How NOT to Build a Tunnel to the Isle of Wight

Folks... Forgive the insane wind on the coast! Stick the Subtitles on if you need to and buckle up for the Solent Tunnel Ride!
We document the three main attempts to build a tunnel prior to the First World War. The Solent Tunnel was set to join the Isle of Wight with the mainland via three separate railway tunnel attempts. Each failed, we take a look at all the evidence we can find to piece this mystery together.
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[@mileswilkins2849]

This is KZbin at it's best - a really interesting investigation by someone who's clearly an enthusiast on a topic 99.99% of the UK population would never have heard of. On reflection it's strange that there's never been a tunnel built given the much larger bodies of water than have been tunnelled under. Wonder if there have ever been any proposals for a bridge?

[@stryk3r360]

i reckon the government would claim something about "restrictive access" to the portsmouth naval docks if trying to span the solent, but i might be wrong

[@kevprice75]

There was a fixed link feasibility study carried out in 1998, but the results were hidden from the public, & a copyright put on it (probably by the ferry companies) but other than that, the IW council has never asked for one to be looked at. It’s all on here solentfreedomtunnel.co.uk

[@NOWThatsRichy]

Regarding bridges, see my above comment.

[@hannahjames3180]

He's so professional. A new David Attenborough. The videos on this channel are epic. I wonder if they can do one on Doggerland?

[@sparkycorkers1196]

@Credible Threat from Hayling Island would be terrible. there is pretty much just one road in and out and definiatly wouldn't be suitable for heavy traffic

[@MrRivendell69]

Fascinating ! As a previous commetator said, You Tube at its best ! Ive lived on the Island most of my life and had only ever heard of the Lymington tunnel. I used to own a book " The History of The Solent Tunnel Scheme " written by Fred Tutton in 1946 . As I remember a company had been formed and finance put in place to build the Lymington tunnel, but the First World war put an end to it. If it had been completed I dont think most of the Island lines would have been axed by Beeching, as it would have been a very popular way to travel here. All the engines here were steam, imagine if they had been kept running ! What a tourist attraction ! Not to mention keeping the extortionate ferry fares in check !!

[@newforestpixie5297]

The Brock to Lymington line with a Steam Engine would’ve attracted a lot of visitors but it looks more likely that the line will be shut - Londoners all own Lots of Cars after all 🙄

[@newforestpixie5297]

I mean today rather than 1900 ...👍

[@phillwainewright4221]

Every few years or so, Bournemouth Echo run a story about a new cable-car link to the Isle of Wight. Always published on April 1st ...

[@freqmgr]

🤣

[@davidcollishaw2771]

That could be viable though. You can have floating pylons.

[@newforestpixie5297]

Every other day of the year they’re only interested in Stabbings or Crimes carried out by folk on low income 🙄

[@collincovid6950]

Lethal as the winds are not exactly up for it, mostly blowing a gale. I worked on a building on Town Quay, and saw some bad winds over the year that I was working on the building, very bad

[@PaulMansfield]

Maybe a human cannon and a large catch net would work?

[@johnjephcote7636]

'Proposed tunnel' is on all my late father's Cycling Tourist Club linen-backed maps that I still use for their clarity.

[@JohnHarris-wc7jd]

The classic scene in Only Fools where the barrister states that Uncle Albert has been no further abroad than the Isle of Wight, to which Albert replies, “you try swimming there pal”

[@jonnysupreme]

"You ourtta try wakin it pal"

[@malcolmsmith6615]

I was aware of the various tunnelling projects, and at least one of them (if not all) included “regauging” the island lines to take rolling stock of main line clearances. While there were difficulties in the early 1900s, WW1 put a complete stop to the ideas and they never came back. I had a late Victorian plan some years back showing the proposed signalling changes to the mainland (somewhere) to provide a Junction for the IOW line. I no longer have these unfortunately.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Back in the 1980s there was a layout in the Railway Modeller set on the Isle of Wight that was based on the idea that a tunnel had been dug.

