Four pillboxes - Tilehurst - Whitchurch on Thames

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sennelager66

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Having a few hours to kill off the other day i decided to go out for a cycle ride and head out on the North side of the Thames to pick up a pillbox that was firstly well concealed and then three others that were possibly going to be hit and miss if i could get to them. Having checked GE it was really a case of accessibility as there are a couple dotted along the thames where housing estates can prove an effective obstacle. I know of a pillbox and a gun emplacement located on Heartslock Island that would need a boat to get to. Hmmmm rubber dingy time i think! As it happened the pillboxes i got to on the North side of the Thames were not too difficult. Further up the Thames there is another gun emplacement which i also will attempt to get to though technically this is off limits. Anyhow it was a sunny day (finally) and only a 30 minute cycle ride away :

PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/26): S0001703

Listed as a variant.

Heavily overgrown and located by the side of the road with a steep bank behind it as it is running along the rail embankment. There was also a pervasive smell of a rotting carcass somewhere nearby and the smell was not the best. The embrasures are bricked up and the pillbox is actually built in and an extension of the wall running along the rail embankment.

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PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/28 TWIN): S0005705
Located on the south bank of the Thames, north of the rail lines this twin embrasure 28 would have had a north and north west foield of fire which would have covered the bridge over the Thames leading from Whitchurch On Thames into Pangbourne. Being a little cheeky i cycled up the private access road and was met immediately my someone who challenged me. Again after explaining what i was up to - i was allowed to photograph the externals. All the embrasures have had windows placed in them, a satalite dish has been attached and this could be the shed of all sheds for some lucky person.

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PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/22)
Heading into Whitchurch On Thames i locked the bike up near the sewage farm and cut across the field to a gate in the corner which led nicely to an access path to the Thames. This pillbox is sat right on the bank and to the right of the path as you head down it. As you can see - not accessible.

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PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/22): S0012074
Heading up the side of the riverbank and in the corner of the field, the walk to this pillbox was fairly easy as there is a narrow path leading most of the way along the river bank, cutting back into the field and sat in the hedge.

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A home from home there mate :) nice pics again.Be interesting to see you carrying a dinghy along though
 
Second one I think is part of the Sulham valley set of 28 twins and I'm dam sure there was another nearer the Thames but has been demolished. The Tilehust one we thing is a forward Obvservation post I posted it on here a while ago but well done on getting the two at Pangbourne. I had been meaning on visiting but never had the chance and the second well I could only assume was there as I could see the outline and one of the loopholes from over the river. But I have beat youto Hartslock Island, a friend of mine stopped off and got photot's for me. Did you have any hassle from the land owner and I presume you walked along the bank to the second.

http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=8983&page=5&highlight=pillboxes+thames
 
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careful peeps with all this chat about 28s Jonney'll have his rubber suit out and with sennelager66's rubber dinghy we'll be turning up in the results for specialised search engines
 
First one I think is part of the Sulham valley set of 28 twins and I'm dam sure there was another nearer the Thames but has been demolished. The Tilehust one we thing is a forward Obvservation post I posted it on here a while ago but well done on getting the two at Pangbourne. I had been meaning on visiting but never had the chance and the second well I could only assume was there as I could see the outline and one of the loopholes from over the river. But I have beat youto Hartslock Island, a friend of mine stopped off and got photot's for me. Did you have any hassle from the land owner and I presume you walked along the bank to the second.

http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=8983&page=5&highlight=pillboxes+thames

No hassle at all mate. The only issue i has was getting a belt from an electric fence as i climbed under it. It hit me right across the back and i can confirm the belt was stronger than i last remember them being. Yeas i did walk along the bank, saw no-one other than a woman walking her dog when i was on the way back but i wasn't shouted at and it was job done anyhow.
 
Good man. The first of the two on the bank is clear of nettles and on a nicely mown bank. Keep following the narrow path. It weaves in and out close to the waters edge, back around trees, sometimes out into the field and back in. When you almost get to the other side of the meadow, you will need to go into the field of long grass. The nettles aren't too bad near the pillbox but they are the proverbial pain.
 
I absolutely loved your post, a pillbox with a satellite dish attached,! Almost unbelievable! When I first looked around these things in the late fifties they were just something left over from the war, no beer cans or graffiti,but they stank of urine, but what else were they good for?

Now they are seen differently, and I feel that, that is perhaps right, maybe my generation was too close and didn’t appreciate them as we should have, I enjoy all the posts about them and I thank all of the enthusiasts who post them.
:)
 

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