Atomic Weapons Establishment

The Atomic Weapons Establishment stands on the former RAF Aldermaston airfield west of Reading. Its main site covers flat Berkshire countryside, with additional facilities at Burghfield, Blacknest and RNAD Coulport. The organisation designs, manufactures and supports warheads for the UK’s nuclear deterrent. It evolved from the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment created in 1950. The first Aldermaston March ended here in 1958 after protesters walked from Trafalgar Square. Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament still holds annual marches to the gates. The site is worth visiting for its role in British nuclear history. The Ministry of Defence owns the land and buildings while AWE plc runs day-to-day operations. Between 1993 and 2021 a private consortium operated the site, but control returned to government in 2021. Scientists here identified polonium-210 in the Litvinenko case, drawing on expertise from the early atomic programme. A new Future Materials Campus is planned to cost over £10 billion and house next-generation warhead production. Visitors see a secure research and manufacturing complex set in open Berkshire landscape. The main Aldermaston site contains laboratories, assembly halls and storage buildings. Burghfield hosts warhead refurbishment workshops alongside flood defences installed after the 2007 inundations. Blacknest operates seismic detection for treaty verification. The gates remain the endpoint for protest marches that began in central London decades ago.