[@pwhitewick]

Oh brilliant. I absolutely love the "what if" layouts

[@donepearce]

The big problem is that the tunnel may leave the mainland in 2021, but it will still arrive on the island in the 1950s

[@darrencooke4207]

The last tunnel attempt from lymington to yarmouth was abandoned in 1914, solely because of the outbreak of world war one. It was to carry a train line under the solent.but wasn't restarted after the war

[@peter7624]

Great video, many thanks. Strange how all these plans fizzled out and nothing materialised. I'm under the distinct impression though that the majority of the Islanders want to keep the island isolated to some extent to maintain it's "Island Character"..

[@mikeclifton7778]

I'd never heard anything about tunnels to the island , past present or future... until today. Interesting concept, but strange that any references to any of them seem to immediately disappear. I'm another one who enjoys perusing old OS maps to learn more about particular places. Another excellent video, not enough Rebecca for my liking, though she did pop up at the end...

[@Danno1983]

It bein goin on yrs yrs yrs ther will nva b a Bridge or Tunnel frm ex-islander

[@Danno1983]

@@TELE6220 NO DID U

[@knightwish1623]

Rebecca was there all the time .... who do you think was holding the camera and filming :-)

[@alibettenson8419]

As someone who has lived on the Isle of Wight for 33 years now & seen the devastation that the ferry companies have done to the Island in every possible way they can do, down to their disgustingly obscene prices, appalling service (esp. Wightlink) & literally EVERYTHING we have going down the toilet - now even including our health (due to now having to travel off the Island for nearly everything as the government only see distance not that there a stretch of expensive water in the way) many surveys have been done & always it turns out about 85% of people would like a tunnel now. And it's going up. It's becoming a bit like being on Alcatraz unless you are rich. Which most of us aren't as we are kept down to nearly all minimum wage jobs doing care work or seasonal work - if you can find any! Unfortunately, any mention of a fixed link you get the loudest & gobbiest voices (who are in the MINORITY) shouting it down & making nonsensical comments like 'we won't be an Island any more!'. When I moved here back in 1988, the ferries did not disrupt life to any massive extent. But over the decades, especially the last 15 years, things have taken a turn & now crossing over is something that's a 'treat' & has to be saved up for. Can't be spur of the moment any more. Turning up at car ferry for an impromptu trip off the Island is no more without pre booked tickets. And there's so much I could say about what goes on & how serious things are getting (even to the point that people have died). But there is a large group who are fighting to get a feasibility study done to see whether it's logistically possible. This has to be done before any tunnel could be started. The government have billions in the pot for infrastructure all over the country. But it has to asked for... It won't be asked for by anyone over here right now who has the means too. Even companies who need the ferries to take their work backwards & forwards are gagged as their discounted tickets will be withdrawn & their business will go under.... And with an MP with close personal interests in both ferry companies & a (previously) corrupt council who is under the ferry companies control thanks partly to an odious, corrupt individual called David Pugh, its almost impossible to get anywhere. But we're trying lol! So you may not have heard much, but that's the agenda for the people who shout the loudest - to shut anyone up who dares to mention we want & need a fixed link - plus the people who actually run the Island. They don't want anyone off of here to know how bad things have gotten. They want everyone to think we love in some Island paradise set back in the 50s with a gentle happy carefree life... You also get the idiots who say if you're not happy with any aspect of living here to "leave then!!!" but why should you have to leave somewhere you once loved when it needs help!? Plus, removal costs taking a lorry over on the ferry plus logistically trying to score a job & a home at the same time is nigh on impossible of you don't have the money.... Hope this all helps - come over to Facebook & dip into the fixed link group & see how things 'really' are over here if you are interested. Not here the fake babble of how perfect it is here 👍🏼 facebook.com/groups/iowfixedlink/?ref=share

[@another3997]

@@alibettenson8419 Nobody forces you to live on the island. You can't complain about the lack of jobs when there are more people than jobs, on a small island that is difficult to get to. Especially when much of it's income is generated by tourism, and therefore seasonal. It's not as if it suddenly became an island after you moved there, so economic and logistical problems have always existed to some extent.

