An aerial view of the camp will show a sizeable area of land, beginning about 7 miles west of Shrewsbury, where the River Severn flows past the hamlet of Shrawardine, and then extending westward towards the Welsh hills. A major part of this area is very much in the river flood plain. During winter months, a large area of countryside just outside the limits of the Training Area can be under a considerable depth of water, and the Training Area itself, because of a rising water table, can itself become extremely damp.

Within this flood plain is the confluence of the Rivers Vyrnwy and Severn, both draining significant volumes of water from the Welsh hills.

Dotted round the area, are large brick built bunkers; some disused, but others, mostly to the west, are now in commercial use.

The present camp or Training Ground, maintained by the Defence Training Estates (DTE), occupies about two thirds of the original site, but it is still very much in use, although not for its original WWII purpose..

The existence of the Camp and Training Area has its origins in the requirement for large Munitions Depots to service the requirements of the Military during WWII. It is claimed the Nesscliffe site was the biggest Depot in Western Europe at the time. A smaller Depot was also established at Ford, on the opposite side of the Severn.

It seems logical that the area was extremely suited to housing a large Munitions Depot, as it was an area of very low population. Most of the area was given over to small holdings, and the main centres of populations, Shrewsbury and Oswestry were 10 miles away in either direction.

The site was also a proposition in being 200 miles inland foromthe east coast and therefore making it more difficult for Mr Hitler to attack. One should remember that the Reich did not have the heavy bomber capability of England, although that did not stop them giving Liverpool ‘a good sorting’.

One must also remember that Liverpool was a thriving port, and a lot of munitions would come from the USA on Liberty ships, and therefore it was only a relatively short road or rail journey to Nesscliffe for storage. A large munitions facory was also in operation at Marchwiel near Wrexham

There was another important factor in the equation, and that was the existence of a railway.

Long before Mr Hitler began his conquest of Europe, a railway across the middle of Shropshire was considered a viable proposition, linking at Shrewsbury with Great Western and London North Western services and making a connection at Llanymynech with the Cambrian Railway.

The problem was that, as mentioned above, the area across this part of Shropshire was sparsely populated, and the Railway was unable to generate any significant passenger traffic.

Freight traffic would have been primarily for the farming industry, but a branch line from Kinnerley to Criggion (or Crugion) would serve the granite quarry.

The railway struggled to raise sufficient finance and by 1891 work had stopped.

It was under the Light Railways Act that one Colonel Stephens enters the scene.

Col Stephens had tried to revive several flagging railways, using this Act as a basis to help reduce overheads. A Light Railway Order was obtained in 1909, which enabled work to commence, with the the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway opening in 1911.

However from 1918, the Railway was again suffering financially, and finally ceased passenger traffic in 1933.

The railway struggled on as a freight railway, and in 1941 the Military took over the line which was then renamed The Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Light Railway Detachment, No 1 Group, Royal Engineers.

From this point Nesscliffe was developed with brick storage bunkers being built, each with its own rail connection.

The WD maintained use of the site, or at least the railway until 1960, when it was closed and dismantled.

Whilst none of the internal rail network now exists, the track bed of the ‘main line’ from Shrewsbury to Llanymynech is still clearly visible skirting the southern edge of the DTE site.

NOTE: - Nesscliffe Camp and Training Area are not open to public access.