80 Years at the Heart of UK Nuclear
It began in a disused canteen. On 4 February 1946, a small group of engineers sat down at Risley and launched Britain's nuclear age. Eighty years later, that same site — now Birchwood Park — remains at the beating heart of UK nuclear.
From Calder Hall, the world's first commercial nuclear power station, to Sizewell C and the UK's Small Modular Reactor programme, the innovations that have powered a nation trace back here. Explore the full story — and the people, milestones and discoveries that made it.
Discover 80 Years of Nuclear History
Discover 80 Years of Nuclear History
1946
Where Britain's nuclear age began
4,000+
Nuclear professionals based at Birchwood Park
80 years
From a wartime canteen to a Net Zero future