Site Name: Castel-Vendon Battery & 'Silos'Castel-Vendon Sub Brit site visit 28th November 2004 [Source:
Nick
Catford]
Since the Second World War Castel-Vendon has been under the control
of the French Navy and current maps still show the site as military
land with a large exclusion zone fanning out into the English Channel.
When visited in 1974 the site appeared to be abandoned and large sections
of the perimeter fencing had disappeared. Today the site still has signs
around the perimeter indicating that it is military land but there is
no evidence that it is ever used as a firing range.
Photo:No.
2 Casemate
Photo by Nick Catford Three of the four concrete casemates are still standing and are in good condition. Today they are used as a shelter for the horses. Casemate No 1 has been has been completely destroyed. The Battery was fired on by a British and American Task Force just before its capture. Silo No. 1 is set at the bottom of a 15 foot depression; because of the dense undergrowth it is not possible to see it from any of the paths round the site. It consists of a wide gently sloping concrete rim flush with the ground and about 50 feet in diameter. The silo itself is about 25 feet deep with vertical sides. In the centre there is a hole, 6 feet in diameter, down to an arched chamber below. Silo No. 2 is of similar diameter and also set in a 15 foot deep depression. This silo however is not flush with the ground standing some 8 feet high with vertical sides. A ring of exposed reinforcing bars indicates that this silo was never finished. Silo 3 has a concrete roof which itself is overgrown and difficult
to access. A set of concrete steps lead down through an archway to a
curving sunken path to the bricked up personnel entrance into the side
of the silo. There is no evidence that this silo ever linked into the
network of tunnels below. 
Photo:The
main entrance to the underground workings
Photo by Nick Catford The entrance into the tunnel network is on the east side of a minor road running north from the D45 towards Gruchy. Turning north off the D45, the road crosses a small wooded valley after about 200 yards. The entrance to the tunnels is on the east side of the road where there is another barely readable sign indicating 'Terrain Militaire'. A number of concrete structures can be seen close to the road, one of these is a ventilation tower up from a network of buried culverts that presumably drain the tunnel network. Water can clearly be heard flowing some 20 feet below. A wooded cutting leads towards the tunnel adit at the base of a rocky
bank. Close to the adit there is a large concrete block. Its purpose
is unknown but it would prevent vehicles from approaching the adit. 
A
plan of surface and underground features at Castel-Vendon
Adapted from an original plan by Philip Henshall The entrance to the tunnel system resembles a mine adit and it has been suggested that the tunnels were part of a former tin mine of which several were known to exist in the area. There is no visible mineralisation or other evidence to back this theory and it is more likely that the tunnel was constructed specifically to access the gun turrets. Military tunnels were often excavated by former miners. The main entrance tunnel is unlined throughout and although there is
a little water at the entrance it is dry for most of its length. The
tunnel runs eastwards for 100 yards to a crossroads. To the right there
is a blind end after forty yards. Straight ahead there is deep water.
In Alain Chazette's book 'Antlantikwall' this tunnel is shown heading
towards Silo 2 with a long branch ending close to the rear of No. 2
casemate. If this is correct this tunnel must be at a lower level and
is presumably now flooded. There is no evidence at the rear of No. 2
casemate where the tunnel emerged but this area is heavily overgrown
and might hide some concrete remains of the entrance. 
Section
of the tunnel system that is currently accessible
To the left of the crossroads there is a section of concrete lined tunnel after twenty yards with several arches on the right hand side into the chamber at the base of the silo with the 6 inch diameter hole out to daylight in the vaulted roof. A second concrete lined tunnel leads from the far side of the chamber back towards the main entrance tunnel. There is little metal to be seen, a few pipes, probably part of the ventilation system and some of the wooden shuttering is still in place embedded in the concrete indicating that the structure was never completed. Some ventilation trunking can also be seen high in the wall. There are also a number of side chambers some concrete lined and others unlined. The site is a bat hibernaculum and a large number of bats of various
species were noted in the entrance passage so access to the tunnel network
is not advised during the hibernating season, December - March. SOURCES:
WEB SITES:
For further pictures of Castel-Vendon click here [Source:
Nick
Catford]
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