Running above ground in a brick channel, the upstream reaches of the brook are
hidden from view, sandwiched between decaying industrial
relics in an area of the City frequented only by those whos employment brings
them there.
As I donned my gear I felt a little out of
sorts being the only person sporting waders, rucksack on back and toting a tripod.
The unease quickly left me as I stepped off the street and
into the oasis that is the brooks above ground channel.
A little way up an older brick arched tunnel joins on the right as you travel upstream,
it enters the main tunnel via a drop of four steps. Travelling up the five foot side pipe it soon
splits into two much smaller brick arched tunnels, one flowing into the side pipe, the other silted
to high heaven, I headed back into the main tunnel.
Continuing upstream, immediately around the corner the tunnel became very silted and blocked
with big debris, of a size that must have taken some force to transplant it there. This lasted for
20 metres or so and was followed by a section of deep water built up behind the blockages.
The box shaped tunnel went on for sometime with the occasional overflow drop shaft (too tall to scale),
topped with a slide joining from above, water was flowing in here as well as daylight, as if these
overflows were along the route of an aboveground watercourse? I've so far been unable to plot
the exact route of the drain to confirm this.
The box section terminates as you round a bend to be greeted by an oddly shaped brick tunnel,
at least initially I thought it was entirely brick. Its floor is brick to a point about two
foot up the wall, the tunnel is then stepped outwards with a concrete ledge and the rest of
the tunnel is of a poured concrete construction, or a shored up concrete render? odd whatever the case.
So now I was really enjoying myself, it was turning out to be a cool drain!
10 metres into this oddly shaped section a massive RCP rudely protrudes into the main pipe,
it lead to a small modern
junction of ever decreasing RCPs, I've no idea why such a big gage pipe was bodged into the tunnel
when a short distance in it splits into a couple of pipes a third its size? I carried on upstream,
passing the occasional access niche where small side pipes joined.
It was around about this point that I noticed the first of the names sake formations!
There were only a few, but they made me grin so much I felt I had to to name the drain after them,
stalagmites of varying sizes all standing proud and upright and looking unmistakably penile.
By now I was both highly amused and enjoying the drain, if st00p had been there present I can imagine
the hilarity that would have ensued the sighting of that first phallic formation. There were also lots
of nice straw like stalactites along this particular section as well.
Yet further upstream I start to get closer to a crashing water sound that has been getting gradually
louder for sometime. Sounding like it was directly ahead of me I shone the big beam torch up the tunnel
to see the bottom three steps of a set of eleven, a little way off down the tunnel. When I reached the
foot of the steps they weren't the most amazing of drain stairs, but they were totally unexpected and
so I was well pleased.
At the top of the steps the drain switched to a four foot concrete box, I travelled some way up this,
to a point where its size reduced again. By now I'd been underground a good while, I was happy with my
explore and so decided to end it here and head off back downstream.
