There's an enticing arched drain entrance close to the Hannages playing fields in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, which I've had some fun in recently, and is worth a look if you happen to be wandering past. Park at or near the Leisure centre and follow the cul-de-sac Brooklands Avenue to the public footpath, and carry on parallel to the stream until you see the arch.
It's a stooping explore, to put it mildly, rarely more than four feet high though with some sections where it is almost possible to stand upright. You'll be nearly on your hands and knees for the first hundred metres or so, but you can admire your proximity to the many pretty spiders and the rather nice brickwork. Eventually it will get a bit bigger, and the water a bit deeper, and the walls (crumbly in a few places) are made of large blocks of dressed gritstone, rather than brick. Two nice, circular old sewers are encountered, which don't seem to carry anything fresh - one can be explored by crawling for quite a distance, though the other takes a bit too much water for comfort.
Looking at maps, I'd hoped to be able to get right under the town and out near Sough lane, which is allegedly where the water sinks. However, there's a large section with a nasty concrete roof and concrete supports, which is almost certainly the works yard of the haulage firm on Coldwell Street. It's passable if you like flat out crawls under crumbling corrugated iron - which I do, so that's great, and really cold, btw. However, the water is then issuing from 2 concrete pipes that are less than 2 foot across each, and filling with debris. A small, insane person who breathes through gills might have a field day in here, but I'm afraid it's currently beyond me. Maybe in drought...
I've done a little bit of not-very-extensive research into this place, and it tends to show up on old maps as simply where the river rises. Technically it's the head of the Ecclesbourne, but it may include water draining from the old Baileycroft sough, and I was intrigued to see if it connects to any lead mines. Not found any yet, and I suspect the brickwork may have something to do with the railway - the branch line runs parallel to the drain for quite some distance.
If you're passing, it's cold and small but good fun nonetheless, and someone could get some great photos!
It's a stooping explore, to put it mildly, rarely more than four feet high though with some sections where it is almost possible to stand upright. You'll be nearly on your hands and knees for the first hundred metres or so, but you can admire your proximity to the many pretty spiders and the rather nice brickwork. Eventually it will get a bit bigger, and the water a bit deeper, and the walls (crumbly in a few places) are made of large blocks of dressed gritstone, rather than brick. Two nice, circular old sewers are encountered, which don't seem to carry anything fresh - one can be explored by crawling for quite a distance, though the other takes a bit too much water for comfort.
Looking at maps, I'd hoped to be able to get right under the town and out near Sough lane, which is allegedly where the water sinks. However, there's a large section with a nasty concrete roof and concrete supports, which is almost certainly the works yard of the haulage firm on Coldwell Street. It's passable if you like flat out crawls under crumbling corrugated iron - which I do, so that's great, and really cold, btw. However, the water is then issuing from 2 concrete pipes that are less than 2 foot across each, and filling with debris. A small, insane person who breathes through gills might have a field day in here, but I'm afraid it's currently beyond me. Maybe in drought...
I've done a little bit of not-very-extensive research into this place, and it tends to show up on old maps as simply where the river rises. Technically it's the head of the Ecclesbourne, but it may include water draining from the old Baileycroft sough, and I was intrigued to see if it connects to any lead mines. Not found any yet, and I suspect the brickwork may have something to do with the railway - the branch line runs parallel to the drain for quite some distance.
If you're passing, it's cold and small but good fun nonetheless, and someone could get some great photos!
