FORGOTTEN tunnel under the M25
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- This is a tunnel that was made to connect the Old Shire Lane path near Chalfont St. Peter when the M25 was built across it in the mid 1980s.
#Tunnel
#M25
#Motorway
Filmed with southwest455 - / @southwest455
Original idea taken from Networker72 who did a video on this.
Doesn’t look forgotten, that path looks very well trodden.
Word
forgotten. tunnel in the title gets many more views tho.
I cycle around here regularly...go there after dark, you'll see how used it is
@@trekelite3943 Aye, aye.. that sounds dubious. 😉
This also acts as a gateway for wildlife to travel for the purposes of feeding,breeding etc. We need more of these.
That’s built into the American highway system. Every highway has multiple wildlife corridors passing underneath. So many benefits to starting afresh... like Berlin. We have to try our best to keep up, but inevitably harder with dated infrastructure. We need more of this.
there's litteraly hundreds of these up and down the country
Those spastic deer will still bolt into oncoming traffic for no reason at all though.
Sometimes it's a bridge and not a tunnel too. There's a couple on the a2 and m2
You can tell it's in the middle of nowhere as there's no graffiti anywhere. Good find.
There's graffiti visible from 1:12 on the left hand side.
@@MotoGraham barely but good catch
It can't be that forgotten if the foot path isn't overgrown.
Exactly......
@@paulbeachcroft3323 The forgotten bit is just clickbait.
It's likely forgotten from a care and maintenance perspective.
@@PrinceJohn84 What are you talking about? It's a highways structure. It goes under the M25! It will be subject to regular bridge inspections and assessments even if it looks quiet and relatively unused.
Scrub and trees won’t grow without sunlight and it’s a dark tunnel .
It is a public bridleway! And all public rights of way have tunnels or bridges to cross new roads that have been constructed. It didn't have any lights in it originally and for many years. It is only more recently that they wasted taxpayers money on lighting... for no reason. Pre HS2 messing everything up, I often used this tunnel, horse riders did too & cyclists. So, not weird and not forgotten!
Thanks for shedding some more light on it.
It's not forgotten, all assets and structures are recorded and monitored, there just isn't any budget to maintain / repair unless structurally unsafe. There are many weird and wonderful underpasses beneath the M25 that many don't know about and some of them are very apocalyptic looking. Unfinished roads, footpaths, land access routes etc. Nice video though 👌 always enjoy your content.
It will still be costing money, as fluorescent fitting still consume power if the are switched on even without the tubes fitted.
@@jonpatchett425 EXACTLY!!
It's the most concise description with limited words MR pendantic lol it's a joke
a graffiti free tunnel. thats got to be a first to.
It's survived well for 36 years!
@Brian Zimmerman We thought US vandals were better behaved ie. just a bit of spray paint here and there. Our vandals can be a real embarrassment at times.
Blank canvas more like🙂
@Brian Zimmerman
When you can get into Europe... if you want to.... you should go.
Won't be for long after this video 🤣..
That’s surely the only non graffitied tunnel in the U.K.!
i just had that thought and then read you're comment
This is posh Chalfont St Peter, there are no yobboes causing criminal damage here !
Excellent video, thanks. Also typical morthren. Weird that they haven't cut the power supply to the (now burnt out) lighting tubes. They should replace them with four LED disks at 20 m intervals plus a dusk sensor, that would be a fraction of the power consumption.
The tunnel looks long enough to need lighting available during daylight. A solution would be what they often have in railway tunnels for track staff: a switch to turn on the lights when someone enters the tunnel. A movement sensor would also do the trick, with a timer to allow max 5 minutes to pass through before turning off the lights again. (Train tunnels use manual switches instead of movement sensors, for obvious reasons).
@@ktipuss Mind you, if you're out walking at night amongst the weeds and the badgers you'd probably have a torch (or i would, anyway!)
@@thephilpott2194 Speaking of which, are there any dangerous creatures in the night in the UK, other than the two-legged kind?
