Sections 2 and 3.
Running a convoluted route southwards from Hampstead Heath, the River Fleet was, until it vanished beneath the city streets, London's next most well known river, after the Thames. Now it is entirely buried and even once down in its depths, you can only see the actual 'river' water at around 3am, when the toilets, showers, washing machines, sinks and dishwashers that use it as a sewer cease.
Once down there, its not easy to see the gradual way it has been covered, as the different sections meld into each other very nicely, with only the very recent concrete works beneath Kings Cross station and some down near the Metropolitan/Circle Line railway trench being obviously different. Otherwise, you really have to look carefully at the brickwork to see the difference between an 1815 built section and one laid out in 1860.
Being a rather 'busy' sewer during the day and not much better at night, its not an easy system to traverse and lengthwise, its a good 7 kms from the Outfall chamber at Blackfriars to a mysterious 'wall' that blocks the main tunnel near Kentishtown. As such, its taken most of us in London a good five years to explore it fully... in 2005 upon finding a way down into it, we took one look at the section upstream of the Midlevel interceptor, with its fast, roiling, knee depth flow and thought 'fuck that'. But gradually, for Jondoe in particular, knowledge assuaged fear and curiosity won over.
I personally, mentally divide the Fleet into five parts:
Going downstream from the wall to the Midlevel No. 1 is the first part, to the Midlevel No. 2 the second, to the Roundabend staircase the third, to the Farringdon Market split the fourth, then to the outfall being the fifth.
Ive never been good at getting photos of this huge system, mostly i think de-motivated by all the wonderful digital images my fellow explorers get and by the fact that most trips are impromptu or, well, just cos i shot pics there then promptly lost the rolls of film :S
I once shot the 5th section on a roll of film i got off a friend... had it developed to find it had already been used, the results being a double exposed mishmash of drains and abandoned factories.
Either way, here are pics from section 2 and 3, taken when i did section 2, the last of them for me, with Jondoe and Stoop. Most of this section is of 1850's construct with additions of interceptors, storm relief's and pedestrian subways from 1875 to 1890.
Our exit point. We headed downstream to this, the Midlevel Interceptor no. 2, as walking with the flow is always easier.
Upon entering an old ramshackle section just downstream of the MLI#1 we soon reached the 10 year old diversion works around Kings X station.
Here the new works meld back into 150 year old brickwork.
Cast Iron sections, likely reinforcing from other nearby underground structures.
An 1890 built pedestrian bridge for the old Kings Cross station... i think ive walked through this while exploring that (now) abandoned station.
Rounding the bend towards our destination (you can see the *slightest* bit of blur in this shot, caused by the vibration of the fast flow passing my tripods legs)
They built this section a little bit too big, just upstream of the Midlevel No. 2.
About 300m downstream of the Interceptor is the Roundabend staircase. I went down there with Snappel a week later. Drunks mustve seen our lights down a street grille as they scared the fuck out of us yelling down lol.
Once down there, its not easy to see the gradual way it has been covered, as the different sections meld into each other very nicely, with only the very recent concrete works beneath Kings Cross station and some down near the Metropolitan/Circle Line railway trench being obviously different. Otherwise, you really have to look carefully at the brickwork to see the difference between an 1815 built section and one laid out in 1860.
Being a rather 'busy' sewer during the day and not much better at night, its not an easy system to traverse and lengthwise, its a good 7 kms from the Outfall chamber at Blackfriars to a mysterious 'wall' that blocks the main tunnel near Kentishtown. As such, its taken most of us in London a good five years to explore it fully... in 2005 upon finding a way down into it, we took one look at the section upstream of the Midlevel interceptor, with its fast, roiling, knee depth flow and thought 'fuck that'. But gradually, for Jondoe in particular, knowledge assuaged fear and curiosity won over.
I personally, mentally divide the Fleet into five parts:
Going downstream from the wall to the Midlevel No. 1 is the first part, to the Midlevel No. 2 the second, to the Roundabend staircase the third, to the Farringdon Market split the fourth, then to the outfall being the fifth.
Ive never been good at getting photos of this huge system, mostly i think de-motivated by all the wonderful digital images my fellow explorers get and by the fact that most trips are impromptu or, well, just cos i shot pics there then promptly lost the rolls of film :S
I once shot the 5th section on a roll of film i got off a friend... had it developed to find it had already been used, the results being a double exposed mishmash of drains and abandoned factories.
Either way, here are pics from section 2 and 3, taken when i did section 2, the last of them for me, with Jondoe and Stoop. Most of this section is of 1850's construct with additions of interceptors, storm relief's and pedestrian subways from 1875 to 1890.
Our exit point. We headed downstream to this, the Midlevel Interceptor no. 2, as walking with the flow is always easier.
Upon entering an old ramshackle section just downstream of the MLI#1 we soon reached the 10 year old diversion works around Kings X station.
Here the new works meld back into 150 year old brickwork.
Cast Iron sections, likely reinforcing from other nearby underground structures.
An 1890 built pedestrian bridge for the old Kings Cross station... i think ive walked through this while exploring that (now) abandoned station.
Rounding the bend towards our destination (you can see the *slightest* bit of blur in this shot, caused by the vibration of the fast flow passing my tripods legs)
They built this section a little bit too big, just upstream of the Midlevel No. 2.
About 300m downstream of the Interceptor is the Roundabend staircase. I went down there with Snappel a week later. Drunks mustve seen our lights down a street grille as they scared the fuck out of us yelling down lol.
