Going Underground
I can’t say that underground stuff is my ideal choice for a solo excursion, but I was in the area looking for potential explores and this looked interesting. There hasn’t been a report posted for a few years, so I wasn’t sure it was still doable – or that it hadn’t fallen in to the sea by now even - but one summer’s day well in to an unusually dry few months I set out to find out in the hope that it wouldn’t be a mud bath down there.
My major concern was the talk of hydrogen sulphide sitting in pockets along the tunnels, as you'd expect in such places with low ventilation.
I’m no expert on this kind of thing but I have a friend with a PhD in plant biology so quickly dropped him a message with a few questions.
Soon enough Dr Science replied with a few words of encouragement:
It wasn’t really what I wanted to hear but people have done it in the past and survived, so I figured there was only one way to find out what the state of play was…
Brief History
The two tunnels form part of the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway line, built between 1871 and 1883 and briefly halted when the original contractor went bust in 1874.
When the North Eastern Railway company took over construction the tunnels were favoured over the original plan to run the route along a rock shelf on the cliff edge.
There’s a short walk between the two through some pretty savage undergrowth and the only feasible option is to walk the route from the northern portal of the Kettleness Tunnel.
I've done a few railway tunnels in my time and they tend to either be a walk in, or be blocked up with a big hole smashed in one end to make for easy access.
These ones appeared to have a big door shaped hole in previous reports and I arrived fairly relaxed at Kettleness expecting it to be easy - but finding a new gate well and truly secured in the hole...
Something about the scene was familiar...
Well I guess if Henry can see over a brick wall I can climb over one. And in any case, everyone said that once you're in you can walk the whole length easily without obstacle...
Kettleness is a tidy little tunnel and just 300 yards long, a reality belied by the curvature that allows total darkness to take over at its mid point.
It's a curious mix of stone and brick construction, with the odd little feature along the way.
At the south end I was pleased to find the gate open as expected and I stepped out to do battle with the undergrowth and make my way towards the longer tunnel.
The railway had closed in 1958 when it was found to be in need of some serious investment to keep it operational for minimal use.
It still took another 50 years before part of the northern portal of the Sandsend Tunnel collapsed though.
This I knew about. The fact that there was now yet another locked gate in place beyond the collapse, I did not, but I was soon on the other side of it...
Sandsend Tunnel is much the bigger sibling at around a mile long, much of it straight and presenting a distant 'light at the end of the tunnel' after you've wandered round the first curve.
There's a whole variety of colours to the stone down here.
Five air shafts were sunk in to the roof, all now capped off with no trace above ground.
In spite of the fact that it hadn't rained for three months, all were pouring water through them...
There are also two adits running from the tunnel to the cliff edge for disposal of rocks during construction.
The timbers are soft and the first one has partly collapsed:
The second one absolutely stank of creosote and I didn't really want to stir up too much chemical nastiness so I took a few long exposures while water poured down behind me...
It was just after this point that the dreaded smell of rotten eggs that gives away the presence of Hydrogen Sulphide became apparent, and I made a little more haste towards the southern portal.
Some of the brickwork was corroding badly here with the inner leaf bulging and failing:
The southern most air vent was dry, making it possible to shoot straight up without drowning your camera gear:
Working back north and not hanging around the H2S riddled area, I stopped to take a few shots of various coloured oozes in the stonework.
There's also a long run of orange sticky mud in the depths where some of the open drains are overflowing back in to the tunnel.
Sometimes the walls even looked blue...
And then it all reverted to dry, level and solid as the light came back in...
Following on from that I had the ordeal of trying to climb back out of two tunnels, bracing myself on soot covered walls and straining every muscle in my abs and arms before arriving back at the car looking like a chimney sweep. Starving, I ditched the jacket, cleaned my hands as best I could and head for the nearest pub for lunch amongst the ramblers and tourists.
I think I got away with it.
Thanks for looking
I can’t say that underground stuff is my ideal choice for a solo excursion, but I was in the area looking for potential explores and this looked interesting. There hasn’t been a report posted for a few years, so I wasn’t sure it was still doable – or that it hadn’t fallen in to the sea by now even - but one summer’s day well in to an unusually dry few months I set out to find out in the hope that it wouldn’t be a mud bath down there.
My major concern was the talk of hydrogen sulphide sitting in pockets along the tunnels, as you'd expect in such places with low ventilation.
I’m no expert on this kind of thing but I have a friend with a PhD in plant biology so quickly dropped him a message with a few questions.
Soon enough Dr Science replied with a few words of encouragement:
It wasn’t really what I wanted to hear but people have done it in the past and survived, so I figured there was only one way to find out what the state of play was…
Brief History
The two tunnels form part of the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway line, built between 1871 and 1883 and briefly halted when the original contractor went bust in 1874.
When the North Eastern Railway company took over construction the tunnels were favoured over the original plan to run the route along a rock shelf on the cliff edge.
There’s a short walk between the two through some pretty savage undergrowth and the only feasible option is to walk the route from the northern portal of the Kettleness Tunnel.
I've done a few railway tunnels in my time and they tend to either be a walk in, or be blocked up with a big hole smashed in one end to make for easy access.
These ones appeared to have a big door shaped hole in previous reports and I arrived fairly relaxed at Kettleness expecting it to be easy - but finding a new gate well and truly secured in the hole...
Something about the scene was familiar...
Well I guess if Henry can see over a brick wall I can climb over one. And in any case, everyone said that once you're in you can walk the whole length easily without obstacle...
Kettleness is a tidy little tunnel and just 300 yards long, a reality belied by the curvature that allows total darkness to take over at its mid point.
It's a curious mix of stone and brick construction, with the odd little feature along the way.
At the south end I was pleased to find the gate open as expected and I stepped out to do battle with the undergrowth and make my way towards the longer tunnel.
The railway had closed in 1958 when it was found to be in need of some serious investment to keep it operational for minimal use.
It still took another 50 years before part of the northern portal of the Sandsend Tunnel collapsed though.
This I knew about. The fact that there was now yet another locked gate in place beyond the collapse, I did not, but I was soon on the other side of it...
Sandsend Tunnel is much the bigger sibling at around a mile long, much of it straight and presenting a distant 'light at the end of the tunnel' after you've wandered round the first curve.
There's a whole variety of colours to the stone down here.
Five air shafts were sunk in to the roof, all now capped off with no trace above ground.
In spite of the fact that it hadn't rained for three months, all were pouring water through them...
There are also two adits running from the tunnel to the cliff edge for disposal of rocks during construction.
The timbers are soft and the first one has partly collapsed:
The second one absolutely stank of creosote and I didn't really want to stir up too much chemical nastiness so I took a few long exposures while water poured down behind me...
It was just after this point that the dreaded smell of rotten eggs that gives away the presence of Hydrogen Sulphide became apparent, and I made a little more haste towards the southern portal.
Some of the brickwork was corroding badly here with the inner leaf bulging and failing:
The southern most air vent was dry, making it possible to shoot straight up without drowning your camera gear:
Working back north and not hanging around the H2S riddled area, I stopped to take a few shots of various coloured oozes in the stonework.
There's also a long run of orange sticky mud in the depths where some of the open drains are overflowing back in to the tunnel.
Sometimes the walls even looked blue...
And then it all reverted to dry, level and solid as the light came back in...
Following on from that I had the ordeal of trying to climb back out of two tunnels, bracing myself on soot covered walls and straining every muscle in my abs and arms before arriving back at the car looking like a chimney sweep. Starving, I ditched the jacket, cleaned my hands as best I could and head for the nearest pub for lunch amongst the ramblers and tourists.
I think I got away with it.
Thanks for looking
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