please empty your brain below
A bit off topic, but does anyone know anything about the foot tunnel that used to run underneath Cardiff Bay? Obviously not all the way, but under the section on the Penarth side. There's a paragraph about it on the Penarth Wikipedia page, and I've heard a few verbal reminiscences, but that's about it.

martxw | 26.10.12 - 3:06 a.m. | #

Another very enjoyable read DG. I expect that the Woolwich foot tunnel has suffered in both importance and usage terms since the DLR was extended from King George V to Woolwich Arsenal. The old North Woolwich railway station across the road from the foot tunnel's northern entrance also appears to have been left to rot.

THC | 26.10.12 - 7:02 a.m. | #

When buskers would play down there the acoustics were extraordinary; it would send shivers up.

Matt | 26.10.12 - 7:08 a.m. | #

I'm confused... i thought this was the Greenwich foot tunnel between Island Gardens and Cutty Sark? or are you telling me there's a second separate foot tunnel out this way that i knew nothing about? Be nice to know where it is on a map ...

geofftech | Homepage | 26.10.12 - 7:30 a.m. | #

There's a second separate foot tunnel out this way that you knew nothing about.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=543245&Y=179510&A=Y&Z=115

diamond geezer | Homepage | 26.10.12 - 7:33 a.m. | #

@geofftech - yes, it's a second tunnel, from Pier Road E16 to behind Woolwich High Street SE18 -basically a subterranean pedestrians' equivalent of the Woolwich Ferry above.

The Woolwich tunnel has always been a bit neglected, and also a bit creepy, but even so,the way that "Royal" Greenwich Council have pursued a policy of active neglect recently is pretty disgraceful...no wonder they don't want people to take photos to show what a state they have let it fall into.

A few years back (hmm, possibly DG may have mentioned it here?) there was an entertaining "art feature" in the tunnel (fairly sure it was this one, not the Greenwich one), whereby walking through certain sections of the tunnel triggered off various sound effects - rain, cows mooing being two I recall. Possibly the only occasion on which non-locals have ever (and I do mean ever) been encouraged to use the tunnel....

Dominic H | 26.10.12 - 7:40 a.m. | #

Oh, I remember walking through the tunnel with my Mum on the way to visit my Nana in East Ham. It was a real adventure for us as small children.
Thanks for the memories

Christine | 26.10.12 - 7:47 a.m. | #

I was there earlier this year, but only because it's part of the Capital Ring. I'm sure that must be bring a fair few people in. It is indeed a gloomy place and could really do with a scrub.

I must agree about the acoustics, though. I tested the echo and it lasted six or seven seconds, which was really awesome. We definitely need to hear a musical performance down there.

Karen | Homepage | 26.10.12 - 7:51 a.m. | #

Dominic, it was the Woolwich Tunnel you were thinking of.

Nico | 26.10.12 - 7:58 a.m. | #

Another excellent post. I agree with you that the Woolwich tunnel feels far more spooky than the Greenwich one. And as for the incompetence of Greenwich council.... Will they ever publish the truth on what went wrong with this contract?

Pedant mode.... Is the Woolwich ferry the last pedestrian crossing? Doesn't that honour go to the Tilbury/Gravesend ferry?

IslandDweller | 26.10.12 - 8:07 a.m. | #

Pedant: the *tunnel* is the last pedestrian crossing. You can't walk across on the ferry (not without some other motive force - viz, the ferry - being involved).

Andrew | 26.10.12 - 8:47 a.m. | #

This is the sort of post that keeps me reading your blog, DG. Interesting, informative, and personal, all at once. Thanks!

Claire in Osaka | 26.10.12 - 9:00 a.m. | #

Great post DG. I did not know there was a Woolwich foot tunnel...and I thought I knew so much about London!

Bernie | 26.10.12 - 9:43 a.m. | #

This comment box is a testament to the success of the council's effort to make sure as few people as possible know about the tunnel's existence.

swirlythingy | Homepage | 26.10.12 - 9:51 a.m. | #

Cleaning that would be a perfect project for those on Community Service Orders. And no, it wouldn't be against their human rights...

Blue Witch | Homepage | 26.10.12 - 11:08 a.m. | #

Oops I too appears to have broken the no photography rule. Never mind.

Jon Combe | 26.10.12 - 1:05 p.m. | #

Given Greenwich Council's abject failure to maintain the Greenwich Foot Tunnel while blowing £11M of public money - I don't suppose they'll be treating Woolwich's version to so much as a quick sweeping anytime soon.

Sciurus Carolinensis Nemesis | 26.10.12 - 1:30 p.m. | #

An excellent read.

Anthony | 27.10.12 - 9:40 a.m. | #

Darryl at 853 has been covering the tunnels fiasco for a long time - see his site for more information:

http://853blog.com/2012/10/20/foot-tunnels-fiasco-on-bbc-london-news/

Douglas | 27.10.12 - 4:36 p.m. | #

Very atmospheric.

I know what you mean, but "severed pool"?

David | 28.10.12 - 6:45 a.m. | #

I trust you said 'hello' to the lone stranger? I have deduced that there is an unwritten social law in greeting other people that depends on the distance traveled and the quantity of other people in the vicinity.

In my hikes through the Rockies, I noticed that if you are in a crowded group of people, there is no need to offer a greeting. But if you are alone on the trail, after hiking a good distance it is mandatory. Odd... but true. Some sort of unwritten law of sociality.

John | Homepage | 28.10.12 - 12:40 p.m. | #

John - an interesting variation on this is the etiquette while jogging. When I used to go out jogging in my home town of Exeter other joggers always said hello; when I jogged while visiting friends in London not a single other jogger said hello.

Whiff | 29.10.12 - 1:07 a.m. | #











TridentScan v2.10.0 | Privacy Policy