Visited twice. First with @Tig and a non-member, and then again with @wildling. Thanks to @Garou Garou for the tip-off.
I would love at this point in my report to give you some historical facts about the tunnel, but unfortunately despite much searching on the internet, I have come up with nothing. So I would much appreciate it if anyone has any information to share!
This was a very exciting explore both times, despite the ridiculous access! It almost put me off the first time I saw it. But once I was in, I was very pleased I’d made myself do it, despite being covered in dirt, with a few scrapes on my arms, and coughing up a load of dust (I forgot to bring a mask, again!). I was also made to feel very pleased on both trips of my small size: on the first trip there were a few scary minutes when I thought Tig was actually stuck fast, and on the second trip Wildling got a bit stuck, got his belt caught and I got a pretty good view of his pants as his trousers got pulled down...
Anyway, back to the tunnels. The one we had entered into was on the northern side of the river, and was quite small so we had to stoop as we made our way along it. It was 72 metres long, had a gradual downwards incline, and a few cables ran along its side. In case anyone is thinking that I measured it, no I didn’t. There was a handy sign which informed me of this fact.
At the end of this tunnel was a much larger tunnel in which we had plenty of room to stand up straight. This tunnel was 859 metres long, and again had cables running down its side. It felt strange to think that the river was above our heads as we wandered down the tunnel towards Battersea Power Station.
This larger tunnel came to a halt beneath a large upwards shaft, which I believe is either directly beneath the power station, or is somewhere within the site boundary. There were two industrial pumps in a sump at the base of the shaft, and we nearly jumped out of our skins when they started up! I must be triggered by the water in the sump reaching a certain point. I say the tunnel came to a halt here rather than ended, as the tunnel had clearly been walled up, and a strong draught could be felt coming through a gap in the masonry. I was later told by @Bertie Bollockbrains that this leads to Battersea Utility Tunnel A… interesting…
Finally some photos below. It seemed the perfect location to have my first go at light painting…
I would love at this point in my report to give you some historical facts about the tunnel, but unfortunately despite much searching on the internet, I have come up with nothing. So I would much appreciate it if anyone has any information to share!
This was a very exciting explore both times, despite the ridiculous access! It almost put me off the first time I saw it. But once I was in, I was very pleased I’d made myself do it, despite being covered in dirt, with a few scrapes on my arms, and coughing up a load of dust (I forgot to bring a mask, again!). I was also made to feel very pleased on both trips of my small size: on the first trip there were a few scary minutes when I thought Tig was actually stuck fast, and on the second trip Wildling got a bit stuck, got his belt caught and I got a pretty good view of his pants as his trousers got pulled down...
Anyway, back to the tunnels. The one we had entered into was on the northern side of the river, and was quite small so we had to stoop as we made our way along it. It was 72 metres long, had a gradual downwards incline, and a few cables ran along its side. In case anyone is thinking that I measured it, no I didn’t. There was a handy sign which informed me of this fact.
At the end of this tunnel was a much larger tunnel in which we had plenty of room to stand up straight. This tunnel was 859 metres long, and again had cables running down its side. It felt strange to think that the river was above our heads as we wandered down the tunnel towards Battersea Power Station.
This larger tunnel came to a halt beneath a large upwards shaft, which I believe is either directly beneath the power station, or is somewhere within the site boundary. There were two industrial pumps in a sump at the base of the shaft, and we nearly jumped out of our skins when they started up! I must be triggered by the water in the sump reaching a certain point. I say the tunnel came to a halt here rather than ended, as the tunnel had clearly been walled up, and a strong draught could be felt coming through a gap in the masonry. I was later told by @Bertie Bollockbrains that this leads to Battersea Utility Tunnel A… interesting…
Finally some photos below. It seemed the perfect location to have my first go at light painting…