Here in the USA, there's a long list of critters one would not wish to encounter alone in the dark. You mentioned "badgers." I don't think the average American would put that on the list, at least not on the East Coast.
@@cggage Well, there's plenty of bad tempered swans .. and the occasional aggressive squirrel !
@@garydavid1788 Maybe as dangerous as the Canada Geese! They're killers!
There are loads of these around the m25. I’ve worked on all the widening and recon jobs for over 25years. Some interesting stuff. I may actually start doing my own channel that shows some crazy little hidden gems around the orbital.
That would be great!
Don't tell Highways Agency....
They'll be along and concrete it up.
They're good at that.
When fluorescent tubes glow at their ends and don't flicker to life they use a huge amount of power. Way more than when they are fully lit. What a waste of electricity. This issue needs to be sorted.
Time to replace those with LED tubes! The tunnels otherwise looks in very good shape.
Nope, that has been checked once on a Dutch electronics forum. Just to debunk that myth one user with the right test-equipment took measurements and find out they only use about 1,2xInominal (that's 20% more power than their rated nominal power) when starting. So it's not all that bad. One can clearly see that they don't make tubes like the ones here anymore. If, after all these years, the filaments still work on most of them, you've got some very well built tubes.
How many other tunnels are there like this, needlessly costing millions of pounds in wasted fuel and countless tonnes of co2
@@russvhill2 Exactly, the persons responsible for this wastage and neglect want taking to that tunnel for a good working over.
@@russvhill2 14268.
At least the legal status of the footpath was recognised, even if it meant building a rather creepy tunnel.
The Americans always use that word CREEPY ! It's justa bloody tunnel ,that's all, 🤔 for access ! It could be EERIE, or WEIRD or SCARY or SPOOKY, or MENACING , whatever u want to call it 🧐😱🙂
@@davidtomlinson6138 Surprisingly quiet inside, innit? Just a vague swoosh and rumble of traffic. (Partly due to all the greenery soaking up the sound)
Actually - the legal status would have the "correct" name for the pathway - as well as stating it to be an UNDERPASS, as that is exactly what it is, a motorway underpass, to allow foot traffic to cross (underneath) the M25.
Along - get this:
SHIRE LANE
It is NOT named as a street is named in Birmingham as "Old Shire Lane"
Oh !!
And it's not even in the countryside of Birmingham City, as that city is a LONG WAY to the N/W of London City.
(where this site of the HS2 and the LONDON CITY "OUTER RING ROAD", called the M25 are located).
Let's hope the Right of Way is preserved once the HS2 White Elephant has gone through!
"Little-known path"
Shows well-worn pedestrian highway.
Yeah, it's called a clickbait title.
Most motorway power is unmetered and charged on asset data only. My guess is these are forgotten about so technically no electric bill.
Waste of public money!
@@DifferentSaturner Are you saying it shouldn't be illuminated ?
@@norfolkhall No, it should be metered.
*adds in an extra socket and very long lead*
Craig, I know of a long forgotten underground military place, now in private ownership.
A power supply comes in, a bank hums quietly, the small power supply is used
The local power company have investigated and say “well it’s not ours on paper, carry on” 🤷♂️
Glad to see you back - keep up the great content. Cheers, Brian
We should all report the broken lights to Highways England and see if they send someone out to replace the bulbs/starters
They probably would in all fairness. But give it a few years by the time they've had various meetings over it, costed it and priced up materials, then realised that fluorescent tubes are being phased out and need replacing with LED equivalent 😅
Would be a better idea to do it ur self.
Take highway England forever to do something about it.
Or alternatively hook up extension cord power for a microwave/kettle
Set up camp jobs a gooden.
I worry about leaving a light on when I go out at night , imagine leaving all these on since about 1987. No wonder they've burnt out .
@Lancashirelad when I lived in a city that used to worry me but l now live in a Norfolk village . Its so crime free here burglary doesn't even cross your mind - no need to leave a light on .
Creepy tunnel.
No one knows about it, because if they did, It would be covered in graffiti .
