Fort Knox Experience

A universal byword for impregnable security, Fort Knox in Kentucky is known the world over as home to the US gold bullion reserve. Well, it does have a 22-tonne steel door.

As the resting place of perhaps the greatest concentration of wealth in the world – some 47.3 million troy ounces of gold are stored in Fort Knox, that’s £96bn ($130bn), all in nice gold brick bars – it is guarded by more than a few dobermans. Only one man has managed to foil security there: the eponymous main baddie in the James Bond classic film Goldfinger.

Bond film crews were allowed to film the reserve building’s exterior but were banished from inside, for obvious security reasons. Obviously, simple tourists can’t pop in for a quick peek at the gold but you can venture onto the grounds of the 110,000-acre Fort Knox army base and drive past the building (from a distance). Just mind all the tanks and army trucks trundling by.

Recently, amid all the banking and global finance shenanigans, some people such as Texas congressman Ron Paul, have called for an audit of the gold; the last time a team of accountants went through the reserves was under President Eisenhower. They want to count it, and, more importantly perhaps, make sure the US Federal Government still owns it.

Since it was built in 1937 the gems locked inside the vault have included the US Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, parts of the Gutenberg Bible and Magna Carta.

Remember: if anyone stops you for acting suspiciously, or just being there, say you are visiting the newly remodelled and completely refurbished General George Patton museum, dedicated to the famous, though somewhat controversial world war II general, plus the US military throughout the ages, all housed nearby.

There’s events throughout the year, including re-enactments and the annual Life of the Soldier weekend, this year from May 27 to May 29, which details the life of the American soldier nice 1775.

For more information visit Armor for the Ages.