Tytherington Quarry, South Gloucestershire
Tytherington Quarry lies just north of Bristol, situated close to the town of Thornbury.
It actually comprises of three quarries, all joined by tunnels. North Face Quarry, as the name suggests, sits furthest North and is separated from the other two by Tytherington Road.
The ‘middle’ section is called Grovesend Quarry, named after the nearby town. This is where the majority of the equipment is situated, and also the section that contains the main entrance, both by road and rail.
To the South, we have Woodleaze Quarry. This looks very similar to the North Face Quarry, with a large body of water at the centre. Like the North Face Quarry, it’s connected to Grovesend Quarry by a tunnel under the rock.
Obligatory histoire:
Rail links
The quarry is served by railway line which enters into Grovesend Quarry - this line forms part of the Thornbury Branch Line. The line used to run from the mainline at Yate all the way into Thornbury, a distance of 7.5 miles. In 1966, the goods depot at Thornbury was closed, and as a result the line between Tytherington Quarry and Thornbury was designated ‘out of use’ and eventually dismantled. In 2013, the whole line was designated as ‘out of use’ as it was announced the quarry would close. This report features photos from that period of closure (2013-2014), as all equipment was left in situ and security was non-existent. The line was then re-opened by Network Rail in 2017 to serve the quarry once again after Hanson announced it was to begin using it again. The quarry has been fully operational ever since, and is still to this day.
End of the line - the track beyond the dead end you see was dismantled. Beyond the dead end lies the town of Thornbury:
Looking towards the quarry:
As the line enters the middle section (Grovesend) and heads off towards the Tytherington Tunnel:
I don't seem to be able to find any of my photos from the tunnel itself. It's quite a well known exploring haunt in the area - see a quality report on it from Lenston here.
Let's move on to the three quarries themselves.
First up is the North Face Quarry (Never Stop Exploring amiright)
This is what the entrance from the road used to look like:
But after lots of problems with local kids using the quarry as their school holidays swimming pool, Hanson realised that extra security measures were needed. Fast forward a year and it looked like this:
FFS!
It was still doable but it made for a much more interesting climb off a rather busy road. This quarry seems to have changed the least over the last five years or so. This is the quarry in 2014:
Then in 2017 - notice how the water level has risen slightly:
Thinking of going for a dip in 2018:
So yeah, that's the North Face Quarry. Pretty simple, just loads of water. Right under where those first few photos were taken is a tunnel that links through to Grovesend Quarry. Can't find a photo from the NF side but will feature one from the other side.
Now on to Grovesend Quarry.
Main site entrance:
All that fencing appeared the same time as the aforementioned fencing. You used to be able to walk under the barrier that's behind the palisade. Damn those meddling kids!
All the photos from this section were taken on a phone as this was a cameraless time in my life... This visit was made in 2014 during the shutdown period.
Tytherington Quarry lies just north of Bristol, situated close to the town of Thornbury.
It actually comprises of three quarries, all joined by tunnels. North Face Quarry, as the name suggests, sits furthest North and is separated from the other two by Tytherington Road.
The ‘middle’ section is called Grovesend Quarry, named after the nearby town. This is where the majority of the equipment is situated, and also the section that contains the main entrance, both by road and rail.
To the South, we have Woodleaze Quarry. This looks very similar to the North Face Quarry, with a large body of water at the centre. Like the North Face Quarry, it’s connected to Grovesend Quarry by a tunnel under the rock.
Obligatory histoire:
The quarry ceased operations in early 2013 and remained closed until 2017 when things started up again. Hanson say the reason for closure was financial hardship.Originally a tiny quarry started in 1872 this huge site is now three quarries joined by short tunnels. Over seven miles of narrowgauge track was laid down and the site gradually grew. Using just a mobile crusher and plenty of local labour 60-65 rail trucks,each carrying 8 tonnes,left every weekend full of stone. With the introduction of steam drills and cranes by 1910 four trains (going in each direction) were leaving.
The yard never had a rail sidings at this point and shared the line with passenger trains- Sundays were the only days there wasn't a passenger service! In June 1944 the line was designated freight only and stayed that way until the sites closure in 2012.
Rail links
The quarry is served by railway line which enters into Grovesend Quarry - this line forms part of the Thornbury Branch Line. The line used to run from the mainline at Yate all the way into Thornbury, a distance of 7.5 miles. In 1966, the goods depot at Thornbury was closed, and as a result the line between Tytherington Quarry and Thornbury was designated ‘out of use’ and eventually dismantled. In 2013, the whole line was designated as ‘out of use’ as it was announced the quarry would close. This report features photos from that period of closure (2013-2014), as all equipment was left in situ and security was non-existent. The line was then re-opened by Network Rail in 2017 to serve the quarry once again after Hanson announced it was to begin using it again. The quarry has been fully operational ever since, and is still to this day.
End of the line - the track beyond the dead end you see was dismantled. Beyond the dead end lies the town of Thornbury:
Looking towards the quarry:
As the line enters the middle section (Grovesend) and heads off towards the Tytherington Tunnel:
I don't seem to be able to find any of my photos from the tunnel itself. It's quite a well known exploring haunt in the area - see a quality report on it from Lenston here.
Let's move on to the three quarries themselves.
First up is the North Face Quarry (Never Stop Exploring amiright)
This is what the entrance from the road used to look like:
But after lots of problems with local kids using the quarry as their school holidays swimming pool, Hanson realised that extra security measures were needed. Fast forward a year and it looked like this:
FFS!
It was still doable but it made for a much more interesting climb off a rather busy road. This quarry seems to have changed the least over the last five years or so. This is the quarry in 2014:
Then in 2017 - notice how the water level has risen slightly:
Thinking of going for a dip in 2018:
So yeah, that's the North Face Quarry. Pretty simple, just loads of water. Right under where those first few photos were taken is a tunnel that links through to Grovesend Quarry. Can't find a photo from the NF side but will feature one from the other side.
Now on to Grovesend Quarry.
Main site entrance:
All that fencing appeared the same time as the aforementioned fencing. You used to be able to walk under the barrier that's behind the palisade. Damn those meddling kids!
All the photos from this section were taken on a phone as this was a cameraless time in my life... This visit was made in 2014 during the shutdown period.