FORGOTTEN tunnel under the M25

This is a tunnel that was made to connect the Old Shire Lane path near Chalfont St. Peter when the M25 was built across it in the mid 1980s.
#Tunnel
#M25
#Motorway
Filmed with southwest455 - / @southwest455
Original idea taken from Networker72 who did a video on this.

[@ynwa3476]

This also acts as a gateway for wildlife to travel for the purposes of feeding,breeding etc. We need more of these.

[@dannyboywhaa3146]

That’s built into the American highway system. Every highway has multiple wildlife corridors passing underneath. So many benefits to starting afresh... like Berlin. We have to try our best to keep up, but inevitably harder with dated infrastructure. We need more of this.

[@DecayDNB]

there's litteraly hundreds of these up and down the country

[@Nbomber]

Those spastic deer will still bolt into oncoming traffic for no reason at all though.

[@MaNNeRz91]

Sometimes it's a bridge and not a tunnel too. There's a couple on the a2 and m2

[@gilesnewman9845]

Doesn’t look forgotten, that path looks very well trodden.

[@declanburns9404]

Word

[@jonesconrad1]

forgotten. tunnel in the title gets many more views tho.

[@trekelite3943]

I cycle around here regularly...go there after dark, you'll see how used it is

[@EdgyNumber1]

@@trekelite3943 Aye, aye.. that sounds dubious. 😉

[@pajotero4219]

You can tell it's in the middle of nowhere as there's no graffiti anywhere. Good find.

[@MotoGraham]

There's graffiti visible from 1:12 on the left hand side.

[@jonesconrad1]

@@MotoGraham barely but good catch

[@ShadowsandCityLights]

It can't be that forgotten if the foot path isn't overgrown.

[@paulbeachcroft3323]

Exactly......

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@paulbeachcroft3323 The forgotten bit is just clickbait.

[@PrinceJohn84]

It's likely forgotten from a care and maintenance perspective.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@PrinceJohn84 What are you talking about? It's a highways structure. It goes under the M25! It will be subject to regular bridge inspections and assessments even if it looks quiet and relatively unused.

[@glynmatthews6697]

Scrub and trees won’t grow without sunlight and it’s a dark tunnel .

[@josepharmstrong4639]

There are loads of these around the m25. I’ve worked on all the widening and recon jobs for over 25years. Some interesting stuff. I may actually start doing my own channel that shows some crazy little hidden gems around the orbital.

[@James-ii2ti]

That would be great!

[@BrianSeaman]

Glad to see you back - keep up the great content. Cheers, Brian

[@d22matt]

It's not forgotten, all assets and structures are recorded and monitored, there just isn't any budget to maintain / repair unless structurally unsafe. There are many weird and wonderful underpasses beneath the M25 that many don't know about and some of them are very apocalyptic looking. Unfinished roads, footpaths, land access routes etc. Nice video though 👌 always enjoy your content.

[@jonpatchett425]

It will still be costing money, as fluorescent fitting still consume power if the are switched on even without the tubes fitted.

[@mikecowen6507]

@@jonpatchett425 EXACTLY!!

[@elmerfudd6427]

It's the most concise description with limited words MR pendantic lol it's a joke

[@englishruraldoggynerd]

That’s surely the only non graffitied tunnel in the U.K.!

[@TheRudy39]

i just had that thought and then read you're comment

[@thetessellater9163]

This is posh Chalfont St Peter, there are no yobboes causing criminal damage here !

[@trains.planes]

Glad you are still uploading these videos very interesting!

[@brianartillery]

Short, but sweet. Glad to see from you again. Nice one.

[@andynixon2820]

I worry about leaving a light on when I go out at night , imagine leaving all these on since about 1987. No wonder they've burnt out .

[@andynixon2820]

@Lancashirelad when I lived in a city that used to worry me but l now live in a Norfolk village . Its so crime free here burglary doesn't even cross your mind - no need to leave a light on .

[@andyrob3259]

Looks like an excellent dogging area.

[@Queen-of-Swords]

😂

[@surreyscouse2873]

Don't tell Highways Agency.... They'll be along and concrete it up. They're good at that.

