Visited with @james nichols
History:
Every day, thousands of people walk the streets of Camden completely unaware of the 19th-century network of tunnels and vaults that lay beneath their feet, and with next to no surface features, this particular network has gone, for the most part, unnoticed.
Despite its nickname, the Camden Catacombs were never constructed to hold bodies, but were instead built as an underground stable for the horses that worked to shunt railway wagons along the nearby railway. Underground wheels and pully systems were also housed in the engine vaults which were also used to power the tracks, quickening the transportation of heavy trains between Euston up to Camden Town.
Over the years, the tunnels have fallen into the ownership of several companies and have undergone many changes since the major redevelopment of the area in the 1980s, with large sections of the network being shut off and repurposed. Nowadays, only a tiny percentage of what was once accessible still remains doable.
The Explore:
After completing the first challenge of finding somewhere to park, we soon had our kayaks in the water and began to paddle in the direction of Camden Lock, and with only 2 hours on the parking, we were somewhat eager to get the explore underway.
Once we'd made our way down Regents Canal and into the large underground basin, we quickly moored the kayaks and managed to gain entry via a considerably tight but nevertheless much-appreciated entrance, and began to explore this hidden, victorian style underground network.
The tunnels had quite a dank, chilly and moisture-laden feel to them, but at the same time had a fair bit of variation where they'd been repurposed and added too over more recent decades. Although (and as expected) only a small section was actually accessible, and after just an hour of wandering around the system and rattling off a few photos, we were ready to jump back in the kayaks.
I think it's safe to say I was probably 20 odd years too late to this one, however, it was still a great feeling to finally see what's left before any more is closed off.
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- Thanks for looking -
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- Thanks for looking -
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cheers
