Sure, massive ranches, sprawling desert compounds, huge underground missile silos, and even castles tend to get the most attention when it comes to the fantastical end of the doomsday prepper spectrum. But for those preparing for the end of the world as we know it and are looking for a promising property that would demand far less investment, there’s a spot in Scotland that seems near ideal.
Built in 1985 and officially opened by Princess Anne, Baldo Bridge Listening Station, a surplus SATCOM II intelligence gathering and communications post, sits on nine acres just a stroll away from the country town of Kinross in Scotland. The facility was manned by personnel from the Royal Corps of Signals 242 Signal Squadron and worked to intercept enemy satellite communications traffic—such a Russian ballistic missile launch orders—for two decades before being decommissioned in 2006 and sold off in 2007. It’s been back on and off the market since roughly 2014 and it appears to be in pristine condition and oddly unmodified from its past life.
The site sits on the corner of what was once RAF Balado Bridge, an airfield that opened in 1942 and served as an auxiliary station for larger nearby airbases as well as for training foreign aircrews on Spitfire and Hurricane fighters. After the war, the facility quickly turned into an aircraft graveyard and was shut down officially in 1956. Later on, the airfield was remediated and turned over to private hands. You can still see the outline of the runways in satellite photos.
The Balado Listening Station has garnered the nickname ‘The Golfball’ from locals in Kinross-shire due to the radome over the facility’s receiver antenna. Beyond this most outstanding detail, the installation offers all the things a prepper dreams of and not in some run-down and dilapidated state. The place is secured like a prison or other very high-value military site with double row security fencing lit by high-output lighting. The intense security is a product of the fact that it had to operate even during a time of extreme crisis or outright war, gathering time-sensitive communication intelligence.
The structures on the site were built hardened and include office space, workshops, garages, guard posts, living spaces with mess and recreation areas, as well as the extremely secure areas that were specific to the listening post’s technical operation. There is even a tower for radio comms and nearby surveillance.
A filtration system protects the base’s inhabitants while ‘buttoned up’ during a nuclear, chemical, or biological incident and due to the nature of the place’s mission, the facility is hardened against electromagnetic pulses as well. Onsite fuel storage and powerful industrial generators allow the site to run independently without outside electricity for a prolonged period of time. There is clearly plenty of space for expansion and considering what surrounds the rural site, the land looks excellent for farming. There is also water right next door and the valley the place is located in appears to be gorgeous.
Here is an entire tour of the property including interior shots.
Altogether it seems like a doomsday prepper’s dream site that is just about as close to turnkey as they come. And the price is laughably low considering the many millions of dollars something like this would cost to build today. The property is currently listed at $1.22M, but it has sat on the market for some time so you could probably get a heck of a deal.
The fact is that many people have made something out of far more inconveniently located and run-down Cold War-era surplus sites than this which makes the reality that it is still on the market surprising.
Oh yeah, and the big satellite listening dish also comes with the deal—maybe a plus for the amateur radio astronomer who also seriously believes in an impending zombie apocalypse?
If you are interested, contact the listing agent, they can make all your survivalist dreams come true.
Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com