Not much of a 'grand explore' I'll admit but I know some of you will be interested....especially maybe Foxylady???? …………
This is one of the old pillboxs in the Wye Valley to defend the road bridge at Brockweir….There is another one the same as this a little further along the hedge but that one is even more overgrown than this one is and this one is pretty bad….Without a billhook there was no way to get in through the door of this one and the other was so hidden it would have been pointless to take a photo of it….For you technical minded folk it has an end door and firing apertures along each side….and is of ‘cast concrete’ construction not of bricks or whatever else they used……inside under each set of windows is a sort of ledge or shelf supposedly to rest yer arm on when pointing your rifle out the windows but what’s really great about this box is that it still has the remains of the little doors that would have closed off the firing apertures…..I haven’t seen many that still have these……….
Below this position the bridge is protected by another 2 pillboxs………...one in use as a shed in the garden of the little gate house on the ‘English’ side of the bridge and the other one is in the meadow at the back of the toll house on the Welsh side of the bridge….(That one is very wet and manky inside and the floor is covered in sheep muck)…… This whole position is part of the stop line that followed the route of the River Wye……….the position of these 2 pillboxs up on the hill overlooking the bridge is great and they would have had a tremendous field of fire should the day of action ever have come….From here you can see the road approaching the bridge from Chepstow and would also have been able to cover the now long dis-used railway in each direction that also wound its way along the valley from Chepstow to Monmouth………
The ‘front’ of the pillbox facing the bridge………
The field of fire………
If yer wondering the bridge is hidden behind the huge oaks.............
This is one of the old pillboxs in the Wye Valley to defend the road bridge at Brockweir….There is another one the same as this a little further along the hedge but that one is even more overgrown than this one is and this one is pretty bad….Without a billhook there was no way to get in through the door of this one and the other was so hidden it would have been pointless to take a photo of it….For you technical minded folk it has an end door and firing apertures along each side….and is of ‘cast concrete’ construction not of bricks or whatever else they used……inside under each set of windows is a sort of ledge or shelf supposedly to rest yer arm on when pointing your rifle out the windows but what’s really great about this box is that it still has the remains of the little doors that would have closed off the firing apertures…..I haven’t seen many that still have these……….
Below this position the bridge is protected by another 2 pillboxs………...one in use as a shed in the garden of the little gate house on the ‘English’ side of the bridge and the other one is in the meadow at the back of the toll house on the Welsh side of the bridge….(That one is very wet and manky inside and the floor is covered in sheep muck)…… This whole position is part of the stop line that followed the route of the River Wye……….the position of these 2 pillboxs up on the hill overlooking the bridge is great and they would have had a tremendous field of fire should the day of action ever have come….From here you can see the road approaching the bridge from Chepstow and would also have been able to cover the now long dis-used railway in each direction that also wound its way along the valley from Chepstow to Monmouth………
The ‘front’ of the pillbox facing the bridge………
The field of fire………
If yer wondering the bridge is hidden behind the huge oaks.............
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