[@terryansell6641]

I used to live on the Isle of Wight for many years and never heard of tunnels to the island, very interesting video thank you from NZ

[@tommo101able]

IF they did a proper survey it would frighten the ferry company's into lowering their prices

[@scdevon]

Only a mile or two? Why not "just" build a road bridge with a high span to allow ship traffic? A hundred + miles of the Florida Keys are connected this way. They don't ferry people between the Florida Keys every time a few miles of water needs to be crossed and they don't even charge a toll.

[@frey-j-iow5398]

@@scdevon Because the ships and yachts are extremely tall, particularly the container ships. The tallest cruise ship is Symphony of the Seas, at 72.5m. The Dartford Crossing Bridge, which is an extremely high span bridge, is only 61m in height! Oasis of the Seas which my Father went on, from Southampton, is 72m tall. Additionally, the Solent is weather dependent, frequently boats/ships have to make wider detours etc., including the Red Funnel Ferry. The Solent is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. It isn't as simple as you may think. It has long been confirmed that if there were to be any system between the island and mainland, it would HAVE to be a tunnel.

[@oscarsusan3834]

Build the tunnel an$ the tolls will make it even more expensive than it already is.

[@Musemistress]

@@frey-j-iow5398 So they didn't bother asking the Dutch how to make delta passes and lifting bridges for high ships? Two entirely opposite points of land are connected by the Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier and that's several km's long.

[@AvonSearider54]

@@frey-j-iow5398 Nothing that size goes out through Hurst...

[@gilles111]

Here the same, big shelf full of old maps. Love it to spend a rainy sunday afternoon at the coach with some old maps. Or just browsing the internet for some old maps. And after watching your new video, again browsing through old maps to see where you went :)

[@davepowell7168]

Love your style of cartographic insult , I'm well impressed.

[@sloth_bristol9504]

Was getting worried about not seeing Rebecca in the main video so very relieved to see her at the end. Can go back now and watch it again knowing she hadn't fallen down an abandoned mine shaft.

[@borusa32]

I was born on and grew up on the Island and we used to talk about tunnels and bridges at school.

[@ashleybritton644]

Really?

[@infidelcastro5129]

This channel is proof, should anyone need it, that the term ‘nerd’ is not so much an insult as a compliment. Please keep investigating the things the rest of us wish we had the passion to investigate 😊❤️

[@RaglansElectricBaboon]

Love your KZbin name. Genius!

[@infidelcastro5129]

@@RaglansElectricBaboon Thank you 😊

[@nobbyfrog]

Really glad your channel popped up in feed I’ve watched a few and they are very informative and interesting and now I need to find a weekend or two so I can watch your back catalogue! 👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@macronencer]

Well, as the Beatles once remarked... "every summer we could build a tunnel to the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear." :) Thank you for this interesting story! I've lived in Southampton since 1986, and I don't think I'd ever heard about these tunnel project before. Learned something today.

[@itemushmush]

been living here for 10 years now! hello fellow southamptoner

[@harrisonaard1]

Nice try! 😀 (...rent a cottage...)

[@macronencer]

@@harrisonaard1 I know. It was a joke.

[@broderfoder9348]

The soylent tunnel, it's made by humans!

[@maisiesullivan1477]

solent

[@terryhicks4038]

It has to be "green" of course!

[@yuk-erkmckirk9277]

Don't you mean made of humans!

[@peternagy-im4be]

SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE

[@maisiesullivan1477]

I understand now dw

[@marcomiedema4303]

Dear Paul and Rebecca. Simply wonderful! Thank you very much.

[@adrianhill405]

Very interesting as i live on the island and never heard of a tunnel to be dug between stone point and west cowes great content thank you.

[@neilthehermit4655]

That was fun,never knew about these attempts to make a tunnel. Makes sense to have an easier link to the mainland.

