Come out of the cold and bunker down

The Life: Former military facilities are for sale in the UK.

Some properties for sale look and feel like a bunker - dark, cavernous and maybe a bit musty.

Q&A: Who would want to live in a bunker?

Who would want to live in a bunker? OK, it's not for everybody. But some people like unusual homes. The uniqueness is the appeal. And there is a sense of security.

How unusual is it to see this type of facility for sale? Actually, it's not that rare. Defence departments in countries around the world routinely shed their unused assets. There was a huge building boom in Western countries during the Second World War and the Cold War and many of those facilities are no longer necessary.

But nobody really uses the bunkers as homes, do they? They are typically used for hotels, museums or maybe a cool retail space. But Andrew Black of Carter Jonas, who is developing a reputation as a "bunker broker", says he has been approached by several people about turning the Hope Cove bunker into a home.

What other bunkers is he selling? He has one in Scotland that served as a shelter for members of the Scottish parliament and staff in case of "nuclear, biological and electromagnetic attacks". It was built in secret in 1990 and is described as "the last and most technologically advanced structure ever built specifically in relation to the Cold War threat". The building includes living space for 150 people, a BBC studio, canteen and telephone exchange.

What's the price tag?£400,000 (Dh2.3 million).

Then there are actual bunkers for sale, remnants of past wars now available to the public. One recent example to hit the market is a former radar control station in Hope Cove, Devon, featuring the stark blockhouse design buyers would expect from a bomb-resistant defence department building.

The station was built in 1952, in the early days of the Cold War, as part of Rotor, an air defence system built by the British government to detect the approach of Soviet bombers.

As it turned out, technology progressed faster than construction of the bunker and it was never actually hooked up to the defence system. But it was used by the RAF for a few years before it was transferred to the home office as a possible bomb shelter for local leaders in case Soviet bombers made it through the defence system.

When the fear of the Soviets waned in the 1990s, the bunker was sold to the private sector.

There are advantages in buying a bunker, notes Carter Jonas, the agent for the property. The walls are solid, capable of withstanding bomb attacks, and the airconditioning system is robust enough for a long siege.

The Hope Cove Bunker, priced at £750,000 (Dh4.3 million), is two storeys with 28 rooms on each floor, teak flooring and 33,000 square feet of space. It also includes an active radio transmission tower which generates annual income of £11,000.

In recent years the bunker, which overlooks the Salcombe estuary, has been used for archive storage and art exhibitions. The sales agents envision a variety of creative uses for the space. The bunker might serve as an art gallery, museum or a "uniquely themed hotel", said Andrew Black of Carter Jonas, who has several bunkers for sale.

A bunker can also be adapted into a family house, which is sure to be a conversation piece at family gatherings.

Top 5: Top 5 other unconventional domiciles.

1 Lighthouses.

2 Railway stations.

3 Shipping containers.

4 Tree houses.

5 Caves.

Mr Black suggests the Hope Cove bunker would make a great "grand designs-style house", complete with a Cold War theme.

The Quote: "Sometime they'll give a war and nobody will come," Carl Sandburg, American writer and poet