Forgotten tunnel .... ? Hmmmm .... And a well worn track ... LOL
Glowing ones have stuck starters. There is probably quite a few fried ballast there too.
Yeah, taking the starters out of circuit would usually kick the tube into life. it's a shame the lights are too high to reach, I would try it if I could.
I bet there's LOADS of similar little known tunnels under our various motorways all over the UK if you know where to look. In fact there's one only a few minutes walk from where I am under a fast dual carriageway that used to be a railway.
During last year's lockdown I did a lot of walks from my home. About a mile from me, I had spotted that there appeared to be a gap in the bushes leading off from a main path. One day I decided to see where it went and found a rather neglected dead-end tunnel under the A1(M) that appeared to be the local youth's favoured place for inhaling nitrous oxide.
Yep, these are far from unique. I know of several similar ones close to me.
Wow. I've never seen anything so forgotten that it didn't even have any graffiti.
Well now it will. Maybe...
You can make out some at the entrance but it’s faded.
I used to live in Colnbrook, at the side of the flyover that crosses the M25, if you look down, there's a section of the original Bath Road with cobblestones. I always used to ponder if this was where Dick Turpin used to rob coaches.
Where about a is this? I’m not far from there and wouldn’t mind going to see this
👍🏻
@@IanDarley excellent thanks very much. Very speedy reply lol 👍🏻
Oops, just checked my link, I gave you an incorrect pin, the driving range is still there! 51.4789069370355, -0.5042416130811177
When i was a young navvy i was quite pally with the old boy in charge of this tunnel, his name was Bunky but nobody knew why, he had it written on his id badge and hard hat so it must have been official, he was actually a drain engineer so it must have come under that department, i heard he is still alive and over 100 years old, if he walked through it now it would break his heart.
Why would it break his heart. You could have a party in there.
@@PreservationEnthusiast Well if you can arrange it i will get him there, just make sure there is some sort of ramp access
Good old bunky.
@@stephenfrancis567 hello stephen are you coming to bunky's tunnel party under the m25, someone has agreed to organise it for him
@@robshearing2131 yeah, can’t wait.
Good to see you posting, morthren. Hope you and your loved ones are well given the outburst of the Delta variant in your country that is being reported on by some quarters of our media.
Here in the United States some of our interstate system--mainly west of the Mississippi River and in truly rural areas--have similar tunnels incorporated into their infrastructure. These passageways, however, are not for human usage but are rather in place as alternatives for wildlife--especially larger critters like deer, moose, bear, et cetera--to safely cross the highway without endangering themselves and motorists. Last thing anyone would want is to be doing 70 mph at 5:00 o'clock on a winter morning and literally run into a herd of elk crossing Interstate 90 in Montana.
We call those wildlife-tunnels wild-tunnels ;) in the Netherlands, or wild-passage. The locations of them usually were kept secret in the seventies and eighties to avoid people looking for them (with all their weird intentions they could have). Don't know how it is now.
Yes, as I watched the video I wondered whether this M25 tunnel was primarily for wildlife.
By the glowing ends on the light tubes they are still drawing power, although probably reduced but can be 50% if they are old designs.
Why is it weird ?
Short, but sweet. Glad to see from you again. Nice one.
Nice to see you back uploading trust you are in fine fettle? cool tunnel , Amazing just how many of these there are dotted about the country . Its notoriously difficult to extinguish a right of way (unless its a railway foot crossing apparently) . planning authorities used to go to great lengths to preserve them
Cool tunnel? You need to get out more fella.
Thanks. No graffiti, no peeing! I found some more as well but under train lines. No one uses those these days. Very scary. I wonder why they didn't build a foot-over-bridge? That doesn't cost much! Added to playlist: Transports, Roads.
People jump from bridges.
@@danielcallender8649 True, some of them do jump, but we can use the fence around!
It looked like the motorway was on an embankment, so easier to just put a corrugated metal tube in as they were building the embankment.
AND by the state of the path it is still well used . Ancient trackways were protected .
