We take for granted nowadays the fact that we can roam the world and go more or less wherever we please. Of course, at the moment much of the world is in lockdown, but when that is all over, people will more than ever be back to touring the globe. But there are some places on earth that the vast majority of people will never get to visit – for various reasons. Here are a few of them…
Menwith Hill – In 1954, Menwith Hill was opened in North Yorkshire by the British War Office. This futuristic looking place looks odd, as the huge golf ball like structures fill the landscape. It is shrouded in deep secrecy and nobody is really sure what goes on there. It was once a listening post, gathering information from the Soviet Union for American and British intelligence, but many now believe it is used for mass surveillance – one thing is for sure, the must have a good confidential shredding service.
Anthrax Island – The official name of Anthrax Island is Gruinard Island – but also goes by the unpleasant name of the island of death. It is off the Northern coast of Scotland and there is not a lot of life there. The reason for this is during World War 2 the island was used by scientists from Porton Down to drop Anthrax bombs on sheep to test how effective this would be in a warfare scenario. As the reality of how dangerous the Anthrax spores really were, the island was left abandoned, it’s contaminated landscape a reminder of it’s past.
Poveglia Island – This tiny island off the coast of Venice has a long and gruesome history. When the black plague swept through Europe, the city of Venice suffered particularly badly. To try to prevent the huge death tolls, the small island of Poveglia was used to quarantine the locals. It was once again used for this purpose 300 years later when the bubonic plague arrived. The dead bodies from those who suffered and died there remain on the island to this day. And that isn’t all – around 100 years ago, the island was used as a mental asylum where the patients were brutally tortured. It is now closed to visitors.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault – Somewhere deep in the Arctic Circle (the exact location is unknown to all but a few scientists) a top-secret vault lies buried in the remote wilderness. This vault really does exist and it contains millions of seeds from all around the world – like the Noah’s Ark of the plant world, this vault was put in place with the intention of being able to re-start the eco system in the event of a global catastrophe.
