Z
Zero
Guest
Guest
Visited today with loops.
It was my second trip to motherload, the first being a bit of a failure due to the high water levels.
All the drunks and nutters were out today. As we barrier ed up our manhole a old man came over to ask what we were doing. We came him a quick explanation about sewers and blockages and he seemed satisfied and walked off. We were about to go down when we heard a girl shout "what are you doing". I turned around to see a very drunk girl walking along and asking us if we were having a BBQ?. What?. It was very clear her eyes were a bit off due to the drink. "can i have a look". Argghhhh. She came over and asked a bit more about what we were doing. Saying she thought it was a BBQ over 6 times before stumbling off.
Once we were in the clear we headed down and into the deep.
Once we hit the bottom we went to check on the status of the main tunnel, after a brief walk we reached it....Damn. The water was still there and flowing fast to the end. Although not as deep as last time.
I wasn't going to be beaten by this again so we tested the current to see if it was walkable. It was but my god if we knew just how far we had to walk we would have given up there and then.
Thankfully with my new handy dandy chest waders water was no problem for me so i splashed along ahead with no problems although loops had a little trouble. We passed several entry drop shafts which each had two levels, so nowhere near as big as the main one.
A bit further up we came into a small chamber with several pipe holes in a wall with huge piles of sludge everywhere. We climbed over and up the ladder to find another shaft with large pipes running vertically. As time was an issue we headed back to the main pipe and continued up.
It felt like hours past. The sound of the end never changing before we saw it!, a small glimmer of light at the end of tunnel. Just before we got there we spotted a low flying bat to which loops was convinced was a large moth!.
At the end of the tunnel the pipe split into three, To the right the pipe headed up large stairs to a manhole and not much else. To the left the pipe stepped up a ledge into a catchment tank and out through the outfall flaps. We didn't look up the front tunnel as we looked around the corner and it just seemed to keep going.
We decided to head outside to see where the river falls into motherload. I had no problem with the water due to being in chest waders, but i fear loops got a little wet but was determined to see it. It was defiantly worth it!. Once outside we climbed up the ladder and stood on the rusted platforms in front of the gates. We took a few pictures before heading back in to take more pictures of the main junction.
The water was a real pain. Due to it being a fast current it moved my tripod making almost all my pictures blurry. We tried a few times before beginning the walk back to our entrance.
After a short walk, aided by the push of the current we decided it would be best to leave the southern end for another day as the tide was already rising and walking back was going to be a problem if it got any higher.
We headed back into the entry shaft and climbed up and out!.
But the fun didn't end there, oh no!. We were driving back on the M4 when the car shook violently and the left side jumped a foot into the air. We veered left and luckily managed to pulled over onto the hard shoulder.
We stepped out to see what the hell had just happened to see all the tred and rubber from my wheel had been ripped off leaving nothing apart from the metal bracing......Not good.
We called the AA and when our friendly breakdown man arrived he looked at the car and his face just dropped. "My god you two were lucky not to have a blow out". There was literally 1mm left of rubber before the tire burst.
We changed to the spare and headed off home. Too much excitement for one day.
Anyways the pictures....
Going Down
At The End
To the Right
To the left
Outside
Heading back in
Main Tunnel
Back up
what remains of my wheel.
It was my second trip to motherload, the first being a bit of a failure due to the high water levels.
All the drunks and nutters were out today. As we barrier ed up our manhole a old man came over to ask what we were doing. We came him a quick explanation about sewers and blockages and he seemed satisfied and walked off. We were about to go down when we heard a girl shout "what are you doing". I turned around to see a very drunk girl walking along and asking us if we were having a BBQ?. What?. It was very clear her eyes were a bit off due to the drink. "can i have a look". Argghhhh. She came over and asked a bit more about what we were doing. Saying she thought it was a BBQ over 6 times before stumbling off.
Once we were in the clear we headed down and into the deep.
Once we hit the bottom we went to check on the status of the main tunnel, after a brief walk we reached it....Damn. The water was still there and flowing fast to the end. Although not as deep as last time.
I wasn't going to be beaten by this again so we tested the current to see if it was walkable. It was but my god if we knew just how far we had to walk we would have given up there and then.
Thankfully with my new handy dandy chest waders water was no problem for me so i splashed along ahead with no problems although loops had a little trouble. We passed several entry drop shafts which each had two levels, so nowhere near as big as the main one.
A bit further up we came into a small chamber with several pipe holes in a wall with huge piles of sludge everywhere. We climbed over and up the ladder to find another shaft with large pipes running vertically. As time was an issue we headed back to the main pipe and continued up.
It felt like hours past. The sound of the end never changing before we saw it!, a small glimmer of light at the end of tunnel. Just before we got there we spotted a low flying bat to which loops was convinced was a large moth!.
At the end of the tunnel the pipe split into three, To the right the pipe headed up large stairs to a manhole and not much else. To the left the pipe stepped up a ledge into a catchment tank and out through the outfall flaps. We didn't look up the front tunnel as we looked around the corner and it just seemed to keep going.
We decided to head outside to see where the river falls into motherload. I had no problem with the water due to being in chest waders, but i fear loops got a little wet but was determined to see it. It was defiantly worth it!. Once outside we climbed up the ladder and stood on the rusted platforms in front of the gates. We took a few pictures before heading back in to take more pictures of the main junction.
The water was a real pain. Due to it being a fast current it moved my tripod making almost all my pictures blurry. We tried a few times before beginning the walk back to our entrance.
After a short walk, aided by the push of the current we decided it would be best to leave the southern end for another day as the tide was already rising and walking back was going to be a problem if it got any higher.
We headed back into the entry shaft and climbed up and out!.
But the fun didn't end there, oh no!. We were driving back on the M4 when the car shook violently and the left side jumped a foot into the air. We veered left and luckily managed to pulled over onto the hard shoulder.
We stepped out to see what the hell had just happened to see all the tred and rubber from my wheel had been ripped off leaving nothing apart from the metal bracing......Not good.
We called the AA and when our friendly breakdown man arrived he looked at the car and his face just dropped. "My god you two were lucky not to have a blow out". There was literally 1mm left of rubber before the tire burst.
We changed to the spare and headed off home. Too much excitement for one day.
Anyways the pictures....
Going Down
At The End
To the Right
To the left
Outside
Heading back in
Main Tunnel
Back up
what remains of my wheel.
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