Noob questions are fine mate Basically all the big main sewers (Fleet, Ranelagh, Kings Scholars Pond Sewer, London Bridge Sewer, Effra, etc) used to go to the Thames until Bazalgettes Main Drainage Scheme in the 1860's "intercepted" them and carried the poop eastwards (in the direction of the Thames). Initially it was dumped far enough out of town to not return with the tide, which had previously been the cause of "the great stink" - the shite never really got away and the Thames became a huge cesspool. Then they stopped dumping it in the River altogether and ferried it out to sea, then years later they started treating it. You think rivers and culverts smell stale nowadays? They'd have been a whole lot worse in victorian times.
The second question yer right. It's probs best not to give out lids on a public forum Will pm yer now....
I’ve said it before but Supersoaker has given me some of my best draining memories to date. Hardly any of it had appeared online before, so it actually felt like an explore and unlike a lot of drainz under London this one was difficult and not just miles long. Difficult to get in ‘safely’ and difficult to stay dry anyway! If yer know where yer going, though, and yer gotta hood it’s well worth the effort and the whole lot’s doable in a long night if yer keen enough.
It’s got pretty much everything going for it, split into three sections separated first by the Mid Level Interceptor and then a tube line, which both kinda get in the way. It’s deep, it’s old, it’s twisty and it’s filthy. There’s old iron work, rusty penstocks, a sump, big brick shafts, ‘water’ falls, arched overflows, and one of the nicest spiral staircases I’ve seen in a sewer.
I visited most of it with @Ojay in 2018 but went back more recently to take advantage of some very low flows in the Low Level No.1 Interceptor, running beneath the Victoria Embankment.
My first visit was solo and I didn’t know where I was going, indeed usable lids are in short supply. Consequently, I ended walking a lot more 4ft pipe than I would’ve liked and as interesting as it was, my back didn’t thank me for it. I’ve got a few pics from that section but I’ll start at the lovely spiral staircase where the two 4ft branches, which follow the east, west and southern boundaries of Regents Park, converge near Park Square.
The first pic is by the nice spiral staircase. It’s difficult to see but the spiral goes upwards anti-clockwise through the arch on the right. The left arch doesn’t lead anywhere.
The next few pics are of the half mile walk southwards and downstream towards the impassable Mid-Level Interceptor where all the flow from this half of the drain ends up.
On my first visit I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to get back up this steep approach to the interceptor so I left it that time and when I returned with Ojay we made use of some rope to steady ourselves. It’s not actually that bad but we were grateful for it nonetheless – it’s no good being stuck at the bottom of a long, slippery slide leading to a ‘dead’ end, even if yer mate’s at the top!
Taken on another visit, this is the Mid Level Interceptor from the north side of it, looking southwards. There’s a big concrete manhole just out of shot to the right, which I forgot to photograph
Looking north (upstream) towards the Mid Level. The nice access passage on the left leads to the concrete manhole and interceptor. The rusty old metal walkway leads to an old and disused penstock. Yer don’t see many walkways like this under LDN
Fibres
The next bit is another rarity. White tiles in a drain. @Killa explained to me that
I couldn’t get a GPS location on my visit with Ojay and was itching to know where it was above ground, so when I returned I climbed back up the narrow shaft and bingo, I got a fix!
Next up is a very steep incoming pipe whose stench nearly caused me and Ojay to turn back. The flow comes down at such a rate that it hits the bottom and sprays everywhere. The smell was amongst the worst I’ve come across anywhere in a drain and was bad enough to set the gas detector off – fortunately it was only in that area. Needless to say we didn’t hang around but when I went back to get a gps on the lid above the white tiles the smell wasn’t there. The flow was still pretty strong, though, so I took a short video. I very nearly went bottom over top…..
Then another spiral staircase on the left. At the top of this is the Piccadilly Branch of the Mid Level Interceptor. Another set of spiral stairs continues around the ventilation shaft to the surface. I took another video as it helps explain this section
Soon after this connection we get to the worst of the Supersoakers, at least in this section.
Ojay went first this time. Time for another vid
We then got to the twisty, windy, old bit. There’s a lot of history to all of Regent Street Sewer, particularly this central section but there’s not much available online. Ojay has explained it far better than I can in his report, so I won’t repeat it.
When I went with Ojay the flow was blocked from taking its natural course (to the right) by some dam boards and it was going over some lower dam boards and down the main line instead.
On a different visit to the area with Ojay, we went to see where this flow should've been going to because on the map it showed a royal branch connecting to the Kings Scholars Pond Sewer. Walking up this from the KSPS we first came to a connection with the Low Level No.2, not that much flow was going down it on this occasion because of the dam boards in the main line. Larger flows would go straight ahead to the KSPS
We then arrived at this disgusting looking junction, where two 4ft pipes converged and we turned back. The one on the left I’m pretty sure connects to the main line of Regent Street Sewer at the junction with the dam boards, shown above (and below from a different angle) Weirdly, when I went back on my own the flow was going where it was supposed to (ie off to the right instead of down the main line) so TW may well have cleaned this stagnant, festering cesspit out now to allow the flow to go where it should. The oak boards are certainly new and they’ve cleaned out other more notorious ‘fat-bergs’ further downstream
Turning around, we then took a sharp left turn and continued downstream in the main line. This is looking upstream!
Basically all the big main sewers (Fleet, Ranelagh, Kings Scholars Pond Sewer, London Bridge Sewer, Effra, etc) used to go to the Thames until Bazalgettes Main Drainage Scheme in the 1860's "intercepted" them and carried the poop eastwards (in the direction of the Thames). Initially it was dumped far enough out of town to not return with the tide, which had previously been the cause of "the great stink" - the shite never really got away and the Thames became a huge cesspool. Then they stopped dumping it in the River altogether and ferried it out to sea, then years later they started treating it. You think rivers and culverts smell stale nowadays? They'd have been a whole lot worse in victorian times.
Will pm yer now....
