Hunterston A

Hunterston A power station is a twin reactor Magnox power station now shutdown and being decommissioned. The station, Scotland's first civil nuclear generating station and, at the time of opening, the largest in operation anywhere in the world generated around 360 MW of electricity during its 25 year life - enough electricity to supply 700,000 homes.

Following a lenghtly public inquiry, permission to build Hunterston A nuclear power station was granted in July 1957 and construction began in 1957 - the first of its two reactors began supplying the grid in 1964. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother, officially opened the station on 22 September 1964. Hunsterton A was unique in that load refuelling operations were conducted from below the two Magnox graphite moderated steel pressure vessels.

My dad worked as a shift charge engineer in Hunterston, it's the reason I ended up in this lovely little part of the world, so I have a strong emotional attachment to this place. It's like the set of a 50's sci-fi movie!