This report may contain mankinis
Readers of a nervous disposition should power down
their PC now, unplug it, cut the plug off, and hide
their PC in any convenient slurry pit to avoid the
risk of eye-slippage.
their PC now, unplug it, cut the plug off, and hide
their PC in any convenient slurry pit to avoid the
risk of eye-slippage.
You have been warned
Time to go watch Jeremy Kyle, make a cup of tea, cut the grass, or something.
Step away from the monitor!
For Gods sake - save yourself!!!
Still here? - well don't say I didn't warn you
Step away from the monitor!
For Gods sake - save yourself!!!
Still here? - well don't say I didn't warn you
So, er, anyway most of us know about the Witley Wonder.
This underwater folly is a masterpiece of Victorian Engineering, and was conceived as an object of fun for the owners of the Witley Park Estate in Surrey.
Variously described as a ballroom, a billiard room, etc. it is glaringly obvious that its primary function can have been nothing other than as the evil lair of a Bond Baddy - indeed the glass panels can clearly be seen in this archive shot:
Consisting of a magnificent glass paneled dome it sits below the waters of Witley Parks lake, the very peak of it's dome providing a stand for the statue seen in later shots...
Widely explored at one time, this all changed a year or two back:
.... after this the trail went cold.
So, the land based option was no longer open to us - what to do??
After much deliberation, planning, research etc. (< some aspects of that may not be true) it was decided that a waterborne invasion was the way to go.
So we assembled a crack team of swimmers:
L to R Urbanity, Spungletrumpet, Styru, and former 28DL member Smalls
(picture posed by actors - actual swimmers may vary from illustration)
Now the dome itself only sits a short distance from the shore - but an assault this way would have meant working in full view of the house.
Instead, we studied the map, and chose the best route from the far shore to the man-made island/pump house that we hoped would provide access.
Entering the water in total darkness and without the aid of torches (too overlooked by the house) we struck out - without even being able to see the island.
The nights silence was ruined by the ducks, swans, etc we disturbed - not to mention the resident pikeys jumping out of the water all around us.
Using dead reckoning, and well honed navigational skills we headed directly to the island (see below)
Once safely on the island success or failure hinged on:
a) The gateway at the base of the stairs being unlocked.
b) there being no alarms when approaching from this direction.
Employing my best ninja stealth skills (also know as being as about as subtle as a bull in a china shop) I tip-toed down the stairs, looking for PIR's (although I guess they would have seen me first) and saying a prayer to Saint Yale (patron saint of unlocked doors)
Success, we were in, avoiding upsetting any alarms at the shore side of the tunnels we enjoyed a nice little wander, and so on with some pictures:
(final warning - Spungletrumpet can be clearly seen donning his mankini in the back of the above pic - procede past here and well .... it's your sanity...)
(Smalls dressed only in his smalls)
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nice one. what a place!
