What do you think?
Rate this book
Atomic Albion: Journeys Around Britain’s Nuclear Power Stations
Walking tours of Britain's nuclear power stations, exploring the history of the sites they occupy and their social, ecological, and cultural impact on the landscape.
The United Kingdom has sixteen nuclear power stations. Most go under the radar, but their presence is enormous, both physically and culturally. They divide opinion like nothing else. Are they relics of a past era, or a crucial part of our futures? Are they cathedrals of science or temples of doom? Atomic Albion is a journey around Britain's nuclear power stations and the country itself. From the Essex marshes to the Anglesey coast, from the Dungeness shingle to the far north of Scotland, Tom Bolton explores how nuclear sites shape the places around them, and enters the impossible world of nuclear power and weapons.
The United Kingdom has sixteen nuclear power stations. Most go under the radar, but their presence is enormous, both physically and culturally. They divide opinion like nothing else. Are they relics of a past era, or a crucial part of our futures? Are they cathedrals of science or temples of doom? Atomic Albion is a journey around Britain's nuclear power stations and the country itself. From the Essex marshes to the Anglesey coast, from the Dungeness shingle to the far north of Scotland, Tom Bolton explores how nuclear sites shape the places around them, and enters the impossible world of nuclear power and weapons.
360 pages, Paperback
Published December 16, 2025
1 person is currently reading
59 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 23, 2025
Yet another excellent book by Tom Bolton.
This time he's on a journey around Britain's 16 nuclear power stations. He considers their (deliberately) remote locations, often in areas with unique environmental interest. He's also interested in the sheer scale of these huge structures and how they relate (or not) to their local area. Along the way we get a potted history of the UK's flirtations with nuclear energy and weapons including a litany of the many near accidents occurring along the way, some of which could have been potentially disastrous.
Virtually all of these power stations have reached end of life after only a few decades and are in the process of the very long (decades more) of decommissioning and the problem of how to deal with the resulting radioactive waste that needs to be safely stored for very many generations.
Fascinating and informative, thanks Tom!
This time he's on a journey around Britain's 16 nuclear power stations. He considers their (deliberately) remote locations, often in areas with unique environmental interest. He's also interested in the sheer scale of these huge structures and how they relate (or not) to their local area. Along the way we get a potted history of the UK's flirtations with nuclear energy and weapons including a litany of the many near accidents occurring along the way, some of which could have been potentially disastrous.
Virtually all of these power stations have reached end of life after only a few decades and are in the process of the very long (decades more) of decommissioning and the problem of how to deal with the resulting radioactive waste that needs to be safely stored for very many generations.
Fascinating and informative, thanks Tom!
November 27, 2025
A remarkably well-researched slice of social history, anchored to an engaging exploration of these fascinating, foreboding structures that dotted the British landscape. Whenever I've stood and stared at one of these power stations (I've always been overawed by Trawsfynydd) I have had a sense that I am seeing decaying temples to the future. Tom Bolton puts this vague but powerful nostaligia into its clear and contemporary context. Highly recommended.
December 27, 2025
Exceeded expectations in how comprehensive it was. A really enjoyable and interesting account of a world that seems hidden in plain sight. I was interested to read this after a really surreal trip we made to Tollesbury Wick marshes one winter, the Bradwell nuclear power station looming over the very liminal harbour really captured my imagination that day. Atomic Albion satisfied my curiosity on that one & drew me into similar vignettes of remote coastal locations hosting these ominous cathedrals of the atomic age.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews