# Monkton Farleigh Down Tunnel - Wiltshire - April 2017



## Gromr

Me and Brewtal were off to the DP meet up, so of course it would be rude not to squeeze a cheeky explore in. 

*History*

Construction of the Monkton Farleigh Down tunnel was started in 1937 and completed in 1941 as part of a project to create an ammunition supply on the railway sidings of Farliegh down. The idea being that it provided a secure route of transporting ammunition that would be invisible to any kind of air reconnaissance.

The tunnel itself is 1.25miles long and runs at an uphill gradient of 1:8. It used a system of narrow gauge tracks to transport the stored ammunition up and down from the large sorting yard at the beginning of the underground section. The long uphill tunnel section used a series of conveyor systems to move the stored ammo up and down.


*The Explore*

As well as Brewtal, I visited here with a friend who lived locally and hadn't done much exploring before.

The gradient of 1:8 is a good work out, especially if you walk the entire length of the tunnel. It took about 20 minutes to get all the way to the end.

There is a small hole in the wall that apparently takes you to Browns Folly mine. Its a petty small hole but I could just about squeeze myself halfway through to take a look through to the other side. 
Frustratingly a pile of metal parts and machinery has been dumped directly over the other side, making it a daunting and claustrophobic prospect to get through. I'm sure you could if you really wanted to, but I didn't fancy it. 

The walk back was a lot easier being downhill, and when we finally the glow of daylight we started to here voices of people at the mouth of the tunnel. They must have heard us too because they shouting down to us to say hello. 

For some reason I decided that 'Hello! We are not Murderers!' was the most appropriate response. 
They turned out to be people doing an 'Urban Photoshoot'. So we had a good chat then went on our merry way.

A pretty rad explore overall!



*Photos*

































The sorting yard







The beginning of the long tunnel section

















Fun Fact: The nearest Morrisons is 3 miles away. This is some serious commitment right here.







A few original markings on the wall.












This is about half way where the tunnel goes from square to rounded.





































And finally the brick wall at the end.


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## krela

The hole at the top just leads to another (solid) wall, on the other side of that is Monkton Farleigh ammo depot, which is now used by Restore Secure Document Storage.

It switches from square to round due to differing construction methods. The square bit was cut and covered, the round is true tunnel.


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## oldscrote

You beat me to it Ben,a bit of added info.It reaches a depth of 180 feet below the Monkton Farleigh escarpment.The spotter sign on the wall marks a spot where some poor sod had to stand and keep an eye on the lines of shells and ammo boxes running on the conveyor belt and to be ready to stop the belt if one jammed or fell off,an unutterably cold and boring job.......Oh and Gromr123 these are some of the best photos I've seen from here thanks for sharing.Been down there many times 20 plus years ago as I used to live in Monkton Farleigh.


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## krela

oldscrote said:


> Been down there many times 20 plus years ago as I used to live in Monkton Farleigh.



Same, as I grew up on that side of Bath. Used to be on of my childhood and teenage playgrounds.


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## oldscrote

Surprised we never down there


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## Brewtal

Great pics mate. Was such a good day. I've never enjoyed walking in a straight line so much! 

Because it's become the norm to take me ages to even get my pics off the camera (6 explores on the card now haha!) I'll post the one of the 3 of us because I am so chuffed with it.





(Hope it shows up ok, iPad doesn't let me choose the size!)


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## smiler

Oh Boy, one I got to before you, then krela spoils it by saying he explored it in kindergarten, I suppose me chem lights had gone out.
Nice One, Thanks


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## Gromr

That pictures awesome, really great!

These are the ones I got on my camera


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## prettyvacant71

I like this! Very interesting history and some cracking shots there, very well litI'm never surprised where a shopping trolley can turn up but that must have been some serious agro gettin it down there!..makes you wonder if it was taken down there to carry stuff out, like metal??

Thanks I really enjoyed that


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## prettyvacant71

Crazy shadows in ur tunnel shot Brewtal, love it


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## Sam Haltin

Very good post. There seems to be a lot of graffiti. But nevertheless you've got a lot of good shots.


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## HughieD

Nice set. There's some seriously day-glo graff there.


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## UrbanX

Incredible photos guys, great to meet you both too! 
Thanks for sharing


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## SlimJim

Most interesting. Really cool take on the place!


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## jsp77

There are certainly some nice colours down there, and you have come away with some great shots

was nice meeting you both


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## stu8fish

Cracking set there as usual.


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## fluffy5518

Blimey !! This place goes downhill (no pun intended) on an almost daily basis. Went here last about two years ago and there was very little graffiti once you started the accent of the tunnel. Its a real shame too cos there was tons of original scribblings from the poor sods that once worked there.! Got to say though that you both got some crackin shots especially the backlit ones.


