Oxendon Tunnels - Northamptonshire

   oxendon tunnel

Date April | Location Northamptonshire | Delmoished No 

I was visiting my friend for the weekend with my little one, and this was the first location we decided to check out. It was about an hour's drive from my friend's place, but we were exploring other areas as well, so it wasn’t too bad. When we arrived, we parked the car and started walking (although we initially went in the wrong direction – oops!). Once we realized our mistake, we turned around and headed the right way. The walk wasn’t too difficult, but it was somewhat busy since many people were out enjoying the trail.

Oxendon Tunnel is a disused railway tunnel located in Northamptonshire. The railway line opened in 1859 but was closed in 1981. The tunnel is now part of the Brampton Valley Way, which is a 14-mile route. Oxendon Tunnel and Kelmarsh Tunnel are the only two tunnels along this route.

Spur Tunnel Experience - Dover castle - Dover

 

Spur  tunnel experience

Date: August 2024

Location: Dover

public/abandoned - Public 

Delmoished - No

Dover Castle is a massive place with various sections to explore. This time, we checked out the spur tunnel because it was closed during our last visit. The experience was pretty cool as we got to see bits of the castle that are not normally accessible. It's fascinating to see the tunnels, and you can walk around at your own pace, which is great. 

It is said that the tunnels date back to medieval times and would have been used in the Napoleonic era.Napoleonic eara 

Ramsgate Tunnels - Kent

 Ramsgate Tunnels 

                                           Date: May 

                                           Location: Ramsagate

                                           Abandoned or Public : Public 

                                           Delmoished: NO

I've always wanted to explore the Ramsgate Tunnels. It's been on my "to do" list for a very long time. So, I had a free Thursday morning while my daughter was at nursery, and I headed to Ramsgate to take the first tour of the morning. I have to say, the tour was pretty interesting, and the amount you get to see is also very impressive. You get to explore a fair amount of the tunnels, and the tour guide provided a lot of good information too.

The Ramsgate tunnels were originally a trail line that ran for about 2 and a bit miles. They closed down in 1926, but reopened in 1936 for a short period of time. When World War II hit, a second phase of the tunnels was constructed to hold around 60,000 people during the air raids. Unfortunately, in 1940, 500 bombs were dropped by the Germans, destroying 1,200 homes and leaving around 300 families homeless. The tunnels became an underground town with shops, an underground hospital, and much more. However, over the years, parts of the tunnels became abandoned. After the war, the railway tunnel reopened around 1946 and then closed for good in 1965. The tunnels were left abandoned until around 2014 when they were opened as a tourist attraction.

The old warden tunnel - Bedford

 The old Warden tunnel

                                            Date: october 

                                           Location: Bedfrod 

                                           Abandoned or Public : Abandoned 

                                          Delmoished: No

This was are last exploration of the day and to be there is not much to say about this one, it a very easy walk down as they opened it up as a nature reserve, once we got down to the tunnel entrance there was a bunch of rotting away car's and this always sad to see as it makes you wonder what happened to them, but then I spotted a hornet and that thing looked angry, As we approached the tunnel entrance you can hear yellow jackets buzzing around so we though it is best not to go and walk down the tunnels as did not want to be stung, so I stuck my camera though the entrance and got a photo of the tunnel.

So it said that the tunnel was part of the Midland Railway that would of connected Bedford, Hitchin and london together between 1853-and 1857

it said that the tunnel has been sitting abandoned for over 40 years.

Fan Bay Deep shelter - Dover

 Fan bay deep shelter 

Date: August 2023 

location: Dover

Abandoned or Public: Public 

Delmoished: No 

Yesterday, we had a day without our daughter, as she was spending time with her grandad. We decided to take advantage of this and visit the Fan Bay deep shelter in Dover, which was the final exploration I wanted to do in this area. As National Trust members, we were able to take the tour for free, otherwise, it would have cost £10 per adult or £5 per child above 8 years old. We parked at the visitor center and enjoyed a 40-minute walk to the tunnels, taking in the beautiful views. When we arrived at the tunnels, we had to wait until 1:30 pm for our tour to start, as the previous tour was still ongoing. Our guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour enjoyable with his humor. The tunnels were well-maintained, and we highly recommend the tour if you have an hour to spare while in the area.

The history of Fan Bay Deep Shelter is quite fascinating. It was built within a span of 100 days and used by soldiers to take shelter. The bunker was constructed between 1940-1941 and was utilized in both World Wars. However, in 1950, the tunnels were abandoned and later in 1970, rubble was placed to prevent unauthorized access. In 2012, the National Trust acquired the land and restored the tunnels, making them accessible to the public.