouTube and Instagram. I hope it offered something hopeful for those carrying loss, and a reminder to remember what love has given us.
Magic Labyrinth
Magic Labyrinth was one of the most ambitious things we’ve pulled off yet: six magic shows in six unique bunker spaces, across two nights, featuring magicians from around the UK.
From mentalism and illusion to supernatural storytelling and even an enchanted flea circus(!), each space offered something different, culminating in a grand finale full of sparkling energy and a classic-but-fresh magical performance (with delightful piano accompaniment). Huge thanks to the magicians who volunteered their time, and to the volunteer community who believed in the event and made it happen. This was a big step toward the bunker becoming a home for arts and offbeat cultural celebrations — and it felt truly one-of-a-kind.
What’s next -> Kaizen
Next up is Kaizen — a free event created as a response to Black Friday and the idea that blind consumerism equals self-worth. We’re taking part in the movement known as Fair Saturday: something artistic, community-built, and made for meaning rather than buying.
Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning small acts taken with persistence toward an ideal. For this event, we’ll host 5–10 collaborative art pieces in different bunker rooms. Everyone who attends becomes an artist, contributing to installations themed around nature, family and kinship, our place in the world, and mindfulness toward each other and the environment. Throughout the day we’ll photograph each piece to create a time-lapse showing how small contributions build a beautiful whole.
Live music, free tea, and your inner artist await. All ages welcome — and if anyone’s keen to help photograph, we’d still love extra hands!
If you haven’t already, check out our Instagram and YouTube — our volunteer filmmakers and social media team have been capturing the life of the bunker in brilliant ways. There’s always something happening here, and it’s somehow both unexpected and perfectly fitting… because of what people create when they decide to build something good together.
With all that’s been happening, what could be waiting in the months ahead? Let’s see what our imaginations come up with next.
— JP
(Events recap written by Jean Paul Archambeault, Events & Engagement Director)
