Barely Walking
The River Irk is practically on my doorstep, having walked past here a thousand times I have never bothered to look, shame on me!
The source is further upstream, which consists of several springs
The Irk runs from here in roughly a southwesterly direction for about 20km (16km as the crow flies) to Manchester City Centre
If you follow it down for a short distance it eventually disappears underground, this being the first of several culverts before it finally joins the River Irwell
Having spent most of the day underground, it was now going dark as I decided to check out this final piece of the jigsaw
The Outfall is a stone dressed affair just under 7ft in diameter
The initial stretch is pretty awesome, constructed of stone, it certainly has stood the test of time
After around 150 yards the culvert changes direction and also height & composition leading to a 5ft RBP
The drain twists and turns ever so slightly here and there, continuing upstream through a never ending RBP
Along the way I counted at least 4 manhole shafts, before the final infall
Further upstream the brickwork becomes covered with calcite formations and what looks like crude oil and ochre seaping through, the colours and texture really are amazing to see
After a couple of hundred yards this, the final inspection chamber, ahead the drain shrinks to a smaller brick arch..
..Continuing through
Eventually leading to this wider section - Ahead the drain shrinks to under 3ft
I persevered for a good while before giving up, bent more than double is no fun
After heading out, I made the trip above ground to locate the infall (Perhaps just as well) - No Exit!
