Having a rare spare Saturday without work, childcare or general DIY duties (does anybody else have a spouse with a built -in "Underemployed Husband" alarm that goes off at a moments notice?) I decided to take up Fluffy on his offer to explore a few of the more interesting bits of derelict Wiltshire. A quick scoot around in the car took us to a number of places including Farleigh Down Sidings and tunnel, which was built to transport munitions from the mainline between London and Bristol to the massive Monkton Farleigh mine complex. A really fascinating site - notwithstanding the mile and a bit one in eight hike up the slope of the tunnel!
First of all the entrance shed, with several remnants of the narrow gauge line that ran down the tunnel
Inside the entrance to the tunnel is a big yard area with several sidings and the remains of offices
Further up the tunnel are the remains of the conveyor which used to lift the munitions up to the area known as District 12, which was in the top of the hill.
There are also some excellent examples of original signage - pity the poor spotter who just had to stand there making sure the conveyor was working properly!
This was a great visit - so big thanks to Fluffy for acting as guide - really atmospheric and completely deserted. Absolutely fantastic!!
GDZ
First of all the entrance shed, with several remnants of the narrow gauge line that ran down the tunnel
Inside the entrance to the tunnel is a big yard area with several sidings and the remains of offices
Further up the tunnel are the remains of the conveyor which used to lift the munitions up to the area known as District 12, which was in the top of the hill.
There are also some excellent examples of original signage - pity the poor spotter who just had to stand there making sure the conveyor was working properly!
This was a great visit - so big thanks to Fluffy for acting as guide - really atmospheric and completely deserted. Absolutely fantastic!!
GDZ