Visual Narratives: Study Task 2 (The Bramhope Tunnel: Observations)

Quite a long time ago I visited the Bramhope tunnel, unfortunately my memory utterly failed me and I managed to wander around for 30 minutes before I eventually asked for directions from an elderly gentleman who was delivering a letter.

The condition of the site is quite dilapidated. There are numerous signs of vandalism and the woodland shows evidence of frequent visitations by beer drinkers. The graffiti is limited to a few tags, either because some attempt has been made to clean the structure or because the residential area around the tunnel is typically populated by large and seemingly wealthy elderly couples.

I did not feel reckless enough to venture onto the line itself. While I observed the structure 3 trains passed through the tunnel with a screaming velocity.

This map shows the roughly correct route, it was quite off-putting to follow the numerous bridleways as once you enter one you lose all sense of direction.

Whilst I walked in the woods I could hear the occasional train roaring in and out of the tunnel, a certainly starling sound to hear amongst the trees with no visual clues to origin. The valley acoustics also carried the sound of music, evidently from a nearby property. Needless to say it was utterly eerie to hear the faint music drifting in through woods.

One of the surviving shafts can be used as a landmark to find the northern portal. The top of the structure is covered with razor wire to discourage climbers.

This small bridge and several moss-shrouded walls are the only remaining signs that evidence a time when the tunnel was a populated and an oft visited structure.