[@ElectraProductions225]

Nice one! I've been waiting ages for your next video, always love them

[@IanDarley]

I used to live in Colnbrook, at the side of the flyover that crosses the M25, if you look down, there's a section of the original Bath Road with cobblestones. I always used to ponder if this was where Dick Turpin used to rob coaches.

[@ianmaddams9577]

Where about a is this? I’m not far from there and wouldn’t mind going to see this 👍🏻

[@ianmaddams9577]

@@IanDarley excellent thanks very much. Very speedy reply lol 👍🏻

[@IanDarley]

Oops, just checked my link, I gave you an incorrect pin, the driving range is still there! 51.4789069370355, -0.5042416130811177

[@mikehindson-evans159]

Fascinating. Thanks for an excellent video. Mike

[@westcountrywanderings]

Great video and good to see you back! I was in the middle of editing my latest vlog, when the notification of this one came through. Had to stop because yours are top quality. Fab!

[@1258-Eckhart]

Excellent video, thanks. Also typical morthren. Weird that they haven't cut the power supply to the (now burnt out) lighting tubes. They should replace them with four LED disks at 20 m intervals plus a dusk sensor, that would be a fraction of the power consumption.

[@ktipuss]

The tunnel looks long enough to need lighting available during daylight. A solution would be what they often have in railway tunnels for track staff: a switch to turn on the lights when someone enters the tunnel. A movement sensor would also do the trick, with a timer to allow max 5 minutes to pass through before turning off the lights again. (Train tunnels use manual switches instead of movement sensors, for obvious reasons).

[@thephilpott2194]

@@ktipuss Mind you, if you're out walking at night amongst the weeds and the badgers you'd probably have a torch (or i would, anyway!)

[@cggage]

@@thephilpott2194 Speaking of which, are there any dangerous creatures in the night in the UK, other than the two-legged kind? Here in the USA, there's a long list of critters one would not wish to encounter alone in the dark. You mentioned "badgers." I don't think the average American would put that on the list, at least not on the East Coast.

[@garydavid1788]

@@cggage Well, there's plenty of bad tempered swans .. and the occasional aggressive squirrel !

[@cggage]

@@garydavid1788 Maybe as dangerous as the Canada Geese! They're killers!

[@DifferentSaturner]

Thanks. No graffiti, no peeing! I found some more as well but under train lines. No one uses those these days. Very scary. I wonder why they didn't build a foot-over-bridge? That doesn't cost much! Added to playlist: Transports, Roads.

[@danielcallender8649]

People jump from bridges.

[@DifferentSaturner]

@@danielcallender8649 True, some of them do jump, but we can use the fence around!

[@petereverett1455]

It looked like the motorway was on an embankment, so easier to just put a corrugated metal tube in as they were building the embankment.

[@Xenon777_]

Glowing ones have stuck starters. There is probably quite a few fried ballast there too.

[@morthren]

Yeah, taking the starters out of circuit would usually kick the tube into life. it's a shame the lights are too high to reach, I would try it if I could.

[@vandalsavage6152]

Always a touch of magic in your clips, love them...

[@jonwatt678]

WOW.. survived 40 years without graffiti.. Thanks for the vid and a big wave from eastern Maine!

[@laurieclarke1635]

Was getting some real Slender Man vibes from that camera angle and footstep soundtrack. I was fully expecting him to be standing behind you when you panned 180 at the end!

[@nafcd]

a graffiti free tunnel. thats got to be a first to.

[@morthren]

It's survived well for 36 years!

[@Witheredgoogie]

@Brian Zimmerman We thought US vandals were better behaved ie. just a bit of spray paint here and there. Our vandals can be a real embarrassment at times.

[@techtinkerin]

Blank canvas more like🙂

[@PoM-MoM]

@Brian Zimmerman When you can get into Europe... if you want to.... you should go.

[@legionnairegonk4425]

Won't be for long after this video 🤣..