Nothing wierd about this. It has always been standard practice in the construction of railway and motorway embankments to connect the fields, footpaths and countryside on either side with short tunnels.
It must be miles from anywhere as there is no graffiti (or 'Street art' as criminal damage is now laughingly referred to)
It's graffiti if some low class Herbert does it.
It's "art" if some entitled middle class Herbert (Bansky) does it...
Great video and good to see you back! I was in the middle of editing my latest vlog, when the notification of this one came through. Had to stop because yours are top quality. Fab!
Looks like an excellent dogging area.
😂
Seems pretty typical UK infrastructure.. Lighting the tunnel was important enough to fork out for a quite excessive imo number of fluorescent fixtures up front but obviously not important enough to put anything in the budget to maintain them.
Probably never going to get replaced because correctly disposing of fluorescent tubes is now costly.
Fwliw the electricity usage for that type of thing is usually estimated rather than metered. Probably highways England (or whoever) would rather just keep paying the bill than doing something about it.
We have a river path that crosses the M25 at the Cheshunt junction (25). The New River had to be diverted via a viaduct. The new river dates back to the early 1600s when a new river or artificial canal was dug out to supply london with a fresh source of water. It’s original source was at Amwell and other springs in the area. The springs have long dried up and now the river Lee (not navigation) is the source of its waters. Hugh Middleton built the river along a route so that no pumping stations or water houses were required to transport the water. The route is such that it starts off above london and gently moves down towards london using gravity alone.
Not exactly weird is it, there are loads of these tunnels under our motorway network, I literally walked my dogs under the m26 the other week.
Imagine walking through there alone at night time 👻👻
WOW.. survived 40 years without graffiti.. Thanks for the vid and a big wave from eastern Maine!
Let's hope that even after the HS2 White Elephant has gone through, this Public Right of Way is legally preserved!
Access to to other pastures for farmers and the locals under freeways in Australia are quite common. Unlike UK we do not have public footpaths that cross fields but only crown land that has tracks that border the land or pass through it if a State or National park.
Public should have freedom to walk anywhere
This isn't unique - there are several similar path tunnels under the M5 and M42 in this part of Worcestershire.
yep mate there one in hertsfordshine call east lane between watford and hamel guts the lane in two
Know it well. One end passes the cemetery for the old Leavesden Hospital and its piggeries that were used for exterior scenes in 'Porridge' and it terminates in Bedmond. Very muddy place if there's been any rain.
Still burning some power if the electrodes ends or glowing on the spent fittings. Looks like a livestock path .
Lol don’t know where your buying your electric from, highways England and authorities buy electric at a very low price as low as 7p KWH meaning this tunnel would of cost around 30p an hour to illuminate max.
I’d love to go down and fix that lot.
I based it on todays standard residential rate of 19p per kW/hr. They're completely unmetered so they can sit there burning away forever without anybody being bothered about it.
I think there may have been a flaw in the design for maintenance... the path is too narrow for a vehicle and you would need a scissor lift or something similar to reach them safely. They could drop the gear off on the side of the M25 but even that would probably need a lane closure these days! If I could reach them, I'd certainly try to get one or two of them working. (Edited slightly from my original reply)
Nice one! I've been waiting ages for your next video, always love them
Like most of the supposed public rights of way here in the UK, they're neglected and overgrown and trying to use them puts the user at risk to all manner of hazards!
There is a smaller tunnel under the M23 but it's not for people. When the road was widened and speed increased, there were several serious accidents caused when badgers crossed the road by night. So the solution was to build them a by-pass to the by-pass. It works well and no lighting needed.
Another strange one is the tunnel under the M40 at J4 (Handy Cross) that looks like it can accommodate a two-lane single carriageway with footpaths on both sides, but connects a muddy footpath on both sides. When the motorway was built, there may have been plans to build housing off what is now Ragmans Lane. Instead, on the Wycombe side of the motorway an ASDA was built that would get in the way of this tunnel ever being used for what it appears to be designed for.
Glad you are still uploading these videos very interesting!
