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History
Being a flood hazard every year in Newcastle Upton Tyne, several culverted sections of the Ouseburn have had major work done to them in recent years. Many of the smaller tributaries, such as the one in this report, have also had their flow diverted or restricted to prevent it from running straight into the Ouseburn during flash floods. The 2x4 wooden block on the inflow restricts all water flow, so only water is only able to enter underneath. It may seem counterproductive, however, as we have the feeling this tributary will never actually get 'full', or even reach up to knee depth. Originally, this culvert was a natural stream that ran through a small gully that would have been where an affluent urban district now lies. For many years, only a single stone bridge crossed the waterway, but as Newcastle began to expand in the 1800s much of it was culverted, to channel the water flow through a manmade stone tunnel.
Our Version of Events
After clambering over bicycle wheels, tyres, rocks and other local artefacts, we finally reached a large arched entrance. The entire arch was coated in a thick layer of moss, and very little water was flowing out. As we wandered inside, almost immediately we were greeted by a long, reasonably straight tunnel. There were a fair few pieces of rubble here and there; various bits of rock, stone and mortar. A little further in we were greeted by the 4.9ft ‘blue lagoon’; as we walked through a pool of water, the reflection of the plastic covering some reinforcement work that has been done gave it a blueish sort of tinge. In the middle of the ‘lagoon’ there is a vertical pipe leading to a manhole at street level, which was placed there back in 2007. After the ‘blue lagoon’ we were greeted by steel beams, which we believe are for reinforcement of the older parts of the tunnel; we could say, given that some of it was built around 200 years ago, it’s getting on a bit.
As we made more progress into the next section the maximum head reaches around 4ft, so by this point the legs were aching pretty badly. Quite soon after, though, the structure of the tunnel changes to circular brick work, with a bit of a shallow gully to walk in. After following a few bends here and there we were greeted by a long straight stretch, with what looks in the distance to be light. However, after burning 500 calories walking towards it, we soon discovered that it wasn’t light at all, it was a very fresh smelling 2x4 timber structure; plonked right on the inflow to block torrents of water when it rains heavily. With nowhere to go that was that, we turned around and walked all the way back to the beginning.
Explored with Ford Mayhem.
Being a flood hazard every year in Newcastle Upton Tyne, several culverted sections of the Ouseburn have had major work done to them in recent years. Many of the smaller tributaries, such as the one in this report, have also had their flow diverted or restricted to prevent it from running straight into the Ouseburn during flash floods. The 2x4 wooden block on the inflow restricts all water flow, so only water is only able to enter underneath. It may seem counterproductive, however, as we have the feeling this tributary will never actually get 'full', or even reach up to knee depth. Originally, this culvert was a natural stream that ran through a small gully that would have been where an affluent urban district now lies. For many years, only a single stone bridge crossed the waterway, but as Newcastle began to expand in the 1800s much of it was culverted, to channel the water flow through a manmade stone tunnel.
Our Version of Events
After clambering over bicycle wheels, tyres, rocks and other local artefacts, we finally reached a large arched entrance. The entire arch was coated in a thick layer of moss, and very little water was flowing out. As we wandered inside, almost immediately we were greeted by a long, reasonably straight tunnel. There were a fair few pieces of rubble here and there; various bits of rock, stone and mortar. A little further in we were greeted by the 4.9ft ‘blue lagoon’; as we walked through a pool of water, the reflection of the plastic covering some reinforcement work that has been done gave it a blueish sort of tinge. In the middle of the ‘lagoon’ there is a vertical pipe leading to a manhole at street level, which was placed there back in 2007. After the ‘blue lagoon’ we were greeted by steel beams, which we believe are for reinforcement of the older parts of the tunnel; we could say, given that some of it was built around 200 years ago, it’s getting on a bit.
As we made more progress into the next section the maximum head reaches around 4ft, so by this point the legs were aching pretty badly. Quite soon after, though, the structure of the tunnel changes to circular brick work, with a bit of a shallow gully to walk in. After following a few bends here and there we were greeted by a long straight stretch, with what looks in the distance to be light. However, after burning 500 calories walking towards it, we soon discovered that it wasn’t light at all, it was a very fresh smelling 2x4 timber structure; plonked right on the inflow to block torrents of water when it rains heavily. With nowhere to go that was that, we turned around and walked all the way back to the beginning.
Explored with Ford Mayhem.
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