[@davidreece6193]

We have a river path that crosses the M25 at the Cheshunt junction (25). The New River had to be diverted via a viaduct. The new river dates back to the early 1600s when a new river or artificial canal was dug out to supply london with a fresh source of water. It’s original source was at Amwell and other springs in the area. The springs have long dried up and now the river Lee (not navigation) is the source of its waters. Hugh Middleton built the river along a route so that no pumping stations or water houses were required to transport the water. The route is such that it starts off above london and gently moves down towards london using gravity alone.

[@lakefromeshippingcompany]

At least the legal status of the footpath was recognised, even if it meant building a rather creepy tunnel.

[@davidtomlinson6138]

The Americans always use that word CREEPY ! It's justa bloody tunnel ,that's all, 🤔 for access ! It could be EERIE, or WEIRD or SCARY or SPOOKY, or MENACING , whatever u want to call it 🧐😱🙂

[@thephilpott2194]

@@davidtomlinson6138 Surprisingly quiet inside, innit? Just a vague swoosh and rumble of traffic. (Partly due to all the greenery soaking up the sound)

[@QUIX4U]

Actually - the legal status would have the "correct" name for the pathway - as well as stating it to be an UNDERPASS, as that is exactly what it is, a motorway underpass, to allow foot traffic to cross (underneath) the M25. Along - get this: SHIRE LANE It is NOT named as a street is named in Birmingham as "Old Shire Lane" Oh !! And it's not even in the countryside of Birmingham City, as that city is a LONG WAY to the N/W of London City. (where this site of the HS2 and the LONDON CITY "OUTER RING ROAD", called the M25 are located).

[@stephentuthill4598]

Let's hope the Right of Way is preserved once the HS2 White Elephant has gone through!

[@robshearing2131]

When i was a young navvy i was quite pally with the old boy in charge of this tunnel, his name was Bunky but nobody knew why, he had it written on his id badge and hard hat so it must have been official, he was actually a drain engineer so it must have come under that department, i heard he is still alive and over 100 years old, if he walked through it now it would break his heart.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

Why would it break his heart. You could have a party in there.

[@robshearing2131]

@@PreservationEnthusiast Well if you can arrange it i will get him there, just make sure there is some sort of ramp access

[@stephenfrancis567]

Good old bunky.

[@robshearing2131]

@@stephenfrancis567 hello stephen are you coming to bunky's tunnel party under the m25, someone has agreed to organise it for him

[@stephenfrancis567]

@@robshearing2131 yeah, can’t wait.

[@archerry6457]

"Little-known path" Shows well-worn pedestrian highway.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

Yeah, it's called a clickbait title.

[@barrybas]

Another strange one is the tunnel under the M40 at J4 (Handy Cross) that looks like it can accommodate a two-lane single carriageway with footpaths on both sides, but connects a muddy footpath on both sides. When the motorway was built, there may have been plans to build housing off what is now Ragmans Lane. Instead, on the Wycombe side of the motorway an ASDA was built that would get in the way of this tunnel ever being used for what it appears to be designed for.

[@majorpygge-phartt2643]

I bet there's LOADS of similar little known tunnels under our various motorways all over the UK if you know where to look. In fact there's one only a few minutes walk from where I am under a fast dual carriageway that used to be a railway.

[@trickygoose2]

During last year's lockdown I did a lot of walks from my home. About a mile from me, I had spotted that there appeared to be a gap in the bushes leading off from a main path. One day I decided to see where it went and found a rather neglected dead-end tunnel under the A1(M) that appeared to be the local youth's favoured place for inhaling nitrous oxide.

[@BarryChumbles]

Yep, these are far from unique. I know of several similar ones close to me.

[@MrPete1x]

Thank you for showing this

[@padraigellis1520]

Thank you for sharing, it's good to see that the right of way for walkers has been considered when building the motorway. A couple of LED lights aimed downwards would sort the walkway.

[@52memor]

AND by the state of the path it is still well used . Ancient trackways were protected .

[@ghoststationman4349]

Great video glad you are back out exploring and making great films of querky things keep up the good work

[@morthren]

Thanks 👍

[@petereverett1455]

We should all report the broken lights to Highways England and see if they send someone out to replace the bulbs/starters

[@kimi1984]

They probably would in all fairness. But give it a few years by the time they've had various meetings over it, costed it and priced up materials, then realised that fluorescent tubes are being phased out and need replacing with LED equivalent 😅

[@stuartd9741]

Would be a better idea to do it ur self. Take highway England forever to do something about it. Or alternatively hook up extension cord power for a microwave/kettle Set up camp jobs a gooden.