Thank you for sharing, it's good to see that the right of way for walkers has been considered when building the motorway. A couple of LED lights aimed downwards would sort the walkway.
Typically, as in any countryside location close to urban sprawl, you find rubbish dumped because local authorities are very picky about what you can throw away at their registered facilities and charge you for doing so, I like weird tho.
Looks like the bridleway (from pretty much nowhere to nowhere) that used to follow a straight line before the M25 construction created a deviation, and thus the tunnel. Pity about the lighting... A job for the council...or Highways Agency? Nice video - thank you!
A tunnel for an old established "public right of way which cannot be interfered with or denied under Crown law. For instance, if you buy property that has public right of way crossing it, you cannot stop people from using it as long as they stay on the path. A lot of city folks when they move into the countryside and are unaware of this law get very pissy about people "trespassing" on their personal piece of heaven. Public rights of way are footpaths that have been long established over centuries from the times when the common man who worked the land or lived in small villages and towns didn't own a horse, and only had "shank's mare" as there mode of transportation.
Can people stop talking about lack of graffiti, do y’all think so called graffiti ‘artists’ 😅 can’t read..graffiti looks a disgusting mess and an abuse of other peoples property IMO.
Was getting some real Slender Man vibes from that camera angle and footstep soundtrack. I was fully expecting him to be standing behind you when you panned 180 at the end!
Nothing weird or forgotten about these tunnels ... they allow farmers to access land on both sides of motorway. They are common on all motorways where the road splits the property . Bit awkward for herd of cows to cross M25 at commuter times !!
Public Footpath I guess?
Yes. Chalfont St. Peter.
I'm curious as too how you find out about these places especially this 'forgotten' tunnel nevertheless I luv ur content it's interesting and creepy at the same time I guess with certain places.
'You learn a thousand things everyday, make sure this is 1 of them.... I guess' 😅
You just stumble across such places. I know many myself
Study maps and you’ll find things like this tunnel.
Lots of things were there b4 the M25 was built !! It was built at the time , for a reason b4 the M25🙄🤔.Alternatively it could've bn built at the time the M25 was constructed, so farmers could move ther cattle/sheep etc. or general access for the public ! 🤔🙄, I dunno , someone somewhere knows 🙂
Be cheaper to put in a strip of LED lighting I should have thought.
Not in 1987 it wasn't
Not weird to me but practical. I've walked through similar ones in the midlands.
Using modern LED lights the electricity consumption would be about one tenth.
I build these things. This is a corrugated iron culvert pipe under the road,
There's a smaller, less pleasant version of this under the A14 near Needham Market in Suffolk. The ceiling is covered in sleeping bats during the day.
...at least it's in use !
Surely those tubes sat there with the heaters running use more power than some LED replacements would use to light the tunnel...
Had a neighbour who told me he worked on the M25. Said his team uncovered a Roman villa and were instructed to bulldoze the site rather than delay construction.
So wanna fix then poor Fluorescents fixtures with stuck starters or Blown EOL bulbs.
change them out ti LEDs
When the North Devon Link Road was built it cut right through land belonging to a dairy farmer friend of mine. They constructed a bridge some that he could bring his cows across for milking. Must have helped the local wildlife too.
Nice find! Surprisingly quiet despite being right under a freeway.
It's surprisingly quiet under there!
why do i think this would make for a great rave, good vid!
Always a touch of magic in your clips, love them...
Love your videos, always the more interesting/unusual ones rather than the same stuff everyone covers like most do.
@Stem Artin mate, I watch some of the oddest videos, there’s some computer game video channels I always watch and I’ve no idea why as I haven’t played any games for probably 20 years 😂
I’ve always been in to tunnels and stuff though
restore the light and you have a great location to grow weed xDD
Great video glad you are back out exploring and making great films of querky things keep up the good work
Thanks 👍
On the southern leg, quite a bit of the old Westerham line was used for the M25 which was originally going to be extended to Godstone til Beeching came along and worked his evil and the land put aside also was used for the motorway ending the chance of a much needed connection which would have joined the Tonbridge to Redhill line.
