Ok - so this is my first report, so go easy on me. I've previously said that I'm into geocaching and there just happens to be a cache hidden somewhere in this culvert. So last week, whilst having a day caching on the moors and a plan to finish the day off in the culvert I thought I'd take a few pics and post them here. I know this culvert has been reported previously but the last was 5 years ago so it's probably due a revisit.
The entrance is found by dropping down from a public footpath. A bit of stealth is required because the entrance is directly below someone's garden.
Entrance is fairly large and no stooping is necessary at any point, although there are some pretty vicious bits of metal jutting out at the bottom end. You can see in the pic below where the homeowners have dumped their green waste at the entrance.
The culvert is fairly circular for the first part........
.........before a couple of steps down take you into a more modern section with a flat concrete floor.
The construction then changes again ..... Funnily enough, just beyond the yellow painted 11 in the pic below was a small weir and then a section where there were fish. I saw a couple of small fish and then spotted what looked like a trout and it was a good 12 inches long. I was amazed that something that big would be down here but then again there are no natural enemies (heron etc) down here. I tried to get a picture but disturbed it and it swam away into a deep crevice in the floor where the concrete had perished leaving a space underneath.
After that I entered a section that was strewn with some pretty hefty debris.
The culvert then opens up to a section where there is a timber-lined section overhead - heaven knows what is just above the timber.
Then back to the arched roof for another section strewn with ankle-breakers.
Walking became quite treacherous - I was glad I had a walking pole with me.
There follows a section which holds a ladder going up to a manhole cover which looks as if it is now sealed off. this shot is looking back upstream with the ladder to the left
Then on towards the outfall
Once out it isn't possible to get back on public roads without walking down the streambed for a good distance - there are tall walls on either side, so I turned round and came back through the culvert and eventually back onto the public footpath.
Hope you enjoyed :-)
The entrance is found by dropping down from a public footpath. A bit of stealth is required because the entrance is directly below someone's garden.
Entrance is fairly large and no stooping is necessary at any point, although there are some pretty vicious bits of metal jutting out at the bottom end. You can see in the pic below where the homeowners have dumped their green waste at the entrance.
The culvert is fairly circular for the first part........
.........before a couple of steps down take you into a more modern section with a flat concrete floor.
The construction then changes again ..... Funnily enough, just beyond the yellow painted 11 in the pic below was a small weir and then a section where there were fish. I saw a couple of small fish and then spotted what looked like a trout and it was a good 12 inches long. I was amazed that something that big would be down here but then again there are no natural enemies (heron etc) down here. I tried to get a picture but disturbed it and it swam away into a deep crevice in the floor where the concrete had perished leaving a space underneath.
After that I entered a section that was strewn with some pretty hefty debris.
The culvert then opens up to a section where there is a timber-lined section overhead - heaven knows what is just above the timber.
Then back to the arched roof for another section strewn with ankle-breakers.
Walking became quite treacherous - I was glad I had a walking pole with me.
There follows a section which holds a ladder going up to a manhole cover which looks as if it is now sealed off. this shot is looking back upstream with the ladder to the left
Then on towards the outfall
Once out it isn't possible to get back on public roads without walking down the streambed for a good distance - there are tall walls on either side, so I turned round and came back through the culvert and eventually back onto the public footpath.
Hope you enjoyed :-)