[@fluffybadger9832]

By the glowing ends on the light tubes they are still drawing power, although probably reduced but can be 50% if they are old designs.

[@moocow4654]

Creepy tunnel.

[@charlieterry5357]

Fascinating! I love this sort of thing!

[@colintinker7778]

When fluorescent tubes glow at their ends and don't flicker to life they use a huge amount of power. Way more than when they are fully lit. What a waste of electricity. This issue needs to be sorted.

[@cggage]

Time to replace those with LED tubes! The tunnels otherwise looks in very good shape.

[@weeardguy]

Nope, that has been checked once on a Dutch electronics forum. Just to debunk that myth one user with the right test-equipment took measurements and find out they only use about 1,2xInominal (that's 20% more power than their rated nominal power) when starting. So it's not all that bad. One can clearly see that they don't make tubes like the ones here anymore. If, after all these years, the filaments still work on most of them, you've got some very well built tubes.

[@russvhill2]

How many other tunnels are there like this, needlessly costing millions of pounds in wasted fuel and countless tonnes of co2

[@jaysimpson6857]

@@russvhill2 Exactly, the persons responsible for this wastage and neglect want taking to that tunnel for a good working over.

[@billgreen576]

@@russvhill2 14268.

[@Kacper0483]

I love your videos

[@whyyoulidl]

Hey, glad to see you back. Short ans sweet. Nice. ps, another tunnel like that under the M1 carrying the old Nicky Line IIRC...

[@JUNK4UCREW]

Most motorway power is unmetered and charged on asset data only. My guess is these are forgotten about so technically no electric bill.

[@DifferentSaturner]

Waste of public money!

[@norfolkhall]

@@DifferentSaturner Are you saying it shouldn't be illuminated ?

[@DifferentSaturner]

@@norfolkhall No, it should be metered.

[@briantheminer]

*adds in an extra socket and very long lead*

[@briantheminer]

Craig, I know of a long forgotten underground military place, now in private ownership. A power supply comes in, a bank hums quietly, the small power supply is used The local power company have investigated and say “well it’s not ours on paper, carry on” 🤷‍♂️

[@Crusty_Camper]

There is a smaller tunnel under the M23 but it's not for people. When the road was widened and speed increased, there were several serious accidents caused when badgers crossed the road by night. So the solution was to build them a by-pass to the by-pass. It works well and no lighting needed.

[@Mitch-Hendren]

Nice to see you back uploading trust you are in fine fettle? cool tunnel , Amazing just how many of these there are dotted about the country . Its notoriously difficult to extinguish a right of way (unless its a railway foot crossing apparently) . planning authorities used to go to great lengths to preserve them

[@Bianchiboy]

Cool tunnel? You need to get out more fella.

[@StavTech]

Love your videos, always the more interesting/unusual ones rather than the same stuff everyone covers like most do.

[@stemartin6671]

Never in a million years would I have expected to see you here Stav Tech!!!

[@StavTech]

@@stemartin6671 mate, I watch some of the oddest videos, there’s some computer game video channels I always watch and I’ve no idea why as I haven’t played any games for probably 20 years 😂 I’ve always been in to tunnels and stuff though

[@stemartin6671]

@@StavTech well I cant really say anything cos I’m here too just hadn’t expected to stumble across a comment from you here!!! Haha 😂 but yeah it’s cool being into the mad weird stuff, you’ve got to keep your curiosity satisfied don’t you bud 😃👍

[@infinitysearcher8858]

Thank you. Nicely informative.

[@BritishBeachcomber]

When the North Devon Link Road was built it cut right through land belonging to a dairy farmer friend of mine. They constructed a bridge some that he could bring his cows across for milking. Must have helped the local wildlife too.

[@freebrickproductions]

Nice find! Surprisingly quiet despite being right under a freeway.

[@morthren]

It's surprisingly quiet under there!

