Background:
I was unable to find a great deal of history online regarding this place, but to the best of my knowledge, this is one of London's longer sewers, stretching 8km from the 100ft ladder in Highbury & Islington to the floodgate at the Thames in Shadwell, and acts as an overflow for several other large sewers connecting to its main drag.
As I'm sure many of you know, this is another of Sir Bazalgette's legacies, showing off a real feat of Victorian engineering.
However, due to the all too familiar Crossrail project, a large portion of this sewer was spray-created to reinforce the structure, covering the original brickwork beneath making it somewhat unphotogenic. Fortunately, there was still enough to photograph to justify the 5 hours I'd go on to spend down there...
Into the depths:
Having taken a shine to visiting a handful of London's drains earlier in the year, I decided to squeeze in one more before New Year's rolled around.
On this escapade beneath the streets, I was joined by @TheVicar, @James Cross and @obscureserenity, all in all, the perfect crowd for the job.
We began what would quite possibly be the longest distance I've ever walked underground, starting in Highbury & Islington where we were met by the gruelling 100ft ladder that @TheVicar had warned me about...
We decided to take advantage of the early winter sunset and drop in as soon as darkness fell given the location of the lid. Much to my surprise though, and despite being unable to see the bottom amid the inevitable sewer steam, the climb down wasn't as savage as I anticipated.
Once in, we were met by what I would say is the most photogenic section of the drain, and so of course the multi-coloured lights had to come out to play!
After exhausting this spot of photo opportunities, it was time to press on. I'd been stressed that the walk would take a considerable amount of time, but I'd not fully comprehended just HOW long it would go on to be.
From here onwards, the tunnel became pretty featureless and slippery, so I thought it best to pack the DSLR away temporarily.
Eventually, we were met by a large chamber where we'd take a much-needed pit stop and crack open a beer.
@TheVicar in frame
Given I'd almost slipped over several times on the run-up to this bit, I stepped with caution on the trudge to the overflow chamber which fortunately didn't take all that long to reach.
The chamber itself was akin to the design and layout of the one in The River Grom in Kent which I visited back in 2019, indicating this must be a relatively contemporary instalment.
The final leg of the journey was upon us, and we were met by the spray-created section I'd mentioned earlier. This made for a fairly uneasy walk as the floor became increasingly slippery, but alas, we kept moving forward in the direction of the floodgate at Shadwell that we wanted to see.
@James Cross in shot
Finally... the almighty floodgate!
If one thing's for sure, it was certainly a good job the tide was out when we stood behind this beast of a gate. Although I do not doubt its ability to withstand the immense pressure of the Thames when in.
By this point, I worked out we'd been underground for coming on 5 hours, and with all of us mildly flagging from inhaling the sewer's stench, it was time to make a break for it.
We began to retrace our steps backwards a couple hundred metres before eventually finding a lid I could push from beneath. One by one, we made it up and were gladly met by the much-needed crisp night air...
Thanks once again to @TheVicar for suggesting this place to visit, and to @James Cross & @obscureserenity for putting up with my non-stop chit-chat for 5hrs! All in all, another success!
I was unable to find a great deal of history online regarding this place, but to the best of my knowledge, this is one of London's longer sewers, stretching 8km from the 100ft ladder in Highbury & Islington to the floodgate at the Thames in Shadwell, and acts as an overflow for several other large sewers connecting to its main drag.
As I'm sure many of you know, this is another of Sir Bazalgette's legacies, showing off a real feat of Victorian engineering.
However, due to the all too familiar Crossrail project, a large portion of this sewer was spray-created to reinforce the structure, covering the original brickwork beneath making it somewhat unphotogenic. Fortunately, there was still enough to photograph to justify the 5 hours I'd go on to spend down there...
Into the depths:
Having taken a shine to visiting a handful of London's drains earlier in the year, I decided to squeeze in one more before New Year's rolled around.
On this escapade beneath the streets, I was joined by @TheVicar, @James Cross and @obscureserenity, all in all, the perfect crowd for the job.
We began what would quite possibly be the longest distance I've ever walked underground, starting in Highbury & Islington where we were met by the gruelling 100ft ladder that @TheVicar had warned me about...
We decided to take advantage of the early winter sunset and drop in as soon as darkness fell given the location of the lid. Much to my surprise though, and despite being unable to see the bottom amid the inevitable sewer steam, the climb down wasn't as savage as I anticipated.
Once in, we were met by what I would say is the most photogenic section of the drain, and so of course the multi-coloured lights had to come out to play!
After exhausting this spot of photo opportunities, it was time to press on. I'd been stressed that the walk would take a considerable amount of time, but I'd not fully comprehended just HOW long it would go on to be.
From here onwards, the tunnel became pretty featureless and slippery, so I thought it best to pack the DSLR away temporarily.
Eventually, we were met by a large chamber where we'd take a much-needed pit stop and crack open a beer.
@TheVicar in frame
Given I'd almost slipped over several times on the run-up to this bit, I stepped with caution on the trudge to the overflow chamber which fortunately didn't take all that long to reach.
The chamber itself was akin to the design and layout of the one in The River Grom in Kent which I visited back in 2019, indicating this must be a relatively contemporary instalment.
The final leg of the journey was upon us, and we were met by the spray-created section I'd mentioned earlier. This made for a fairly uneasy walk as the floor became increasingly slippery, but alas, we kept moving forward in the direction of the floodgate at Shadwell that we wanted to see.
@James Cross in shot
Finally... the almighty floodgate!
If one thing's for sure, it was certainly a good job the tide was out when we stood behind this beast of a gate. Although I do not doubt its ability to withstand the immense pressure of the Thames when in.
By this point, I worked out we'd been underground for coming on 5 hours, and with all of us mildly flagging from inhaling the sewer's stench, it was time to make a break for it.
We began to retrace our steps backwards a couple hundred metres before eventually finding a lid I could push from beneath. One by one, we made it up and were gladly met by the much-needed crisp night air...
Thanks once again to @TheVicar for suggesting this place to visit, and to @James Cross & @obscureserenity for putting up with my non-stop chit-chat for 5hrs! All in all, another success!
Nicely done
