Visited with ConcreteJungle and Tallginge on separate occasions.
After nearly two weeks of high temperatures and not a drop of rain for some time, it had been another very hot day and the evening was not all that much cooler in London as I parked up in Notting Hill with ConcreteJungle back in July 2013.
I don't usually include a map, but to better explain what is going on here, I have decided to use one with letters to denote the respective sections A-E:
Within 10 minutes we were below ground where the air was a little cooler but equally as humid and were now standing above the Middle Level Sewer #1.
From here a ladder led down to the bottom of some solid stone steps which 'water' from the overflow falls before entering the beautiful 5' two tone blue/red brick North Kensington Relief Sewer tunnel running west that meets up with the huge North Western Storm Relief Sewer. (Following four pics are at point B on map)
What I really love about this junction is that the 5' NKRS meets the 8'6" NWSRS roughly at an angle of 45 degrees and then proceeds to dissect it and continue its journey to the west. This angle provides for some stunning brickwork of the highest visual and engineering standards, with each brick that seamlessly joins the two tunnels made especially for its place. The older NKRS proceeds to double back on the NWSRS dissecting it two more times further downstream. (Following pics are at point C on map)
On my first visit with ConcreteJungle I didn't follow the NWSRS downstream from here on this occasion as these steps were incredibly slippery as you can see, there is no handrail and the steps themselves actually tilt forwards!
The slipperiness is caused by the fact that there is a constant flow of nasty sewage from the northern reaches of the Middle Level Sewer #2 which is a shame as this is an otherwise pristine brick tunnel.
From here we headed upstream where the tunnel reduces in size by a foot to a still very impressive 7'6". Built 94 years ago, it is quite modern as London drainage goes, but you could be forgiven for thinking it was much younger considering the fine condition it is in.
A slow walk of about 25 minutes from here saw us passing a number of manhole shafts, and a more modern concrete junction which supplies the constant flow of filth from the Middle Level Sewer #2 sewer that we had the pleasure of walking through. Having passed this junction with the sewer, the tunnel was now clean and practically dry and before long we had reached another impressive staircase leading up to a large overflow chamber for the Ranelagh sewer at a point where the Ranelagh takes a turn of 90 degrees. Here you can see a nice mix of yellow, blue and red bricks.
This chamber is often referred to as the Shelf Life Junction due to the huge shelf of fungus growing from the wall - Mmm delicious.
(Following pics are at point A on map)
My next visit with Tallginge involved us entering the drain at point B on the map again and descending that dodgy staircase very carefully and slowly using studded waders.
The first thing we came upon was this manhole shaft with seriously worn brickwork caused by the severe swinging of the iron chains under storm conditions. These pictures may appear quite serene and indeed a lot of the time it is rather quiet down here apart from the sound of wheels going over a distant manhole cover or a tube train passing by but when the rains come this place very soon becomes a deadly torrent of filth which fills straight up to the tunnel roof.
We are now at point D on the map where the NKRS dissects the NWSR again this time at a tighter angle than before, taking with it the filth that has been flowing though it from it's northern reaches.
The term Labyrinth is not an undeserved moniker considering these crazy angles. The workmanship that went into forming the brickwork at these dissections of the NKRS and the newer NWSR are an amazing work of art that nobody gets to see but that real people put hard work into doing properly. Those workers are sadly dead and gone but the fruit of their hard work still channels the shite of all and sundry to the treatment works or into the Thames.
Continued.
After nearly two weeks of high temperatures and not a drop of rain for some time, it had been another very hot day and the evening was not all that much cooler in London as I parked up in Notting Hill with ConcreteJungle back in July 2013.
I don't usually include a map, but to better explain what is going on here, I have decided to use one with letters to denote the respective sections A-E:
Within 10 minutes we were below ground where the air was a little cooler but equally as humid and were now standing above the Middle Level Sewer #1.
From here a ladder led down to the bottom of some solid stone steps which 'water' from the overflow falls before entering the beautiful 5' two tone blue/red brick North Kensington Relief Sewer tunnel running west that meets up with the huge North Western Storm Relief Sewer. (Following four pics are at point B on map)
What I really love about this junction is that the 5' NKRS meets the 8'6" NWSRS roughly at an angle of 45 degrees and then proceeds to dissect it and continue its journey to the west. This angle provides for some stunning brickwork of the highest visual and engineering standards, with each brick that seamlessly joins the two tunnels made especially for its place. The older NKRS proceeds to double back on the NWSRS dissecting it two more times further downstream. (Following pics are at point C on map)
On my first visit with ConcreteJungle I didn't follow the NWSRS downstream from here on this occasion as these steps were incredibly slippery as you can see, there is no handrail and the steps themselves actually tilt forwards!
The slipperiness is caused by the fact that there is a constant flow of nasty sewage from the northern reaches of the Middle Level Sewer #2 which is a shame as this is an otherwise pristine brick tunnel.
From here we headed upstream where the tunnel reduces in size by a foot to a still very impressive 7'6". Built 94 years ago, it is quite modern as London drainage goes, but you could be forgiven for thinking it was much younger considering the fine condition it is in.
A slow walk of about 25 minutes from here saw us passing a number of manhole shafts, and a more modern concrete junction which supplies the constant flow of filth from the Middle Level Sewer #2 sewer that we had the pleasure of walking through. Having passed this junction with the sewer, the tunnel was now clean and practically dry and before long we had reached another impressive staircase leading up to a large overflow chamber for the Ranelagh sewer at a point where the Ranelagh takes a turn of 90 degrees. Here you can see a nice mix of yellow, blue and red bricks.
This chamber is often referred to as the Shelf Life Junction due to the huge shelf of fungus growing from the wall - Mmm delicious.
(Following pics are at point A on map)
My next visit with Tallginge involved us entering the drain at point B on the map again and descending that dodgy staircase very carefully and slowly using studded waders.
The first thing we came upon was this manhole shaft with seriously worn brickwork caused by the severe swinging of the iron chains under storm conditions. These pictures may appear quite serene and indeed a lot of the time it is rather quiet down here apart from the sound of wheels going over a distant manhole cover or a tube train passing by but when the rains come this place very soon becomes a deadly torrent of filth which fills straight up to the tunnel roof.
We are now at point D on the map where the NKRS dissects the NWSR again this time at a tighter angle than before, taking with it the filth that has been flowing though it from it's northern reaches.
The term Labyrinth is not an undeserved moniker considering these crazy angles. The workmanship that went into forming the brickwork at these dissections of the NKRS and the newer NWSR are an amazing work of art that nobody gets to see but that real people put hard work into doing properly. Those workers are sadly dead and gone but the fruit of their hard work still channels the shite of all and sundry to the treatment works or into the Thames.
Continued.
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