Sunday 8 June 2008

Inside at Last!

Because its all happening we had such big plans for when we finally had enough room to get in....some of its on video....but ultimately it all boiled down to who was in the right place at the right time... namely who was nearest the door - forget masks! Richard and Pete just happened to be nearest............ and we couldn't hold them back




The old padlock is still attached to the doors and I follow them with the camera.




The point of entry, looking back into the daylight.


The same view but from further inside the tunnel


Rudimentary wiring on the ceiling attaches to lamps that are rusted but still hanging.







Hi folks. Back at the keyboard. Just spent some time tidying up and trying to fence off the entrance for safety. We had to dig a good 10 foot deep hole, and the surrounding rock is very loose. I hope it doesn't rain. Also a few people came round to have a look. Right, where do I start. The tunnel (because that's what we now know it is) is definitely real. No photoshopping here



That's Mrs88 having a look down the other end above. It's over 8 feet in diameter, and around 60 odd feet long. Its completely underground, apart from the opening we dug. No there wasn't any vintage mercedes or luftwaffe uniforms. There were paint pots (well, tar pots infact). No carpet though! There was genuine german WW2 barb wire (as someone spotted). There was also various stuff we couldn't recognise. We haven't taken anything out, or gone through it with a fine tooth comb. There wasn't any gold bars visible to the naked eye , but then I put this into perspective by reminding myself that there is a 60 tunnel under the garden!

Oh, and did I mention there appears to be a false floor in part of it? !


This is the item that someone thought was a breeze block on the video. It is in fact some sort of pump up spray canister that can be worn on the back of the operator. We can't tell what was in it, and it seems to have brushes inside the drum?





It was found lying on a bed of what appears to be genuine WW2 German barbed wire.




Back to the floor - half way down, Richard notices that the floor is covered in sand (rather than concrete). We wipe it away to see that there appears to be a metallic floor underneath...?

This seems to have "cast" bumps on it?

Peter gives the floor a thud - we can't be sure, but sounds like a lid?

We start clearing the sand to see if we can find the lip ?



At this point we decide that we're getting a bit carried away, and that we should perhaps check the length of the tunnel first before ripping into things. Plus the floor would be easier to check later when a bit cleaner and not in such excitement (after all, its not like someone's going to tell me clear off for trespassing)


No idea what this is / was?






3 comments:

Ian said...

It looks like a cable drum for carrying rolled up barbed wire.

Unknown said...

Have you worked out if the metallic bit of the floor is a lid to something?

Loafer said...

The nuts in the bucket look like the food store/dining room of a rodent - squirrel possibly?
This would suggest that there has been some kind of access since the war, if only a small hole.