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Report - - Porter Brook to Megatron (unfinished), Sheffield - September 2012 | UK Draining Forum | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Porter Brook to Megatron (unfinished), Sheffield - September 2012

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jazzywheelz

Boring Bearded Bastard
28DL Full Member
History courtesy of Wikipedia:
[The] source [of the River Sheaf] is the union of the Totley Brook and the Old Hay Brook in Totley, now a suburb of Sheffield. It flows northwards, past Dore, through the valley called Abbeydale (so named because of Beauchief Abbey, which overlooks it) and north of Heeley. It then passes into a culvert, through which it flows under the centre of Sheffield emerging just once before joining the River Don near Blonk Street Bridge. This lower section of the River Sheaf together with the River Don, between the present Blonk Street and Lady's Bridges, formed two sides of the boundary of Sheffield Castle.

The main tributaries of the Sheaf are the Porter Brook, which joins it beneath Sheffield Midland station, and the Meers Brook. The river has been polluted upstream through centuries of industrial activity, including iron and steel working, and is only slowly recovering. The river used to provide the power for a number of metal works, an important surviving example of which is the Grade 1-listed Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet.


Porter Brook to Megatron (unfinished), Sheffield - September 2012

Visited with ravenwing93, BAJ, Fudge & LeedsExplorer


Arriving in Sheffield on a beautiful sunny September day, slightly late due to a last minute hunt for some dodgy waders, I made my way to rendezvous with LE who had already been there for over an hour checking access and admiring the view. Fudges train was running late, so after exchanging pleasantries, myself and LE procured some refreshments before meeting Fudge outside the station. As is the fashionable way, RW & BAJ were running more than an hour late, so in the meantime I attempted to make repairs to my borrowed waders. Half a roll of gaffer tape later and I wasn't convinced, so the waders were ditched in favour of the trusty Wellingtons (and moar gaffer tape). By this time RW & BAJ had finally arrived, so after more pleasantries, the car parking meter was fed for the second time and we were on our way.

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Our access point was conveniently located within spitting distance of our cars, so with a funny look from a couple of car park attendants, we were in. Hidden from view by the undergrowth, we started our journey along the lower section of the Porter Brook, following its course as it disappears under brick arches, emerging again only to be enclosed by tall stone walls on either side and buildings towering above.

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The Porter Brook's final taste of daylight before it merges with the River Sheaf is an open section infront of Sheffield Midland Station. Usually not much more than a trickle, this video shows what it can be like after a downpour. Thankfully for us it was nice and shallow, so we made an (admitedly leisurely) dash for it, much to the bewilderment of a group of onlookers.

Under cover once more, the Porter Brook merges with the larger River Sheaf beneath the busy Sheffield Midland Railway Station. The river flows through three seperate parallel tunnels lying directly below the railway lines. When trains passed thundering above our heads, it reminded us just what a feat of engineering this culvert really is. The stone arches have stood up to the massive weight of the station buildings and all those trains for 150 years.

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After a bit of light painting and some wire wool spinning (which annoyingly I didn't manage to photograph) we headed onwards, myself and LE choosing our route carefully so as to avoid the deeper waters which may have breached our wellies. Emerging into daylight once again we found ourselves inside the short open section close to Ponds Forge. The final open section before the outfall. We paused for more photographs and a time check. Fuck! Perhaps three hours on the Pay & Display was a little optimistic. To be fair it was getting late anyway, so we decided to abort before reaching the outfall. At least we have a good reason to make a return visit.

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After a comedy exit onto the streets of Sheffield, we made it back to the cars with seconds to spare, only to discover that somehow I'd actually picked up a parking sticker with 24 hours on it :banghead The rest of the evening consisted of plenty of lols, a bit of story telling and even a bit of mental for LE ;)

It was a pleasure to meet LE, RW & BAJ and as always a pleasure to explore with Fudge.

Notes to self for re-visit:
Everyone to arrive WELL BEFORE 4:00pm.
Get more than 3 hours parking.
Buy wad0rz.


Ta very much :)
 
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