Report - Great Expectations sheffield august 2020

[jezzyboo]

earlier on this year i purchased a kayak to have a bit of a paddle on, but between you and me it was to explore one or two culverts that are a little difficult to access as much as anything.one of the outfalls id spotted looked interesting so last week went down for a nosy but the entrance was badly silted up with muddy oil deposits

returning again this morning with chest waders and the drains cart strapped to the front of the kayak plus all the other gear you would normally take i gained access in to the drain without capsizing or getting wet

the first part as said was heavily silted up so got to the first manhole to get kitted up, dragging the kayak in to the drain so it diddnt float off or attract any unwanted attention

this was an old drain the old man hole covers allowing some light in to let me get kitted up out of the silt

thankfully the pipe got cleaner

looking back to the starting point

2nd manhole chamber a bit more debris underfoot but more of a worry a reduction in the pipe diameter

looking back to the start you can see the swilly ( a bend in the pipe that holds water and silt ) in the brick pipe

this pic is looking back to the 2nd manhole was on the trolley cart now as it was only about 1400 mm high, shouldnt have bothered as no sooner had i got round the bend i was confronted with this !

DRAIN FAIL ! could hear running water at the other side of the wall had great expectations about this explore but sadly they diddnt materialise . Had done a fair bit of home work on this and was expecting this drain to go up as far as the ponderosa ( it probably did once upon a time ) but that probably drains in to the new interceptor sewer and these old outfalls have now been sealed to prevent any discharge or for good old health and safety or to stop the river ( when in flood ) going in to the intercepter sewer . Back out the way i came in and strap the drains cart back to the kayak and wrestle it over the railings and back in to the van then home to clean of the oily silt guess you cant win em all thanks for watching

 

[Calamity Jane]

Nicely shot. Thats pretty clean looking. Tight squeezes then, good job

 

[tarkovsky]

Haha! ah yes, I hate to be that person but I had the same disappointment when I found this a couple of years back. Was so annoyed I didn’t get my camera out of my bag, but just took a couple of phone pics.

Pain in the arse to get to as well, like you said! Didn’t have a kayak either...

 

[jezzyboo]

ha ha thats why i posted it on here so nobody would waste there time doing it lol it promised so much but sadly it delivered little it must carry on past the wall probably to the ponderosa dont you think ?

 

[tarkovsky]

ha ha thats why i posted it on here so nobody would waste there time doing it lol it promised so much but sadly it delivered little it must carry on past the wall probably to the ponderosa dont you think ?

So I might be wrong here but... I think this one was originally for a stream that originated in Crookesmoor, runs down Springvale road and diverted under the Tesco on infirmary road. There’s another stream further down that runs from the ponderosa and used to flow out near the weir at Kelham island. Again, I might be wrong but I suspect that these now intersect with the main interceptor (gigatron) at penistone road.
So I think the wall in this one probs block off the pipe at gigatron, and is one of the CSOs that became redundant when they constructed the interceptor.

 

[jezzyboo]

So I might be wrong here but... I think this one was originally for a stream that originated in Crookesmoor, runs down Springvale road and diverted under the Tesco on infirmary road. There’s another stream further down that runs from the ponderosa and used to flow out near the weir at Kelham island. Again, I might be wrong but I suspect that these now intersect with the main interceptor (gigatron) at penistone road.
So I think the wall in this one probs block off the pipe at gigatron, and is one of the CSOs that became redundant when they constructed the interceptor.

yes im thinking along the same lines have seen that there are two streams like you said on underground river maps the distance in would be about right for gigatron will try when i get time to explore from the ponderosa side

 

[tarkovsky]

yes im thinking along the same lines have seen that there are two streams like you said on underground river maps the distance in would bae about right for gigatron will try when i get time to explore from the ponderosa side

there’s a really easily accessible and very promising looking lid in the ponderosa. It takes you down to the stream....running through a 2ft (ish) pipe! Another supremely disappointing draining experience.

Best thing around there is the Charlton Tunnels, but the only doable entrances (as far as I know) have been capped :-(
I would be happy to be proved wrong!

 

[jezzyboo]

yes checked it out the other week its still locked

 

[Esoteric Eric]

@tarkovsky Ah, the old oil silted death entry fail. Didn't we look at a few of these other unused outfalls?

 

[tarkovsky]

@tarkovsky Ah, the old oil silted death entry fail. Didn't we look at a few of these other unused outfalls?

Haha! Well yes there was yoghurt spiders... and probs a few others!

 

[TheVicar]

Shame it ended with that brick wall. A few explores always end up that way, especially in a metaphorical sense.
Props for getting in there and seeing what it had to offer though, you don't know until you look.
For what it is, the colours and curves of the tunnel are rather cool.