Two Tunnels Greenway

A new shared path for Bath and North East Somerset

Picnic at Tunnel Gulch™: Friday 6th July 2007

Retrospective

Hope everyone who could make it enjoyed it: this single event has landed the Two Tunnels route far reaching benefits. Also, we now have images (and would love more). On the left, Richard Griffin captures a view of his party walking in what we're calling 'The gallery' - the long straight section, partly unlined, beneath the heights of Combe Down.

If you're not one of our support group, please consider signing up - even if you're already a member of Sustrans. John Grimshaw, its founder, yesterday assured me that the 'Two Tunnels' Group has been vital in catalysing Sustrans to adopt this ambitious route. Not though, because it is impractical - this event in some ways showed just how practical an idea this is - it's simply an ambitious idea which needs a change of mindsets before it's regarded seriously. That time is now here.

Thanks are owed to:

• The team from Wessex Water, who did an excellent job of looking after us.
• Sustrans for negotiating the opening with Wessex Water.
• Participants in Sustrans 30th anniversary ride, who endured rough weather, but on their last full day were able to demonstrate just how this path will ease travel on foot or cycle.
• The various media who covered the event, which reached out to radio and TV, while the Bath Chronicle gave this two large spreads and a leader!
• The stewards. You know who you are ...
• To the two with the tan coloured spaniel, who happened to turn up with no knowledge of the event, were booked in, donned hard hats and took the dog through on a piece of 'Two Tunnels' string and came out with a black and tan spaniel.
• The Mendip Main Line project people at Midsomer Norton, for being supportive at all times despite the obvious conflict of ideas. (They now have a cafe, track and will soon have trains. Do visit them.)
• You people for being both responsible and good humoured. You'd travelled from as far away as London, Ipswich, Hertfordshire and it's rumoured Canada. Any advance on those?

Images from the open day

With thanks for letting us use them, and please do not reuse without permission from the owners, here's galleries from the following people:

• Nigel Bryant's Combe Down Tunnel Images - external link to Picasaweb Album - opens in new window.
• Gitte Dawson
• Richard Griffin
• David Kennedy
• Martin and Tina Plumley

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Loose Ends

I think we all learned a great deal about what a positive resource this particular shared use path could be. We also learned much about the tunnel. In some ways, yes, nothing to see down there. In other ways an entire subterranean world of maths, engineering, architecture and natural history opened up to us.

We've received various other photos and we'll gather those for an archive of the event and a record of the tunnel itself. Some have gone on the web site. If I've used one of yours, you find it and would like an acknowledgement please request one.

Most people picked them up, but if you missed out on collecting your commemorative ticket, something can be done about this, do get in touch.

Revisit this page for further updates on the day, including more images from the tunnel itself. Meanwhile, on Saturday 7th, thanks to Sustrans for throwing one in Castle Park, Bristol - and apologies to the founder that other duties prevented him from going through the tunnel and back 5 times like some of the stewards had to :-P

Tunnel Description.

The tunnel's lining is anything but consistent. A simplification of its history seems to be as follows:

The tunnel as built had the distinctively shaped lengths in the curved sections at either end - flattish battered sidewalls and an arched roof in red brick, masonry portals, with lengths of more conventional tunnel some distance inside the portals - however, some distance inside the south portal is a length of masonry lining.

Some way inside the north portal is a stretch with various transitions in the sidewalls and at one point a distinctive chamber above the line of the tunnel, the brick arch roof being raised for about ten yards, while the tunnel lining to either side is formed securely of 11 to 14 courses of brick. It is not clear if this is original work or a repair.

Great lengths of the middle section of the tunnel are still unlined - and there are also sections, short and long, lined with blue engineering brickwork, these obviously post-date the tunnel's construction but have the appearence that they were inspired by the need for some additional peace of mind rather than any threatened movement of the rock.

The extreme southern end is somewhat wet, and their is a drain as well as the remains of a concrete channel for cables at the foot of the tunnel wall on the down side.

The remainder of the tunnel is currently dry. Where the tunnel is lined, at no point does it appear to be deteriorating. Where unlined through inferior oolite, massive bedding planes are visible and there is no evidence of loose rock in the roof or walls of the tunnel.

The southern portal was rebuilt with more protection - to take account of ground conditions, and a series of masonry arches put up to better support the approach cutting's sides. At this point the construction intercepts the base of the inferior oolite, the underlying strata being the curious Midford Sands, which were laid down at the crest of a shallow ridge in a deep sea - this ridge migrated slowly south from the position of the present day Cheltenham to Yeovil over very many millions of years.

Image of raised roof section: 'The Cathedral'. (Photo: Nigel Bryant).

This shows the section in which a raised brickwork arch encloses a void above the tunnel itself, a few hundred yards in from the north portal. The image shows the southern transition between the void and the tunnel proper, with what appears to be ten courses of brickwork in the lining at this point. Also visible is the strip of brickwork kept clear of soot by exhaust from the locomotives.

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