I was actually up this way checking out a couple of mills, i noticed this funky looking orange culvert from the roadside and as my wad0rs are always in the car, it would of been rude not to have a look.
Quick look on google maps and i popped down into what looked like the longest underground section, this is a culverted section of the River Calder as it winds it's way through Todmorden and surrounding villages.
The underground section is probably around half a mile long, passes under the houses and mills along the way, made up of some nice stonework and a distinctive orange floor apparently due to the iron deposits that drain out of the local mine workings.
Had a quick dig on the web when i got home and found some images on flickr which led me to find this has been done before by Morrisey in 2008 posted on another forum and named Kia Ora (if someone else did it prior to that then apologies)
So, i dropped in here into a square stone/concrete section....... felt good to be back underground after a good while.
After a shortish distance this changed to boring concrete box and i feared it would be like this the rest of the way..
Soon the nice stonework returned.....
Round the corner it was nice to see some stone arch....
Continuing on and the next section started to stoop down to approx 4ft for a short while....
Opening up again into a 6ft arched section....
A little bit further there was a junction, unfortunately i deleted the pic by mistake, i took the right turn as i could hear what sounded like a waterfall, through more brick arch...
Then a short corrugated pipe section....
Brought me out in the open to the water i had heard....I climbed up here but it was just a short bridge then a long open section so i didn't bother....
Turned back and headed to the junction....
Heading the other way brought me out in the open again, under a live mill....
Following this brought me too a stoopy concrete box section that i could see light at the end....
I climbed out here and followed the road, there was another short section which lead to the water source coming from the valley, that's where i called it a day.
Cheers for looking
Quick look on google maps and i popped down into what looked like the longest underground section, this is a culverted section of the River Calder as it winds it's way through Todmorden and surrounding villages.
The underground section is probably around half a mile long, passes under the houses and mills along the way, made up of some nice stonework and a distinctive orange floor apparently due to the iron deposits that drain out of the local mine workings.
Had a quick dig on the web when i got home and found some images on flickr which led me to find this has been done before by Morrisey in 2008 posted on another forum and named Kia Ora (if someone else did it prior to that then apologies)
So, i dropped in here into a square stone/concrete section....... felt good to be back underground after a good while.
After a shortish distance this changed to boring concrete box and i feared it would be like this the rest of the way..
Soon the nice stonework returned.....
Round the corner it was nice to see some stone arch....
Continuing on and the next section started to stoop down to approx 4ft for a short while....
Opening up again into a 6ft arched section....
A little bit further there was a junction, unfortunately i deleted the pic by mistake, i took the right turn as i could hear what sounded like a waterfall, through more brick arch...
Then a short corrugated pipe section....
Brought me out in the open to the water i had heard....I climbed up here but it was just a short bridge then a long open section so i didn't bother....
Turned back and headed to the junction....
Heading the other way brought me out in the open again, under a live mill....
Following this brought me too a stoopy concrete box section that i could see light at the end....
I climbed out here and followed the road, there was another short section which lead to the water source coming from the valley, that's where i called it a day.
Cheers for looking