Beeching was a genius. He got almost everything right and has saved the country many billions over the years.
Some of his positive recommendations were not followed and he was later proved right. For example he recommended developing the Varsity line from Oxford to Cambridge. It was later closed by the Labour Gov in 1967 against his report. Now it will be reopened on a slightly different alignment.
As for your Tonbridge example, if the need is there, a new line will be built. Like for HS2 and the new varsity line, land will be found and compulsory purchased if needed. Bridges and tunnels will be built to cross intervening infrastructure eg M25.
@@PreservationEnthusiast Well the Wellington to Stafford line that rail operators have wanted reopened ever since it was closed is yet to be rebuilt. The government just isn't that willing to use their compulsory purchase powers anymore. They have literally been known to use the existence of a single house on an old alignment as an excuse to not reopen a route. The Wellington to Stafford line does involve a few houses but not many as the councils along the route kept it as public right of way and built a footpath along most of it. Though this was done mostly as the councils know of the need for reopening so are trying to hold as much as they can on the off chance network rail is ever properly funded and can consider much needed reopening projects.
Reminds me, there's some footpaths that actually cut straight across the A1 dual carriageway near Stamford. Believe me, you take your life in your hands trying to walk those routes.
Who forgot about it? In what way is it weird?
Hey, glad to see you back. Short ans sweet. Nice. ps, another tunnel like that under the M1 carrying the old Nicky Line IIRC...
Now that you've drawn attention to it, someone at Highways England will be salivating at the prospect of spending a couple of million pounds infilling it with concrete for: 'safety reasons' and to: 'prevent its imminent collapse'.
Lol so true.
It almost seems like spite?
Heaven forbid people have fun exploring the countryside.
...
HE: oh, no can't let people have fun...that won't do.
I thought you were dead mate......
Still alive 😁
Interesting video. There are a couple of similar tunnels on the M62 at Scammonden Water/Dam. either end of the dam. The M62 itself runs along the top of the dam. One tunnel forms part of the National Cycle Network, the other is for vehicular access towards the inlet tower that can be seen from the motorway. There are a number of public footpaths around the whole reservoir and beyond and I have passed through both tunnels on foot.
Why was I unsubscribe to you
I'm guessing most people hadn't forgotten it. I certainly hadn't, given that I never knew it existed. But I probably will have forgotten by, oh, I don't know .... say breakfast time tomorrow?
Fascinating. Thanks for an excellent video. Mike
Is this at Lat 51.603815° Long -0.529641° ? As far as I can tell the current Shire Lane goes over on a bridge. This is 0.71 miles south.
Close enough 🙂
That’s it, you can get access to it from Denham Lane. It’s closed off now, well at least for the next few years until hs2 is completed.
As an aside the river misbourne runs in a concrete Calvert under the M25 where the Chiltern railways viaduct stands. It use to be a beautiful peaceful place where the Misbourne meandered between the piers of the viaduct. Work on this section started in 1983 and was completed by 1985.
At least Hedgehogs have a safe passage.
Ah Yes, The M25, The Highway That Arthur Hates, Becoming A Popular Vine By Saying "THE F**KING M25"
I believe under M11 and possibly M25 there are tunnels for the Epping Forest Deer.
Does this exist due to the old British right of way laws?
I believe so
Thank you for showing this
There a number of footpath tunnels and bridges across the M25 in Havering (easternmost London borough) .One of them is shared by the path and stream and becomes flooded after heavy rain.
This is where i go to teleport
Think of all those legal rights of way that had modern infrastructure placed over it. There must be many more like this.
I do know of a bridal way that has a tunnel that doubles as a turnback route for emergency services vehicles under the M1. I wonder where else you might find more?
Nice to see you back again Morthren! 👍
I should be careful of any bridal way that has a tunnel...may well require emergency services.
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Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky."
Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction."
Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment?
Those weather proof fluoro fittings cost a fortune. Obviously they forgot to add this to the preventative maintenance schedule. Slack.