boxfrenzy
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2008
- Messages
- 86
- Reaction score
- 36
Through much of the preeceding centuries, coal had been cut and dug from the landscape near the tiny coastal hamlet of Wiseman's Bridge. The nearby harbour of Saundersfoot, first built in 1829 enabled this to be taken away by sea, and as the industrial age progressed, demand raised. The pits got deeper, and the horse drawn carts proved less than ideal in transporting the coal to the harbour. As a result, three, fairly short tunnels were dug into the cliff.
Today, they are now part of the cliff path, and are a popular way of getting to the beaches nearby, where, in the early 1940's, Eisenhower, Churchill and Montgemery met, to plan the d-day landings on the hard sand.
First view, from Wisemans Bridge. The portal can be seen on the far right.
On the approach, the remains of the coal excavations can be seen
This is the longest of the tunnels
The first part is lined. The light is not a train, but the other end.
In the middle of the tunnel, water is dripping, and a strange luminous colour emerges from the darkness. The ghost of a long forgotten miner? No, Hi Viz paint for Health and Safety purposes...
Looking back to the first tunnel
The second, and much shorter tunnel
The third tunnel. In 1874 the first steam engine (called Rosalind) ran through these tunnels
Inside the third tunnel.
The steam trains would be narrow guage engines, pulling drays behind them full of miners. Here, Peter Sam looks proudly at his unusual funnel. He and his friends are typical of the narrow guage engines that pulled coal and slate trucks from Welsh mines during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
(Rev Awdry)
The history...
Today, they are now part of the cliff path, and are a popular way of getting to the beaches nearby, where, in the early 1940's, Eisenhower, Churchill and Montgemery met, to plan the d-day landings on the hard sand.
First view, from Wisemans Bridge. The portal can be seen on the far right.
On the approach, the remains of the coal excavations can be seen
This is the longest of the tunnels
The first part is lined. The light is not a train, but the other end.
In the middle of the tunnel, water is dripping, and a strange luminous colour emerges from the darkness. The ghost of a long forgotten miner? No, Hi Viz paint for Health and Safety purposes...
Looking back to the first tunnel
The second, and much shorter tunnel
The third tunnel. In 1874 the first steam engine (called Rosalind) ran through these tunnels
Inside the third tunnel.
The steam trains would be narrow guage engines, pulling drays behind them full of miners. Here, Peter Sam looks proudly at his unusual funnel. He and his friends are typical of the narrow guage engines that pulled coal and slate trucks from Welsh mines during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
The history...
