Bishopbriggs

**Bill** · 30-11-2009, 19:48

By chance I visited this site today.

I think the building I've circled in this aerial view is the control tower. It is still in existance and in pretty good relative condition, being used as a changing room facillity for the sports field (football pitches) it now looks onto.

It is like a single (tall) storey building with a smaller block on top of it towards the rear centre of the single storey. Both have substantial railings all the way round. There is a metal stairway (rotted) leading to the top of the smaller block. I don't know when I can return for a photo, but won't be too long.

Bill

**norwichpaul** · 30-11-2009, 19:59

I know that building and while it does indeed look like a control tower I dont think it is as the site was a barrage balloon depot and therefore would'nt need one. It is a very nice building though from memory.

**ted angus** · 30-11-2009, 21:42

I have never found a flying unit associated to B-B opened as a Balloon depot and then an MU sub site and an MT company at some point. Used at some post war point by the Scottish office as a training/ store for CD/AFS stock; but not one of Scotland's Main CD/AFS stores.

**Bill** · 24-12-2009, 23:19

Hi
Some photos of this site including the building.

A bunker in good condition exits, consisting of 2 mirrored halfs with 4 entrances, one entrance still has a metal door.

Also a photo of part of the hard standing, a wall section, and gates leading into the hard standing. I also saw what appears to be the partially exposed but well burried entrance to an underground stucture, not at all possible to enter.

Bill

**Bill** · 24-12-2009, 23:20

The other photos

Bill

**ng19833** · 26-12-2009, 12:31

Hey was wondering where bunker is in first picture? Thanks.

**Bill** · 26-12-2009, 18:32

RAF Bishopbriggs 03.jpg, RAF Bishopbriggs 04.jpg, RAF Bishopbriggs 05.jpg are the same bunker - somewhere in the area at the top right in the map image.

It is also visible at the left side of RAF Bishopbriggs 06.jpg (the image with the wall) - it's the clump of green with a tree seemingly in the middle of it, though the tree is actually behind the clump. There's also an amount of covered building debris visible to the right of this photo.

Bill

**DaveFleming** · 02-08-2011, 14:01

I grew up in Bishopbriggs, the Ballon sheds NP shows in his first photos were finally demolished in the early 90s, as part of the expansion of Low Moss prison (which occupies much of the site). I must have a photo or two taken from the DoT site.

A number of the RAF buildings survived until recently, as they were outside the boundary of the prison, but these were flattened during the recent re-development of HMP Low Moss. You can still see them on Bing Maps

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=t9m...ty&form=LMLTCC

With regard to the 'control tower' on the Sports Field, it is viewable in the original photo from the 'Cadder' thread

CadderBalloonDepot1947.jpg

It is not dis-similar in construction to the building on Pitreavie Playing fields in Dunfermline, however, as a boy, my mum and uncles told me tales of parachute training being carried out from Balloons at Bishopbriggs as well, so perhaps the field and tower were originally used for that purpose?

The hardstandings to the East of the road where the balloon hangers originally were was later used for go-karting.

I beleive a local historian may be working on a history of the station.

**Tam Nugent** · 22-08-2011, 23:21

Here is an aerial shot of the site from June 2011. The new HMP Low Moss is being built on the site of the old HMP Low Moss, the outline of which matches that of the older B&W aerials above. See the full sized image on panoramio, search for RAF Bishopbriggs. The "tower" can still be seen amongst the bushes.