WHILE MANY may view the Perthshire countryside as a peaceful haven, one local homeowner made his very own hideaway against a possible Russian attack.

The threat of the Cold War posed such a concern for Gwyn St George Elger Grogan that he built his own nuclear bunker in the grounds of his family home, Birnie House, near Alyth.

Now house-hunters have the chance to buy the bunker along with the Edwardian home, gardens and an adjoining cottage.

The property was put on the market yesterday, for offers over £675,000, by estate specialists Strutt & Parker.

The inclusion of the bunker has made Birnie House—already a home with an important heritage with royal connections—a property of even more historical interest, marking a time in modern history when the threat of a third world war was very real.

Commissioned by the late owner, the bunker cost £35,000 to build—the equivalent of nearly £260,000 today.

It has been maintained by the present groundsman for the last 19 years and is in perfect working order with electricity, a fresh air fan —run by a bicycle—and a condenser to purify water.

Located at the bottom of the gardens, some 12 feet underground, the bunker is essentially one large room, approximately 10ft by 10ft.

It can be reached by opening a hatch and taking a cautious journey down a dark, sloping stairwell.

The late Mr Grogan’s widow, who lives in Berkshire, is selling the house and bunker, which she has set foot in just once.

“My husband had the bunker built for him almost 34 years ago when the threat of attack from the USSR worried many people at the time,” Mrs Grogan said.

“I remember my husband showing it to me many years ago but it was terrifying and I never wanted to go in it again.

“My husband took it very seriously, so it wasn’t used as a place to potter about or for children to play and has lain empty and unused since it was built.

“I do remember him buying gas masks and powdered food to put in it but that has all been cleared out.”

Mrs Grogan said the bunker has been a talking point in the area ever since it was built.

“The bunker is still talked about and remembered by locals today and we have had the occasional knock on the door from tourists hoping to get a tour of it,” she said.

“The Grogans were very well-known to the community and the bunker has certainly helped to keep the family name alive.”

Birnie House has more than the bunker to thank for its historical interest.

Believed to have been built in the early 1900s, it was a wedding present from the Invergordon Estate and has always belonged to the family, including Gwyn Grogan’s father, Brigadier General St George Elger Grogan, who was personal bodyguard to the king and received service medals including the Victoria Cross.

Selling agent Robert McCulloch said, “The nuclear bunker is certainly a quirky feature of the property and is a very important piece of social history.

“It could be preserved as it is but can also be used as a great storage facility.”