# Quick Visit to Tidenham Tunnel !!!



## fluffy5518 (Mar 18, 2010)

Hi all;
Whilst out doing some pillbox spotting the other day we ended up in the Chepstow/ Lydney area.Not too far from Tidenham where (thanx to Liam CH and Seven8's reports) there is a disused single bore railway tunnel complete with permanent way which was hopefully accessible.Never photted in a railway tunnel before (Except for an unscheduled stop in Box tunnel to take a quick flash pic of the remains of the semaphore distant that is still present ) So this could be a good starting point.
The tunnel is 1188yds long and was opened in 1876 as part of the Wye Valley Railway later to be absorbed into the GWR.It is roughly S shaped when viewed from above so that after only a few yards inside each portal you are in complete darkness !!The tunnel was blasted mostly through limestone although there are many short sections which are brick lined.The writing was on the wall for the line in 1959 when passenger trains were withdrawn but quarry operations around Tintern saw this section retained for freight traffic until 1981 when the line was mothballed.BR finally pulled the plug in 1986 and the tunnel has spent the last 24 yrs in a slowly decaying state.Ther is only one vent in the tunnel and this lies just on the northern side of half way. !!!
The curve from the North end portal into the dark body of the tunnel.





Looking back towards the North portal.




Further in now -still looking South- showing the limestone sides of the tunnel and a short brick lined section.




A tad furter and another short brick lined section just to the North side of the vent shaft.





Although a little hard to see,this is the vent,you can make out the circular opening in the tunnel roof.Hardly any natural light falls this far down and the stillness is punctuated by the sound of cascading water.




A few others for good luck.
























So there you have it,we didnt manage to get all the way in as time was against us,but i can highly recommend this place as its in the middle of nowhere and the entrance to the Nortern portal along the old line has got some stunning views and the silence in the tunnel is.......Goldern !!!
PS Visit it before the summer unless your trained in jungle warfare


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## hnmisty (Mar 19, 2010)

Interesting that the tracks were left down, in "my" tunnels they were ripped up almost overnight as soon as the line was closed. 

Its funny how much more sophisticated the parts that are bricked look.


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