History
The Brighton line opened in 1841 and the tunnel through the downs at Merstham was a massive challenge. The cuttings to the north are awesome. Before it was finished it flooded badly and the famous bourne flowed for months. A bigger drain had to be dug into the hill before the railway was finished. Now when the bourne flows it always goes through the adit.
Exploration
Well the way in was a real bugger to locate but good knowledge of the area and the history finnaly scored. Its an epic trip and the photos don’t do justice. You can see daylight just about coming in from the entrance which is normally covered. It goes a LONG way and luckily I am not tall. The bigger bits are interesting but my camera failed so sadly no shots of it sorry. Turned out not to be serious! I'll keep it out of the water next time
The Brighton line opened in 1841 and the tunnel through the downs at Merstham was a massive challenge. The cuttings to the north are awesome. Before it was finished it flooded badly and the famous bourne flowed for months. A bigger drain had to be dug into the hill before the railway was finished. Now when the bourne flows it always goes through the adit.
Exploration
Well the way in was a real bugger to locate but good knowledge of the area and the history finnaly scored. Its an epic trip and the photos don’t do justice. You can see daylight just about coming in from the entrance which is normally covered. It goes a LONG way and luckily I am not tall. The bigger bits are interesting but my camera failed so sadly no shots of it sorry. Turned out not to be serious! I'll keep it out of the water next time