Barnton Bunker Restores Public Carpark on Clermiston Road
The finished car park is now in use.
- Written by Miranda Nicholson, 16 April 2025
From crumbling stones to a curved masterpiece - here’s how a small team (with big determination) brought the Bunker’s carpark back to life.
If you’ve been to visit the Bunker lately, you’ll notice something new before you even hit the gravel track. You notice the wall, as in - the wall along Clermiston Road. It looks new. It looks sturdy. It looks… WIDER!
What you’re looking at isn’t just a nice new stone wall. It’s the result of a mission to improve access to the Bunker. We’re talking serious groundwork, volunteer elbow grease, and more YouTube videos than we’d care to count.
Why? Because to get the bigger vehicles we need into the site safely (like coaches, trucks, or anything with a bit of length), we had to do something. The original entrance was way too narrow, and every attempt to squeeze through felt like a gamble with the stonework. So we widened it. Not because it was falling apart (though it wasn’t far off), but because it was holding us back.
And trust me - it was no small job.
Why we took the wall down (and built it back better)
The project didn’t start with a grand plan - just a problem: the entrance wall was too narrow for the larger vehicles we need to get in and out of the Bunker.
What we had was a charming old stone wall that just didn’t play well with big vehicles. So, with council approval in hand, we *carefully* dismantled part of it, shifted the fence, and rebuilt everything. Stronger, wider, and a whole lot more functional. Simple, right? Well... not quite.
The steps looked something like this:
Dismantle part of the stone wall without damaging the rest of it.
Lay a new concrete foundation (in weather that did not want to cooperate, thanks to Storm Eowyn).
Dig deep post holes and shift the very HEAVY palisade metal fencing 15 feet over.
Match the stones in the new wall to the old part - despite them being all sorts of weird shapes.
Rebuild the wall with mismatched stones, acid wash the lot, reattach the fence and level it up.
Oh, and did I mention we weren’t exactly working with professionals? Just a rotating crew of Bunker volunteers with grit, guesswork and good humour.
Lessons in stone, sweat, and stubborn weather
I wish I could tell you it all went smoothly. But this is Scotland.
The project took about eight weeks, and not because we were dawdling. With only around four people on-site most of the time (there isn’t an abundance of volunteers in March), lots of other projects ticking along, and being thrown curveballs, it was a real juggling act.
Here are a few of our favourite challenges:
The weather: too wet for cement one day, sweltering heatwave the next. Brutal.
A huge tree came down and had to be removed - leaving a big hole that cars liked to park in and get stuck in the mud (and yes… we helped pull them out).
People still tried parking in the carpark mid-construction so we rolled a giant boulder into the entrance to block it off (it didn’t stop them).
Being a public area, we couldn’t leave tools or materials on-site, so every day meant lugging everything in and out - including lunch.
At one point, someone even swiped a few of the top stones (uprights). We like to think they were just... inspired by our craftsmanship?
Despite all that, we got it done. Big shoutout to our volunteers and our mate Finn the Trustee/labourer - plus anyone else who lent a hand.
So, was it worth it?
Absolutely.
The new entrance looks brilliant, works better, and finally gives us space to get big vehicles in and out safely. There’s now room for around 12 cars (maybe 15 if everyone parks nicely), and local dog walkers, trail users, and Bunker visitors are all enjoying the extra space.
One of the best moments? Someone walking past saying, “Those contractors are doing a great job.” We just grinned, knowing it was all volunteer-led.
Plus, by reusing the existing fence and only funding what we needed, we managed to keep costs low. No fancy contractors, just some clever problem-solving and determination.
Is it our private property now we’ve done all the work? Nope, it belongs to the council - but we have our right of access, and the council were supportive throughout. They drew up the plans, gave us a deadline, and let us run with it. We have agreed that maintenance going forward is going to be our job, which honestly, feels fair.
Would we do it again? Hmm. It was fun to learn things, but the pressures of a deadline made it a little stressful at times. Let’s just say next time we might let the professionals take the wheel. That said, they’ll probably ask us to rebuild the rest of the wall in due course (because ours looks way better than the original).
Final thoughts…
It’s funny how something as small as widening a wall can feel like such a big deal. But when you’re doing it with your own hands, learning as you go, and watching the space physically open up - it really sticks with you. We didn’t wait around for a perfect moment or a contractor to solve the problem for us, we just… figured it out. Painfully and slowly at times, but we got there.
Sure, it paused our Bunker restoration efforts for a little while, and stretched our tiny team to its limits. But now that it’s done, it gives us all a little more breathing room - literally and figuratively - as we keep building something amazing here at the Bunker.
Keen to get involved?
Whether you’ve got a skill to share, want to learn something new, or just fancy getting stuck in with a bunch of really great people - we’d love to have you. Just bring your curiosity, your enthusiasm (and maybe some toilet paper).
We’re always working on something new - walls, gardens, painting, cleaning, running tours and events, feeding the animals (chickens, goats, emus - yes you read that right). There’s a job for everyone, whether you’re a wall-building pro or just really good at making tea (both equally valuable, trust me).
Read more about volunteering with us here or just pop by for a chat. The kettle’s usually on.
