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gusamc - Member
http://www.nlb.org.uk/ourlights/history/bellrock.htmPossibly not unknown, but dad was a lightkeeper
I was on it on the last day it was manned. Pretty impressive considering it's 200 years old
The elan valley dams.
This is a shot of Craig Goch dam I took.
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Local to me (and not that well known) is the Millenium Walkway in New Mills, Derbyshire. The town sits on top of a deep gorge where 2 rivers join and there have been mills down there for years (derelict now) along with all the accompanying weirs and dams and 2 huge viaducts over the gorge.
In 2000 a bridge was finally built to connect the two ends of the footpath (previously walkers had had to go up into the town and round to the other side to continue their walk).
The bridge won a design award but the architect was killed in the London bombings of 7/7, there's a plaque on the bridge in his memory.
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KT1973 - nice one - keeper, engineer, helicopter ??? what were you doing
The dam at the end of Glen Lyon. Built in the 50's pretty much by hand. It's almost 20 miles up what is now a single track road, but then probably just a track, and then you are still 40 miles from the nearest big town. In those days, a lorry would be pushed to to the round trip in a day
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Southgate tube station?
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not really unknown, just unnoticed.
Or Glenfinnan Viaduct, a la Harry Potter
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Iron bridge, telford
Great thread, hard to add to.
As well as the London Underground and subterranean mainline services, London is home to another set of train tunnels which run 70 feet under the streets of central London between Whitechapel and Paddington. The entire tunnel network is 23 miles long1, was used up until May 2003, and was built for one purpose: to deliver the post.
And not many people know that! But you casn't see them so far as I know and I can't find any pics.
Well reminded hh45. Here's a pic of Westminster tube station (nothing's too good for those MPs) which is amazing.
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I expect all these pics are on the web just to save terrorists the trouble. Ironic that the police now seem to treat many photographers taking pics of this sort of stuff as terrorists - [url= http://photographernotaterrorist.org/ ]I'm a photographer not a terrorist.[/url]
M62 across the Lancashire/Yorkshire border.
http://www.motorwayarchive.ihtservices.co.uk/m62bounpole.htm
Some local to me here in the East Midlands
Bennerley Viaduct - I just like the look of it, no idea of it's technical merits...[url] 
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The Derwent Valley World Heritage Site - runs from Derby to Matlock and takes in a several mills, especially Arkwrights Mill at Cromford - also the old 3 storey houses he built there for his workers (North Street being the best preserved)
The fountains and cascades at Chatsworth - find it hard to believe it is all done without any pumps.
And I'm definitely stopping in New Mills to look at the Millenium Walkway next time I'm working up there!
High Peak Junction and it's pump house, also Middleton Top on the High Peak Trail - make a nice little bike ride between the two.
I think already mentioned, but Box Hill Tunnel is pretty groovy. Nearly 3km long and the sun shines all the way down it on the morning of Brunel's birthday every year.
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Great thread, love the Millenium Walkway, that's terrific.
Crazy-legs - I love the whole area of 'The Torrs' that the Millenium walkway bridge is built in.
It's a great place for children to explore.
Edit: forgot to mention the Archimede's screw at the end of the walk, very interesting stuff.
The Tom Pudding lift in Goole, my home town:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Pudding
Not unknown, unless you don't know of it, but Iron Bridge is always worth a look.
I'm not sure how anything Brunel built qualifies as 'unknown'. But any opportunity to praise him should be taken. I've always thought the bridge at Saltash was fantastic. And I love this fact:
Box Hill Tunnel is pretty groovy. Nearly 3km long and the sun shines all the way down it on the morning of Brunel's birthday every year.
Somehow you can't imagine that particular design feature getting past a planning committee nowadays. A brilliant combination of genius and egomaniac.
Cragside House in Northumberland is worth a visit from an engineering point of view. It was the first house to have electric lighting and was powered from its own hydro electric scheme.
It also has a hydraulic lift and the greenhouse has automated turntables for individual plant pots to track the sun.
gusamc - Member
KT1973 - nice one - keeper, engineer, helicopter ??? what were you doingPosted 10 hours ago # Report-Post
My Grandfather had a boat and we took the local MP and photographers etc out there. I was still at school and I remember that it was a beautiful day - the sea was like glass and the MP was puking non stop.
It was low tide so we were able to go onto the rock and have a tour of the lighthouse. A cracking day I'll always remember.
brunels 3 bridges
quite frankly its ugly and dilapidated but its cool to see
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High Peak Junction and it's pump house, also Middleton Top on the High Peak Trail - make a nice little bike ride between the two.
And a pair of aqueducts over both a river and a railway, which is somehow rather satisfying. Oh and a nice enough tunnel too.
Joe
This dam in mid wales looked like it would be fun on a lilo. Lots on 'no canoes' signs on it.
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not so unknown but overlooked... The Big One !
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nickjb - Member
This dam in mid wales looked like it would be fun on a lilo. Lots on 'no canoes' signs on it.