[@jimherbert007]

Not for Red Funnel 😉

[@paulukjames7799]

@@jimherbert007 lol

[@cphughes100]

Thanks for the vid guys. I've lived in Gosport all of my life, where Stokes Bay is. This old red herring has resurfaced many times over the years. The other local red herring scheme is a potential bridge or tunnel connecting Gosport, to Portsmouth. Gosport is a peninuslar, and the largest town in the UK after the last part of the town's railway was closed in the 50's. At one point the railway connected to the mainline, ran down to Stokes Bay (not far from where you were filming) and up to the harbour - where Queen Victoria would be travel to be ferried to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.

[@droganPaul]

Great video. I cannot understand why anyone thinks they can justify a thumbs down. Two great passionate and relatable presenters, a clear proposition for the video, great research and excellent technical quality. The execution is spot on and much more informative than the TV. Content on this channel saw me through the lockdowns...

[@terrystead9877]

Fantastic videos from this lovely couple. As a train driver im always fascinated by old abandoned rail lines and structures etc. It would be wonderful if you could cover the old Bordon to Bentley line which was ripped out over 70 years ago. Theres been a lot of talk about rebuilding .... although i doubt this will ever happen. I believe the old track bed is still in situ by where it joined the Bentley branch line. Keep up the great work. A masterclass

[@Lichfeldian--Suttonian]

Fascinating history about the tunnels! The strongest for that's not a Martello tower. Many thanks again, you two.

[@collincovid6950]

Those towers did not have any tunnels

[@neilspurgeon5479]

Really interesting, thank you very much

[@computerbob06]

It's the one thing about a holiday on the Isle of Wight - blooming expensive ferries! Would a bridge not be more cost efficient, I know Boris enjoys a good bridge!

[@alisonrandall3039]

It’s a busy shipping area. A bridge would need to accommodate Aircraft carriers to small boats.

[@christopheroddy2373]

Because several very tall ships sail through the Solent (the tallest that regularly does it I think is 72.5m high), a bridge would have to be both very tall and keep that height for a large distance to give the ships some room to spare. Considering the very tall Dartford Bridge is only 61m tall, I think it's been mutually agreed by pretty much everyone that the only practical way to get to the island without impeding the ships would be via a tunnel, either rail or road - even now when masts aren't so much of a problem!

[@kevprice75]

The new proposal is a tunnel solentfreedomtunnel.co.uk

[@SutekhTheDestroyer]

I was born and raised on the Island and moved to the mainland about 3 years ago; I cannot tell you how nice it is to not be at the mercy of the ferry companies and their disgusting prices, or not having to factor in the additional time and cost of crossing the Solent into every trip away. The Island would really benefit from a permanent link (and I would dearly love to see Red Funnel go bankrupt), but there's too much opposition. A lot of born-and-bred residents view the mainland as some kind of threat, and some of them are even too scared to drive over here. It's kind of pathetic.

[@johnbinnie5697]

Orkneys not too bad price wise but the weather quite often prevents travel. In some respects the UK has gone backwards with regards to the infrastructure projects it approves. A tunnel between Scotland and N Ireland makes sense. I can't see one being approved for either Orkney or the Isle of Wight.

[@neiljackson5801]

You are insulting a lot of people with these comments and wishing a lot of people out of work. I hope you understand that comments like yours actually help to keep a fixed link away. So thanks and goodbye.

[@kevprice75]

@@neiljackson5801 a lot of people are out of work because of the ferry companies. People have admitted to being turned down for a job on the mainland, because they live on the island. It’s only a matter of time, before another way on & off is given the go ahead, & the ferry companies will be finished. No more holding everyone to ransom!

[@neiljackson5801]

@@kevprice75 I see no promise of that anywhere. Where do you get your info from? The web site you sent a link to has no official credence they are just offering ideas and seem to be struggling for support with their funding. From what I've seen of isle of wight roads, a road link would have a negative effect on every road user. I would guess that opposition and apathy toward the concept from mainlanders might also be a problem. I can't see it happening any time soon.

