The huge mast everyone can see from M62 - which used to be vital part of nuclear attack warning system
manchestereveningnews.co.ukEveryone who has driven along the M62 will have seenit at some point or another. Standing proud on the border of Rochdale and Oldham, it has been part of the landscape for as long as most people can remember - but not many people know the full history of the huge Saddleworth mast.
The transmitter stands around 300 feet tall, overlooking the surrounding moorland and the highest point of the M62 motorway.
However, it’s not the location that makes this communications tower so interesting. Whether you call the stretch of ground it’s on Windy Hill or Saddleworth, there’s a very impressive history unveiled in part by a former top secret paper from the Post Office. READ MORE:DIY fans in stitches over 'rude' names of B&Q paint colours Created to discuss the impact of a nuclear attack on the communications system, the report from July 1956 outlined a “backbone” system created for “defence purposes” running up and down the country.
During the peak of the Cold War unrest, the threat of nuclear war was on everyone’s minds, and precautions were being taken to ensure the UK was prepared for whatever was about to come.
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