[url=
good on a canoe too[/url]
not unknown, but i like:
1. loch katrine system of dams and aqueducts - built to supply glasgow with water - http://www.hiddenglasgow.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=9427&start=0
2. cruachan power station - the scale of the main cavern is really impressive
3. the large scale hydro-electric dams built in scotland from 1930s onward. really should get round to buying one of the books written about the boom times post wwii.
There's lots of tunnels under London including the new Thames sewage tunnel which is in the process of being constructed, Crossrail is in the latest stages of design with some work begun - the central London stations are going to awesome. The deep level shelters built under several nortern line station are quite strange - I've been in the one under Clapham South station (for electrical geeks there's a fantastic mercury arc rectifier which is very strange - but not something to look at for too long).
Some tube stations have got some very interesting disused shafts and tunnels, standind on a very small wobbly bridge over a 30m shaft hearing the trains go past and just seeing daylight 10m above your head is very disturbing.
Of course there's also thos tunnels (touches side of nose) under Green Park, allegedly.....
[url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_Tunnel_fire ]Summit Tunnel [/url] - built by George Stephenson.
Runs between Littleborough and Todmorden - once the longest railway tunnel in the world and home to one of the biggest underground fires ever recorded.
Cardington Airship hangers:
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Built to house the R100 and R101 - now mahooosive film sets, I believe.
of all the gumph on STW that entertains me in many ways...this is the thread of the year (so far). As an ex civil/structural engineer I just love this stuff. well player peeps.
No single one is a landmark as such, but the thousand or so bridges that Telford built in the highlands completely transformed the region.
The [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_Barriers ]Churchill Barriers[/url] built of sunken ships in Orkney are pretty cool
again not a landmark, but above the Cromarty Firth one of the mountains was hollowed out to store oil for the fleet during the first world war, there are six huge tanks in there, each the size and shape of a cathedral
Ribblehead Viaduct, pretty well known, but awesome.
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Never seen that aqueduct at Winsford, which is very odd, I spent 3 years riding all round there, must've been past it!
That Millenium walkway is cool.
There's one near me which is interesting rather than impressive or anything else, dates from the early 20th century, when the station at Rudgwick was built the gradient was too steep, so they built a bridge on top of an existing bridge to reduce the gradient out of the station. Now part of the Downs Link path.
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The first passenger railway terminus in the world
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really like this thread
Bewdley flood defences.
Not on the same scale as some of the other examples, but an impressive engineering solution to a local problem.
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The black railings poking out of the water mark the edge of the quayside.
The aluminium barrier mounts in holes in the ground and is only erected when floods are likely.
It's a strange feeling standing behind the barrier looking over the top at all that fast flowing water level with your waste.
Worth a look if your in the Wyre Forest during a flood.
Someone please stick a pic of the wooden structure on the tyne. Near blaydon? Its pretty impressive...............
wow. Isnt bewdley the posh one! 😉
In upton we only get "temporary" flood barriers 🙁
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No one has said Emly Moor transmitter. Or the dams on the derwent in derbyshire, Howden, Derwent and Lady Bower. Humber Bridge, Tinsley Viaduct.
North of Northampton on the Brampton valley cycle way there are two long old rail tunnels you can cycle through, unlit they are great. The phrase, can't see your hand infront of your face definately applies. Group rides in there no lights are manic fun. Ride untill your bars scrape the Walls then correct.
The Churchill barriers are impressive but are not built out of ships! They were built to replace the sunken ships which were proved to be ineffective.
They were constructed by Italian prisoners of war during world war 2 out of 10 ton concrete blocks to join some islands in Orkney together and to block entrances to Scapa Flow where the home fleet was moored. They are still used by residents today to travel between islands.
Not exactly unknown, but.....Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope......
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What a fascinating thread! I never cease to be amazed at the subjects discussed on here.
So ... how about a bike ride to visit these? Can it be done as a Forum Ride? Would be awesome 😀
Well I really like this:
[url= http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/2451136615_bdfb8910a7.jp g" target="_blank">
But I can't possibly tell you where it is . . .
I also find the things on [url= http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/ ]here[/url] fascinating sometimes. 🙂
Cant believe no one has mentioned the Welland viaduct http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welland_Viaduct
It is three-quarters of a mile long and has 82 arches, each of which has a 40 ft span. It was completed in around 1878, and is the longest masonry viaduct across a valley in Britain.
Scotlands Secret Bunker near Anstruther (signposted for miles around...) [url= http://www.secretbunker.co.uk/explore_the_bunker.asp ]shhhhhhh[/url]
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A fascinating insight into the Cold War, loads of red telephones and big red buttons.. was going to be the seat of government if it all went off....
Best viewed with German relatives as I found out....
Actually I think I need to get out [s]off my bike[/s] a bit more 😉
Someone please stick a pic of the wooden structure on the tyne. Near blaydon? Its pretty impressive...............
Dunston Staiths!
The view from my front room 🙂
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