[@tomyabbo8]

why do i think this would make for a great rave, good vid!

[@Realm-of-Horror]

Reminds me, there's some footpaths that actually cut straight across the A1 dual carriageway near Stamford. Believe me, you take your life in your hands trying to walk those routes.

[@denver3393]

Imagine walking through there alone at night time 👻👻

[@pissiole5654]

They have these under Australian motorways too, they're for wild life, also if its rural then one person might own land both sides of the road, so can double as access for them.

[@paulskinback717]

oh wow it still looks in good nick very interesting

[@sdtodd1972]

Interesting video. There are a couple of similar tunnels on the M62 at Scammonden Water/Dam. either end of the dam. The M62 itself runs along the top of the dam. One tunnel forms part of the National Cycle Network, the other is for vehicular access towards the inlet tower that can be seen from the motorway. There are a number of public footpaths around the whole reservoir and beyond and I have passed through both tunnels on foot.

[@gastramp]

Cool find

[@chadbreton4951]

That is just so utterly and tantalisingly amazing! I mean, the tunnel goes right under the road and you can walk right through it and everything! I just, I mean, I can't, it's so, but how? what the? Like, who ever seen such a thing? I was at the edge of my seat. I mean, riveted! Awestruck! I didn't even blink because I didn't want to miss a single Split Second

[@wilsoncalhoun]

Wow. I've never seen anything so forgotten that it didn't even have any graffiti.

[@ShadowsandCityLights]

Well now it will. Maybe...

[@MATTY110981]

You can make out some at the entrance but it’s faded.

[@neilurwin9670]

A Phenomenal Video All The Best.

[@dodgydruid]

On the southern leg, quite a bit of the old Westerham line was used for the M25 which was originally going to be extended to Godstone til Beeching came along and worked his evil and the land put aside also was used for the motorway ending the chance of a much needed connection which would have joined the Tonbridge to Redhill line.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

Beeching was a genius. He got almost everything right and has saved the country many billions over the years. Some of his positive recommendations were not followed and he was later proved right. For example he recommended developing the Varsity line from Oxford to Cambridge. It was later closed by the Labour Gov in 1967 against his report. Now it will be reopened on a slightly different alignment. As for your Tonbridge example, if the need is there, a new line will be built. Like for HS2 and the new varsity line, land will be found and compulsory purchased if needed. Bridges and tunnels will be built to cross intervening infrastructure eg M25.

[@seraphina985]

@@PreservationEnthusiast Well the Wellington to Stafford line that rail operators have wanted reopened ever since it was closed is yet to be rebuilt. The government just isn't that willing to use their compulsory purchase powers anymore. They have literally been known to use the existence of a single house on an old alignment as an excuse to not reopen a route. The Wellington to Stafford line does involve a few houses but not many as the councils along the route kept it as public right of way and built a footpath along most of it. Though this was done mostly as the councils know of the need for reopening so are trying to hold as much as they can on the off chance network rail is ever properly funded and can consider much needed reopening projects.

[@Llydrwydd]

Not weird to me but practical. I've walked through similar ones in the midlands.

[@petersmith4455]

great video, never knew it was there, will go sometime

[@paulc5453]

Exciting video

[@michaela.chmieloski3196]

Good to see you posting, morthren. Hope you and your loved ones are well given the outburst of the Delta variant in your country that is being reported on by some quarters of our media. Here in the United States some of our interstate system--mainly west of the Mississippi River and in truly rural areas--have similar tunnels incorporated into their infrastructure. These passageways, however, are not for human usage but are rather in place as alternatives for wildlife--especially larger critters like deer, moose, bear, et cetera--to safely cross the highway without endangering themselves and motorists. Last thing anyone would want is to be doing 70 mph at 5:00 o'clock on a winter morning and literally run into a herd of elk crossing Interstate 90 in Montana.

[@weeardguy]

We call those wildlife-tunnels wild-tunnels ;) in the Netherlands, or wild-passage. The locations of them usually were kept secret in the seventies and eighties to avoid people looking for them (with all their weird intentions they could have). Don't know how it is now.