[@frmadeira]

@@neiljackson5801 Your argument is partial. A tunnel/bridge or any sort of infrastructure for the intended purpose requires a maintenance force, additionally, facilitating the movement of goods has the potential to boost regional economy further. There's more opportunity to be created than lost.

[@mileshigh1321]

Interesting bit of history for sure! Reminds me of how they had several attempts to tunnel across the channel before the chunnel! Nicely done!

[@NOWThatsRichy]

Even the Victorians started to build a channel tunnel, but although it would have been within their engineering capabilities, (they built the London Underground system after all) The story goes that it was halted due to a risk of an invasion from France!

[@jerrysims6691]

Great vid - and hello from the Island

[@little.kawaii.mousey8131]

I live on the island and because its a popular retirement location lots of the older people don't want a tunnel/bridge because they don't want it to get swamped by people coming over from the mainland (apparently) (also maybe too many cargo ships for a bridge)

[@imamiddleagedman]

So they retire to the island and then oppose anybody coming to the island. 🤔

[@sandemike]

In several recent polls a huge majority of Island Residents are in favour of a Tunnel.

[@JohnFox-X333XXX]

Fascinating! I stood on that concrete ‘causeway’ at Keyhaven just six days ago. I hadn’t previously heard about the tunnel project.

[@danielholden-storey5107]

Forgive me because clearly you have undertaken a vast amount of research into this topic but the end was brilliant. How else could it end but with Rebecca adoringly listening to every word of your summation giving a gentle nod of agreement and an 'um um' to close the video. Brilliant!

[@AbandonedIsleofWight]

Thank you for all the research you put in, I thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic video!

[@tudorita611]

The only alternate to is the tunnel. Is that government sets the prices for the ferry fares. However in a recent petition, The government was against the idea.

[@kevprice75]

The government don’t set the iow ferry fares, as both companies are privately owned, so they can’t be made to lower prices, improve timetables etc. But fixed links are classed as infrastructure, so the government regulates the toll prices, & at present the most expensive toll in the UK, is around £12 return. See the new project here: solentfreedomtunnel.co.uk

[@alanive2001]

‘World’s strongest fort” sounds eerily like “world beating “. Say no more!

[@highdownmartin]

Plenty of money poured into something that came to nowt. Couldn’t happen now.

[@johnwillett4086]

@@highdownmartin TSR2

[@highdownmartin]

@@johnwillett4086 test and trace. Garden bridge. PPE supplies The list goes on

[@another3997]

@@highdownmartin It still happens. It reminds me of the billions of dollars poured in to hundreds of projects for the American armed forces... only to be cancelled at the last minute or shortly after production starts. Often because of inter-service bickering over control and internal politics, rather than and sound operational reasoning. The "Universal Camouflage" fiasco, the Marine's copyright on a camo pattern that stopped camo uniforms from actually being uniform... several years and billions wasted, with nothing to show for it. I'd like to think we in the UK are immune, but I know for certain we aren't.

[@ChrisHow]

That was great. I really liked the style and format

[@michaelpilling9659]

Very very interesting. I know all three locations extremely well. This is the first time I've ever heard anything about an attempt to build a tunnel between the mainland and IOW. Thank you for such a great vlog

[@ianellis4276]

As a keen visitor to the Isle of Wight this is a great video. Please please please take a holiday there soon and do all the disused stations? That would be well worth the watch. Thank you. Ps I'll share this video on the Isle of Wight railway Facebook group.

[@johndufton9686]

Really enjoyed this one. I like Islands and a tunnel effectively makes the Island an annexe of the mainland. I thinl would should fill in the Channel tunnel!

[@nicholasbell9017]

Hi there. The Channel Tunnel was a achieved, and makes Britain an annexe of Europe, long live the entente cordiale...

