Kevin Nosferatu: Skulferatu #38 - Torness Nuclear Power Station, Dunbar, East Lothian

A postcard showing various views around Torness Nuclear Power Station. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project

Have a Nuclear Time at Terrific Torness!

Is it wrong to have a favourite nuclear power station? Well, I do, and it is Torness Nuclear Power Station situated just a few miles down the road from the town of Dunbar. It can be reached by car along the A1, or by walking out from Dunbar and then along the coastal path of the John Muir Way. I took the coastal route and walked there, past Barns Ness Lighthouse, and along through the sandy paths with the sharp grasses that grow there. Following the coast around I then came to the lime kilns at Skateraw and going up and over the hill by them, arrived at the coastal concrete walkways that lead round and past the power station and on to Torness Point and Thorntonloch Beach.

Wall and fields of tall grass stretching off into distance with the large structure of Torness Nuclear Power Station rising up in the background. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project

Rural walk to Torness Nuclear Power Station

Flat grass land stretching off into distance with the large structure of Torness Nuclear Power Station rising up in the background. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project

Rural walk to Torness Nuclear Power Station

Torness Nuclear Power Station as seen from Skateraw

The lower and upper walkway around the coast by the power station were constructed as a sea defence. Part of this defence are the thousands of distinctive looking concrete blocks that rise up from the sea to the wall of the lower walkway. These blocks are known as Dolos Units and are used as protection against the erosive force of the waves and rough seas. They work by dissipating the energy from the wave by deflecting it to the side and thus lessening any erosion or damage. These blocks and the bare concrete of the walkways create quite a stark, yet dramatic feature in the landscape.

Torness Nuclear Power Station as seen from the walkway pier

Walkway and Dolos

Lower walkway around grounds of Torness Nuclear Power Station. Picture shows the concrete walkway and walls with a cloudy sky in the background. Photo by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project

Lower walkway around grounds of the power station

Torness Nuclear Power Station was the last of the United Kingdom’s second generation nuclear power plants to be commissioned, and it is one of the seven remaining nuclear power stations in the UK. Like all the remaining nuclear power stations, Torness was built beside the sea, as nuclear reactors need access to large quantities of water to keep the core at a stable temperature. The sea water is also used to generate steam to drive a turbine which in turn powers the generator.

Torness Nuclear Power Station

Construction began on Torness in 1980 and by 1988 the power station had been completed and was generating electricity. The power station has two Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors and supplies around 1,190MW (megawatts) to the National Grid. In 2019 it generated more than 10TWh (Terawatt-hours), which was enough to power 2.5 million homes.

Torness is expected to operate until around 2030 before being decommissioned.

I left the Skulferatu that accompanied me on today’s walk amongst the rocks forming part of the sea defences by the beach at the southeast side of the power station.