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## Gromr

Thanks all! Yeah the graffiti did start to fade away about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way down, but picked up again as we got near the very end. Shame as I bet its covered up a lot of the original markings and old drawings sketched into the wall.


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## Hayman

Nothing here since 2014? I have visited the area several times over the years – partly because of my interest in nearby Box Tunnel, and the proven fact that the sun can shine through it, twice a year. I joined a tour of the WWII ordnance store area before it became a privately operated secure document, etc depository. And have walked the length of the conveyor tunnel at least twice. I photographed the remains of the platforms for transferring the ammunition between the standard gauge trains and the narrow gauge wagons that ran from the platforms down the sloping track to the bottom end of the conveyor.

Sadly the platform remains were destroyed when the area was earmarked for use with the electrification of the Paddington to Bristol main line, now halted at Didcot. An attempt to bulldoze the entire transfer dock area failed for some reason. See before and after photos.

Curiously, in the comic The Eagle in 1950 there was a serial called The Secret of the Mine. It was set in north Africa, at a mine near the coast, with a tunnel being dug by Axis Power workers under the Mediterranean to beneath the Royal Navy dockyard and harbour at Gibraltar. The plan was to plant a large stack of explosives at the end of the tunnel and explode them, thus wrecking the dockyard and sinking RN ships.

As soon as I saw the transfer dock, and the sloping narrow gauge track beneath the corrugated iron roof, I was taken back to the story in The Eagle and the sketch of the shed that concealed where the quarry railway line went underground. I have always wondered if the author – Ronald Syme – had been stationed at Monkton Farleigh, or had known someone who had been. See the scan.


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## gingrove

I remember going down in the mid 80s when there was a museum in the building at the entrance of the old ammunition store and some of the old workings that had not been touched.


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## alexbizkit

This is a significant site to me personally. I grew up in this area (Corsham) and had a friend who lived in Ashley (village on the edge of Box) and we used to hang out down 'the tunnel' as we knew it then. I still remember my first visit, in what would probably have been about 1998ish. My friend had talked about this "abandoned railway tunnel which went underground" and I could never really understand what he was talking about. When I did finally see it the area was much more wooded than it is now, so it was more hidden among the trees, and it was a real buzz. At that time there was still a big steel door almost covering the entrance once you went down the steps and turned left, but you could squeeze through an opening. We were probably about 13 or 14 and slightly scared, plus had no lights, so we only ventured just inside, which meant we couldn't tell how much of a complex there was down there - as far as we knew it could have been a complete underground town, which just added to the intrigue. I visited numerous times over the years after that, including a full trip to the end when I moved back to the south west in 2009, but that first visit really sticks in my mind as my first experience of urban exploring. A year or 2 after that first visit I had a similar experience discovering HMS Royal Arthur for the first time, during a lunch break at school!
I don't know if anyone knows the area well, but there is/was a yard nearby, on the lane leading back to Ashley, which contained lots of abandoned vehicles and sheds, where we also used to explore as kids. Anyone know where I mean? My friend insisted there was still a half-eaten plate of food rotting on the table of an overgrown caravan in there, and there was also some rumour of a body being found in there around that time? Probably just kids' rumours though.
Apologies for what is essentially a long, waffling story from me.


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## Hayman

I should have typed "Nothing here since 2017?" Gingrove - that was about when I visited the underground area. I recall standing at the top of the conveyor (I presume near where the wall is now built across the tunnel) and looking down the start of its length. We walked from one storage area to the next, past the dividing walls of bath stone left to provide protection in the case of any detonation.


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## pme

some pics from a long time ago, not very good but some detail visible, cant find the one of the generator room but still looking


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## Hayman

Further to my previous information. here are some verses I wrote in 2015:



*MONKTON FARLEIGH.* England No 87.



There’s a rusty red roofed shed to the west of Wiltshire’s Box

which HSTs and DMUs ignore.

But in the 1940s, when steam locos thundered by,

trucks filled its long gone sidings by the score.



For under hillsides green, where bath stone had ever been,

those mines were fast converted to a store.

By underground conveyor, hid from prying eyes,

went shells and ordnance, ready soon to roar.



At Monkton and around, the ammo came and went,

For units here at home, or far from shore.

By train, then truck to camp, or base it was then sent

the armament that helped us win the war.



Written about the World War II ammunition depots in what were bath stone mines in the Monkton Farleigh area.

Ammunition was brought by train to a transfer dock on flat land near Bathford. At first an overhead ropeway transported the shells, etc the mile to the requisitioned mines. Later an underground conveyor did the job.



To the rhythm of The Green Eye of the Little Yellow Idol, by J. Milton Hayes.



© Eric C Hayman. 29 Apr 2015.

Bournemouth, Dorset.


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