[@bobsrailrelics]

Really interesting and fascinating. Didn't realise how close the IOW is! Nothing wrong with pouring over maps 😁

[@ianbartlett4083]

This was absolutely fascinating - quite a different pace this time - one can only wonder how different Wight would be now if any of these had been built! 👏👍

[@TheMegahusky]

That was so educational. I just stumbled across you..I'm so glad I did. Fascinating stuff!!

[@stuartswailes]

Its clear that Rebecca's eyes need their own KZbin channel, they ask all the questions we all want to know. "Is that Right?" " I don't remember him researching that" , " we need another walk past" " did Ii put the sweeteners in the coffee bag" "boiled or mash for tea?"

[@jamesgilbart148]

It's surprising that by now, a bridge or a tunnel hasn't been built - now there is even one to the Isle of Skye. Whilst there may be many isolationists on the island, having a fixed crossing would surely improve the local economy and end the ferry companies' stranglehold over the place

[@kevprice75]

Spot on, even jersey & Guernsey are looking at fixed links. solentfreedomtunnel.co.uk

[@newforestpixie5297]

I often wondered if the New Forest had remained less ‘ economically available ‘ or had a dirty big wall around it , us indigenous folk would be perhaps poorer in one sense but there’d be a fucking lot more places for our children to live in 😁👍

[@newforestpixie5297]

Or to put it another way , I have my suspicions that “ Lymington Shores “ wasn’t built for the good of the folk of Lymington. Or those getting to and from the island come to that else the railway footbridge would’ve been built by now 🙄

[@Biggles2498]

Very well made and fluent video Paul, you know your stuff !

[@kristinajendesen7111]

Going back about 30 years I was a guard sitting up front with Bob Goodfellow, Bournemouth driver on the Lymmy branch. He said, which you can plainly see, that the overbridges were built to accommodate double tracks because of this proposed tunnel. Ampress Halt was still open then but there was another closed halt, Shirley Holmes between Ampress & Brockenhurst.

[@nickbartlett5928]

Shirley Holmes halt was for the use of Sway residents, before the direct line to Bournemouth was built. It was only available in daylight and in the up direction. It was closed once Sway station opened. Holmes is local dialect for Holly. The hill alongside the former halt is covered in Holly trees.

[@kristinajendesen7111]

@@nickbartlett5928 Yeah, I remember when Ashurst New Forest used to be called Lyndhurst Road before some numpty had the name changed. Enjoying your retirement Nick?

[@nickbartlett5928]

@@kristinajendesen7111 I have the original NSE Lyndhurst Road sign on my garage wall!

[@kristinajendesen7111]

@@nickbartlett5928 Knew there had to be an ulterior motive for having the name changed 😁

[@Matthew-ut6ed]

Great stuff, guys. I grew up in Gosport in the 60s/70s and never heard of proposals for an IOW tunnel. Don't think it was ever a realistic proposition in the age of steam - ventilation shafts in the middle of shipping lanes? The monopoly of the expensive ferries is likely to continue because even when you take tourism into account there simply isn't the volume of traffic to justify the huge expense of a tunnel or bridge. (And a bridge would have to be huge, at least 70/80 metres tall, to allow passage of the container ships and tankers using Southampton). The line of the railway shown for the second proposal from Stokes Bay exactly follows the path of the spur that used to run down to the old Gosport pier that stood on Stokes Bay right where you were filming, next to the inshore lifeboat station. It's where Queen Victoria used to get a boat over to Osborne House, I believe. You can still walk the path of this line, including the bridge that took it over the western end of Haslar Creek.

[@brianfretwell3886]

Last time I was down there the Gosport ferry from Portsmouth to Gosport seemed more expensive per mile than the Isle of Wight one.

