WATCH: Take A Tour Of Essex's Secret Nuclear Bunker

If you look hard enough you might just find a fully-equipped bunker tucked away in the leafy Essex countryside.

Built during the Cold War, the only thing visible from the air is a mast. The entrance is 120m long tunnel inside an unassuming yet heavily reinforced bungalow.

100 feet underground, the bunker contains bedrooms, a canteen and even a theatre, all split between three levels.

Completely self-contained, there’s generators that have enough fuel to run constantly for three months, food and water.

The bunker was also kept under positive air pressure which, in the event of an attack, would help keep the radioactive dust out.

Mike Parrish's family took over the bunker in 1994, but he explained that his family had long-before had a connection to the secret nuclear bunker:

"The government approached my grandfather and under the threat of compulsory purchase bought this 25 acres of land. They bulldozed the hill away, built the bunker and then put the dirt back over it again.

"We then built a farm on it as a family so the Russians wouldn't know that it was here."

At any one time, there could have been 450 people tucked away in the bunker, living in extremely close quarters without the comfort of their family and friends.

With people staying down there for up to three months at a time on exercise, there was a real need to consider how to save space in every aspect of life. One example of this was the sick-bay keeping cardboard coffins.

Though the site is now a popular destination for tourists, there's always the possibility that this bunker could one day be operational again. Owner, Mr Parris added:

"The government can take anything back. If they take emergency powers they can take your house, they can take anything that they think they want to take – but the difference is this time that I've got they keys, and they've got to get in!"