Background:
Alternative Names: Burrington Adit; Waterworks Tunnel, Burrington Waterworks Adit
Length 980ft Vertical Range 15ft
This is a long level tunnel (an adit), driven 1941-44 by Axbridge Rural District Council to tap the supposedly vast water resources of the Old Red Sandstone under Blackdown. The venture failed because the local sandstone was much less permeable than predicted. The first 620ft of the adit are in Lower Limestone Shales, the remainder in Sandstone. There is small-bore labyrinthine cave development in limestone beds in the middle, and at the base, of the Shales. In 1958-62 mean daily flow was 45000 gallons, with a minimum of only 660 gallons. The source was abandoned when the pipes were destroyed in the 1968 floods.
The Explore:
It was a very warm day and the freezing cold water was quite refreshing, although in the winter a pair of wellies or waders might be a good idea. There was some sort of settling chamber a few feet deep on the right hand side as we went in, but otherwise the floor was relatively flat and even. The water was crystal clear as we went in, but our feet soon stirred up sediment clouding the water (it would be easy to stumble in the settling tank if you hadn’t taken a note of it’s location). As you can see by the trouser tidemarks, the water came up just above the knees in part but there were also dryish sections of the tunnel. The rock walls are quite roughly excavated and you can see where the Shales transition to the Sandstone. It terminates in a dead-end, we turned around and headed out, lounging in the sun to dry out.
Alternative Names: Burrington Adit; Waterworks Tunnel, Burrington Waterworks Adit
Length 980ft Vertical Range 15ft
This is a long level tunnel (an adit), driven 1941-44 by Axbridge Rural District Council to tap the supposedly vast water resources of the Old Red Sandstone under Blackdown. The venture failed because the local sandstone was much less permeable than predicted. The first 620ft of the adit are in Lower Limestone Shales, the remainder in Sandstone. There is small-bore labyrinthine cave development in limestone beds in the middle, and at the base, of the Shales. In 1958-62 mean daily flow was 45000 gallons, with a minimum of only 660 gallons. The source was abandoned when the pipes were destroyed in the 1968 floods.
The Explore:
It was a very warm day and the freezing cold water was quite refreshing, although in the winter a pair of wellies or waders might be a good idea. There was some sort of settling chamber a few feet deep on the right hand side as we went in, but otherwise the floor was relatively flat and even. The water was crystal clear as we went in, but our feet soon stirred up sediment clouding the water (it would be easy to stumble in the settling tank if you hadn’t taken a note of it’s location). As you can see by the trouser tidemarks, the water came up just above the knees in part but there were also dryish sections of the tunnel. The rock walls are quite roughly excavated and you can see where the Shales transition to the Sandstone. It terminates in a dead-end, we turned around and headed out, lounging in the sun to dry out.