[@johnusher1921]

Perhaps one reason for not having a fixed connection - be it bridge (banned by the Admiralty in the days of sail), tunnel cable car, road. rail whatever, is that it would turn the island into an extension of the mainland, and a suburb of the Portsmouth (itself an Island, like Hayling Island) and Southampton etc. conurbation, i.e. the so-called 'Solent City', and fundamentally change it's character. I did read once that some islanders opposed a tube-type Rapid Transit link as it would only bring in day-trippers and commuters, and not visitors who stayed longer and benefited the economy of the Island, nor bring in the goods that come on the lorries on the ferries, so they'd have to stay unless a road tunnel was also built - like the proposed Lower Thames Crossing? Perhaps, despite the high cost of the ferries, many residents are more comfortable with life the way it is? The Isle of Skye has undergone much change since the bridge was built with nixed reception. Without a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CoBA) case and Return on Investment (RoI) from development on the island what would fund the link? Also, road development can be justified for government funding by CoBA, but traditionally not rail. A Humber road bridge, but no Humber rail bridge (or tunnel). Oh yes - islands are handy places to put prisons, like Portand, Sheppey - and IoW!

[@rontanser9369]

Yes thank you that was very interesting I didn’t know ThatThere ever Was a proposed tunnel

[@adamprice9214]

My grandparents used to have a mobile home at solent breezes caravan park Warsash, i must have been around 10 at the time (44 now) and when I used to go to the site clubhouse there was this lovely old chap who used to chat to us. I remember on several occasions he swore there was a secret tunnel that led out to the IOW that he knew of first hand.. as a kid his stories were fascinating and I always wondered if there were truth behind the tunnel theory. If i remember rightly it was constructed for the 2nd word war and I've since heard solent breezes was an army camp of sorts back in its day 🤷‍♂️😃 loved your video BTW 📹💜

[@stevehill4615]

I used to live in Gosport and we were taught that there was a railway branch that went down to Stokes Bay (there used to be the remains of a pier at Gilkicker point that was for the use of Queen Victoria & Albert on their visits to Osbourne House on IoW being built due to the poor reception Albert received when they travelled from Portsmouth) so building a rail tunnel from Stokes bay using the little used branch line does seem quite a logical idea.

[@SunshineSML]

As someone who lives on the solent, this is a class video

[@nickfury324]

Very interesting, thank you. Having lived on the 'Island' for a large part of my life I think locals would rather stay 'an Island'. Independence wouldn't go a miss also. LOL

[@BubblesSong]

Don't lump all Islanders or "locals" together.... I was born and bred on the Island, and barr a few years away, I have lived here my whole life and I cannot stand the place. With the exception of some lovely views, I detest the Isle of Wight, but it's too expensive to move off and I have reasons that I need to stay. But I'd give anything for a tunnel !!

[@kevprice75]

You mean like the Isle of Skye, which is still an island with their fixed link? Or all the other islands around the world with fixed links?

[@newforestpixie5297]

The response which that Geordie Leader of IOW Council got - as he left the IOW Radio Building 20 years ago ( having told Alex Dyke how wonderful a fixed link would be ) said it all ....😂

[@aldoskates3519]

love your energy broski haha real passion for history

[@andrewkennerley3703]

Really interesting subject and brilliantly presented, thank you 👏🏻👏🏻

[@Hairnicks]

Fascinating, I'm gradually catching up om your content and watch a couple most days, really enjoying it, love the fact that you're not intrusive, it's lovely to go on a walk with you and here the history of an area. Loved the stuff around the Somerset coal fields, used to be a bobby there and remember a lot of it intact. We also live on the Wirral Way, a beautifully cared for walking route along the old railway. Keep up the fabulous imput and thank you, I know it's hard work.

[@LeoStarrenburg]

Great video, I think the IOW will keep its 'splendid isolation' for a good while. And thank you Paul for a very clear comment during the video.

[@davidrollo3260]

Leo you coffin dogdger

[@chicanemcneill]

living here on the Isle of Wight, I have no urge to visit the "north island." everything is here.

[@imamiddleagedman]

Except cancer services, major trauma a&e, neuro and burns services. Try cancer treatment on the mainland by unreliable and expensive boat several times a week. Members of my family have and it’s not good.

[@anthonybarker8022]

Absolutely fantastic video, so good, after watching a fair few videos, you've gained a Patreon.