[@one2three4our]

Yes, as I watched the video I wondered whether this M25 tunnel was primarily for wildlife.

[@daffindogtown]

Access to to other pastures for farmers and the locals under freeways in Australia are quite common. Unlike UK we do not have public footpaths that cross fields but only crown land that has tracks that border the land or pass through it if a State or National park.

[@jonathaneastwood2927]

Public should have freedom to walk anywhere

[@DeanPickersgill]

Fascinating.

[@roccostarbuck8069]

Well that was 3 minutes of my life I'll never get back. But still enjoyed it.

[@iansanderson4664]

There a number of footpath tunnels and bridges across the M25 in Havering (easternmost London borough) .One of them is shared by the path and stream and becomes flooded after heavy rain.

[@WARDANT1]

There's a tunnel at J23. An old lane runs along the back of the service station. The lane was cut in half by the M25, but the tunnel was needed for a stream & there's a walkway that pedestrians, cyclists & dismounted horse riders can use. I used it a couple of weeks back. A lot smaller tunnel than the Shire Lane path.

[@pocketjohnson1820]

I use regularly too 😀

[@sarcopoterium]

Yes it connects Wash Lane on the South Mimms side with Dancers Lane on the Bentley Heath side IIRC (formerly all Wash Lane) and shares the route with Mimmshall Brook. Very wet and muddy in winter as the brook overflows. I don’t recall much lighting or headroom either.

[@RichardWells1]

Looks like the bridleway (from pretty much nowhere to nowhere) that used to follow a straight line before the M25 construction created a deviation, and thus the tunnel. Pity about the lighting... A job for the council...or Highways Agency? Nice video - thank you!

[@mikes5637]

There's a smaller, less pleasant version of this under the A14 near Needham Market in Suffolk. The ceiling is covered in sleeping bats during the day.

[@garydavid1788]

...at least it's in use !

[@philt4346]

As always, nice pacing.

[@PORRRIDGE_GUN]

You should do one on the abandoned and derelict Northern end of the M23. The plan was to take the M23 up through Croydon on a bypass and join with the A205 South Circular. Environmentally. it would have had a lesser impact than what we have today, which is pretty solid and slow moving traffic all the way into London from Croydon.

[@christastic100]

Still burning some power if the electrodes ends or glowing on the spent fittings. Looks like a livestock path .

[@officialmcdeath]

Someone is bound to have campaigned for this, back in the day. In the early/mid '70s, an elderly relative of mine was leading regular saturday hikes criss-crossing the upper part of the Darent Valley, with a view to maintaining traditional rights of way - more recently, I had a few days out in the lower part and the abrupt way that the M25 cuts through old routes there suggests that the locals were less organised at the critical moment \m/

[@tw25rw]

Had a neighbour who told me he worked on the M25. Said his team uncovered a Roman villa and were instructed to bulldoze the site rather than delay construction.

[@davejefferynf]

Love this!

[@misterblobbys]

No rubbish or graffiti, this must be a real hidden gem, let's keep it like that. Thanks

[@Spike-ey4bg]

HIDDEN....and how do you explain the well worn mud/earth pathways clear of weeds etc.

[@misterblobbys]

@@Spike-ey4bg it's hidden from idiots who like ruining things

[@roblamb8327]

Thanks for this, as much for mentioning the originator as for the content. For that alone I have liked and subscribed. I don't live here, never had and most unlikely to in the future BUT it's info that is unexpected and unlikely to be used and a godsend for anyone choosing the shortest & safest route twalk from A-B. Just remember to take a torch and backtrack if you feel unsafe. If you're viewing/reading and live locally then please tell people of this route and sight. They may even thank you for it.

[@daveyprice7266]

yep mate there one in hertsfordshine call east lane between watford and hamel guts the lane in two

[@fus149hammer5]

Know it well. One end passes the cemetery for the old Leavesden Hospital and its piggeries that were used for exterior scenes in 'Porridge' and it terminates in Bedmond. Very muddy place if there's been any rain.

[@keithwinters3031]

Interesting. Glad l found this site. So l wacked the bell.

[@versatec1]

Handy little bugout place...power too...

