[2] A deep ditch with a retractable bridge was dug into the chalk to protect the facility from ground attack from the island side.

[5] A tunnel leads to a searchlight emplacement with good views towards the Needles lighthouse.

This was solved by building the New Battery higher up the cliff, at a height of 120 metres above sea level.

[9] When the site came into the possession of the National Trust, it was decided to restore the Old Battery so that it could be opened to the general public.

The National Trust Youth Group comprising local schoolchildren and teachers assisted in preparing the site for its official opening in 1982.

The site is still managed by the National Trust and is open daily from mid-March to the end of October.

Along with a series of exhibition rooms and the tunnel there are a number of visitor facilities including a tearoom.

The New Battery was opened to the public in 2004 and has a display on the history of the British rocket development between the 1950s and 1970s.