Into an alien world - Oxenhall Tunnel

[neill]

Oxenhall tunnel is part of the Hereford - Gloucester canal, built betwwn 1793 and 1845. It closed after only 36 years in 1881 as the railway were reaching the area. The tunnel is 2192 yards long runs under the M50 motorway, however the roof has collapsed near the north end of the tunnel. To get to the open south end of the tunnel takes major effort, along overgrown canal path blocked by fallen trees. Once at the entrance a boat is needed for the next 3/4 mile into the tunnel!

The tunnel portal, which was partly resored in 1996.

The water is crystal clear, and about 4 to 5 ft deep, when raining the water level can rise some 2-3 ft.

Into the alien world! As the tunnel has been closed for over 100 year, calcium deposits have run down the rock side to create something out of the 'Alien' films.

Up close it looks like it was once alive. I had the feeling that something was watching me and then....

I'm not sure what it was but the animal died sometime ago.

A blocked air shaft.

I hope you like the pictures, and please note that although this site is open there is a real risk of death visiting here!!

Thanks for the loan of some of these pics (you know who you are), as my camera could not cope with the long dark shots.
N.

 

[james.s]

Nice! I have a tunnel like this in my town, it supposedly has loading shafts and underground wharfs, I don't have a boat though
That dead animal is freaky!

 

[phill.d]

Great looking tunnel there.
Very Alien indeed! Th air shaft shot looks ace!
How did you do it? In chest waders or a dinghy?

 

[Black Shuck]

Nice one, that reminds me a lot of the inside of Withcall Tunnel with all the Calcification!, quite surreal but very exciting!

 

[Mole Man]

That must have been a great explore, some really good pictures there Neill.

 

[freebird]

Very cool explore and very creepy! Wonder what those bones were originally! Poor thing if it got stuck down there!

 

[Els]

V. Nice nice

 

[MaBs]

Looks a very interesting explore!

 

[crickleymal]

Excellent stuff. Those calcite deposits are amazing. It's tempting to have a look myself but weve only got a Tesco's £5 inflatable boat.

 

[Mid diesel]

superb effort... the pictures look great

something about underground water that I find soooooo massively creepy

 

[sheep21]

completey alien to me, its almost as if man didnt have a hand with its construction from the inside, except from the uniformity of it.

Cracking explore.

 

[diehardlove]

Great looking tunnel there.
Very Alien indeed! Th air shaft shot looks ace!
How did you do it? In chest waders or a dinghy?

he did it in a boat says it at the end of the report i nearly missed it too,
nice pictures has a weird feel to the place

 

[ImmortalShadow]

That dead animal is freaky!

I agree, that would've scared the life out of me if I saw it, same as that Alien-like stuff on the walls - the films I find scary, let alone seeing stuff on the walls!

Great photographs though going by boat must've been fun!

 

[Runner]

That looks amazing, the calcifications are great, especially like the ones around the bottom of the air shaft.
Looks like it was worth the effort getting to it - nice one!

 

[smilla]

H R Giger eat your heart out

What an amazing place. The weird effect of the water down the walls really is something extraordinary, like an alien planet.
That skeleton is pretty creepy too! I wonder what it was.
Smills

 

[J_a_t_33]

Awesome, the walls are stunning

 

[spacepunk]

That skeleton??
Something with a tail by the looks of it.

 

[pollen101]

Fantastic pics,looks a top place!!!!!!!!

Like a journey along a giant intestine,through the bowels of the land - love it!!!!!!!!

 

[GeorgieKirrin]

A sheep. Probably. How exciting?! What a creepy explore. I love the idea of exploring by boat - much more acessible and much less likely to have suffered from prior abuse. That place looks fantastic, I used to live around that way so it's on my list - thanks for sharing.