[@harry130747]

There's a now abandoned tunnel under the M50 at Oxenhall for the Hereford & Gloucester canal

[@darthwiizius]

At least Hedgehogs have a safe passage.

[@JohnLeeming23]

There are tunnels like this under motorways all over the place to accommodate public footpaths, though bridges are more common. I can think of two footpath tunnels under the M25 within a couple of miles of each other near Epping. The are well used by ramblers and dog-walkers.

[@elecpres]

It is a public bridleway! And all public rights of way have tunnels or bridges to cross new roads that have been constructed. It didn't have any lights in it originally and for many years. It is only more recently that they wasted taxpayers money on lighting... for no reason. Pre HS2 messing everything up, I often used this tunnel, horse riders did too & cyclists. So, not weird and not forgotten!

[@morthren]

Thanks for shedding some more light on it.

[@DamianDeEu]

That is a one big tunnel for a small pathway! I'm guessing much of it is to allow rainwater to move. What is kinda confusing though is that the ballasts in those fluorescent lights will still consume significant energy with blown out bulbs, costing the council or whoever owns the land hundreds of pounds a year. From the managerial point of view it would make absolute sense to either maintain the installation or disconnect the supply to that circuit. Thanks for sharing!

[@thatcornishcockney]

Interesting location guys

[@Rogue66669]

Not exactly weird is it, there are loads of these tunnels under our motorway network, I literally walked my dogs under the m26 the other week.

[@williamstephens9945]

What a creepy, spooky tunnel 🦇👻🦇👻.

[@TheSLUser]

there are actually a lot of these tunnels a lot were put in for farm use as they cut many farms in half when they built the road, and part of the deal for doing it was they put in a tunnel so farm could remain viable and be able to farm still. some of the tunnels are a LOT taller than this one as farmers pointed out some farm machinery is very tall same with trailers loaded with hay straw etc one farmer even got funded to help buy a new combine as the one he had did not have the front he could remove quickly and slip onto a trailer to tow it under the bridge .... There were a lot of small weird deals put in place along with all the compulsory land purchases that went along with many of the roads like this, each deal was worked out with each farmer along with the needs of his type of farming at the time

[@Noodle999]

Surely those tubes sat there with the heaters running use more power than some LED replacements would use to light the tunnel...

[@hugothecoolshadokvideomake2002]

Ah Yes, The M25, The Highway That Arthur Hates, Becoming A Popular Vine By Saying "THE F**KING M25"

[@EdgyNumber1]

Think of all those legal rights of way that had modern infrastructure placed over it. There must be many more like this. I do know of a bridal way that has a tunnel that doubles as a turnback route for emergency services vehicles under the M1. I wonder where else you might find more? Nice to see you back again Morthren! 👍

[@eyeshot4866]

I should be careful of any bridal way that has a tunnel...may well require emergency services.

[@Aperegrine90]

There’s also one near Thorpe Village, Surrey - but you have to crawl. It’s a right of way though.

[@johnmudd6453]

Why is it weird ?

[@tingstrap]

If you like these type of tunnels, just come to the Kent part of the M25, there are seriously loads of them. Some are farm track, footpaths, byways, and private house driveways. I love them, Thanks for the vid Edit: also M20 and M26. I live in the triangle between all 3, so any direction I walk will take me to a Motorway lol

[@joinedupjon]

Seems pretty typical UK infrastructure.. Lighting the tunnel was important enough to fork out for a quite excessive imo number of fluorescent fixtures up front but obviously not important enough to put anything in the budget to maintain them. Probably never going to get replaced because correctly disposing of fluorescent tubes is now costly. Fwliw the electricity usage for that type of thing is usually estimated rather than metered. Probably highways England (or whoever) would rather just keep paying the bill than doing something about it.

[@samleno2630]

Can't seem to find this on a map. Can you please post the coordinates?

[@garyfoley946]

Can’t help thinking about the upkeep of tubes, starters, ballasts just to keep light there (obviously gone by-the-board). Why doesn’t district council install motion sensors?

[@chrismccartney8668]

I believe under M11 and possibly M25 there are tunnels for the Epping Forest Deer.