# Wenvoe Rail Tunnel - February 2015



## machtoaber (Mar 1, 2015)

Ello. First ever post - not first ever Urbex, but first jointly ventured and catalogued with another explorer 

Wenvoe tunnel is situated in West Cardiff, it's entrance hidden away in a foresty area accessible via an M&S car park (sure). The tunnel itself shut down in the 60's but with plenty of history attached.. according to sources , during WWII the royal train would rest in the tunnel if nearby to avoid overnight air raids. 

There's a a bit more info here: http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/tunnels/gallery/wenvoe.html
and someone else's more detailed account of it here; http://rogernewberry.com/2014/06/24/adventure-is-out-there-the-wenvoe-tunnel/

As mentioned earlier, easily accessible via the rear of the car park at M&S (NE corner). It's quite obviously frequently walked with plenty of tracks to follow.. Have a good scout of the easiest routes down as it's very steep in places and treacherous at the moment due to rainfall. 

Access to tunnel below: pretty much flooded at the mo, but not too deep that you can't just brave the water with some decent footwear. There's a loose slat and a tight squeeze but nothing too challenging.







The initial part of the tunnel, some mildly mind numbing graffiti on the brickwork, get's too dark later on to pull off anything worthwhile so the graff dies out pretty quickly.






Roughly halfway there is an air vent/shaft which casts some stunning light down into the tunnel, great for some photo's, below one of mine and below again my mates closer look at the shaft (giggedy). Apparently this is accessible above land around the back of PC world, didn't check it out as didn't have this info to hand at the time..











Bit of fun in pitch black with a flashgun. Pipe visable to the left is an active water main (Apparently)






https://www.flickr.com/photos/cytoon/16056750363/in/photostream/

People have dumped various crap down there as you'd expect, but amongst them tyres, lots of timber, a couch? (This was quite far into it), what looked like a beer keg ermm.. just generic rubbish otherwise. 





Here's a view from the Southern end, there is a double fence here and no loose slats, so only the spidermen/women need apply for this clamber... we decided to just walk the mile back which took around 20-25 minutes at a steady pace





Great trip - not much more than a 15-20 drive out of the centre of Cardiff. This time of year very wet & muddy, might be an easier experience in the summer, but wouldn't expect to be the only one there in dry season, we bumped into 2 others down there ourselves

Enjoy!

Photo credits http://flickr.com.cytoon (Me) , www.flickr.com/photos/lufcwls/ (Rob)


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## DirtyJigsaw (Mar 2, 2015)

Very nice indeed. Some lovely photos there. Looks like a nice day


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## night crawler (Mar 2, 2015)

Whats with the pipe, don't look original from when it was built. Very nice photos


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## buseng (Mar 2, 2015)

night crawler said:


> Whats with the pipe, don't look original from when it was built. Very nice photos



According to the OP's first link it is a large water main.


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## machtoaber (Mar 2, 2015)

Thanks guys.



buseng said:


> According to the OP's first link it is a large water main.


Yup that's right, I've heard it's a mains water supply. You're right though night crawler, a more recent addition it seems. 

I'll edit that confusing caption, I've written tunnel instead of pipe by mistake


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## flyboys90 (Mar 3, 2015)

Cracking shots and thanks for sharing.


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## UrbanX (Mar 3, 2015)

Fantastic first post! You certainly know how to use a camera! 
Thanks for sharing, looking forward to a lot more


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## Jaymo (Mar 3, 2015)

Apropos to make my first comment on someone else's first post?  Gorgeous pics. Love the Island of Light in the midst of the darkness!


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## Dugie (Mar 5, 2015)

Loving the shot under the shaft! Not usually my cup of tea tunnels but I do like this one.

Dugie


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## machtoaber (Mar 6, 2015)

Jaymo said:


> Apropos to make my first comment on someone else's first post?  Gorgeous pics. Love the Island of Light in the midst of the darkness!


Thanks Jaymo! Honoured! 

Cheers Dugie. I think I'll avoid a tunnel next trip, too many innuendos.


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## mockingbird (Mar 6, 2015)

you have the hang of it already, awesome first post welcome


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## The Wombat (Mar 6, 2015)

That is a fantastic report
Well photographed, and interesting

Good work


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