[@thegorillaguide]

Enjoyed this. The people of the Isle of Wight are broadly against a tunnel. The towns of Southampton and Portsmouth both have high crime rates that we do not want tunnelling their way onto our island. As things stand, it's easy for criminals to get here, but escaping back across the Solent means probably being caught. Why do you think there's a high security prison here.

[@RetroRatz]

Love a good tunnel attempt! Hope the video leads to further information being found 👍

[@tinkertailor7385]

Accessibility brings change as surely as it brings people.

[@ScienceChap]

Mile for mile, the Isle of Wight ferry journey is the most expensive in the world.

[@paulohagan3309]

At least they can say it's a world-beater ...

[@ScienceChap]

@@paulohagan3309 😆

[@stevecarter8810]

Literally 0:41

[@deejayimm]

You are living the dream sir. Well done.

[@Del_S]

"How NOT to Build a Tunnel to the Isle of Wight" Step one: Begin construction in Kirkcaldy.

[@clayauslewis4236]

Good one! Totally unrelated but reminds me of The Goons: How long is the river? Two thousand miles. How wide is the river? One hundred yards. Right, we'll build the bridge across.

[@briancollins3071]

Lol

[@mal_752]

Absolutely fascinating. Brilliant vlog. Many thanks Paul and Rebecca. 👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@terryengland1880]

Wasn't there atrial bore that went part way across, i think i went about 100yds?

[@pwhitewick]

Never heard or read about that Terry. Get researching

[@NOWThatsRichy]

You're probably thinking about the Channel tunnel in Kent, there were a couple of previous attempts, going back as far as the Victorian era.

[@bostonrailfan2427]

only bore tests turning up are geothermal and geological…but they had nothing to do with the tunnel ideas

[@geoffreycoan]

By great coincidence i was in the Isle of Wight when you published this video, having flown over to Sandown in my microlight for the weekend. Much cheaper than the ferry!

[@nicholasalexander4743]

Not quite as widely available... ...yet!

[@leroyholm9075]

Hi to both: Great research into the rail & canal history of transport, in the latest South of England videos. Very new to me is the IOW tunnels. What about a tunnel now as a great national infrastructure project. I totally agree about the ferry charges, these are a total and disgraceful rip off!

[@iceetmarne3571]

Its a beautifully constructed introduction. Subscribed through an obligation to support next level interaction. Thank you for this.

[@kevintynan796]

Fascinating story, great research on your part. Very enjoyable, thanks!

[@stevepashley795]

First time I've seen your video and really enjoyed it, thank you

[@merryhunt9153]

Before building a tunnel, one must study the geology of the place. Why is the Isle an isle? Why is that strait there? Is there an old fault in the subsurface? That can cause real problems. Setting that aside, is there a strong, consistent layer of rock through which the tunnel can go? 2. Will the tunnel make the island so accessible that it is overwhelmed by tourists or new development? If they build it, will the island be worth going to in ten or twenty years? These are things to think about.

[@stephenlehardy]

Really enjoyed this one. I was intrigued ever since I saw the proposed tunnel on the same Bartholomew map and wondered why there was so little information. Love those maps!

[@BibtheBoulder]

Great video and a clear indication of how far you have come over the years...

[@AutoReport1]

A compromise would be a railway bridge - easy then to work on the mainland, but no flood of cars to the island.

[@wisteela]

Fascinating, and really well produced. Subscribed.

[@abarratt8869]

If you look at the map for the area on the National Library of Scotland website maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16&lat=50.73271&lon=-1.55360&layers=156&right=ESRIWorld you can see the Bartholomew Half Inch 1897--1907 series map side by side with modern mapping. Interestingly, there's now a small lake on a site that is about the right-ish distance from the sea for a tunnel head, on about the course the Bartholomew map was suggesting for the railway itself. And looking through the historic series of maps on the NLS website, the lake doesn't appear, not even into the 1950s. I don't know anything at all about the history of that lake-lette, but the more fanciful part of one's imagination might conclude that it's formed due to some void below collapsing, and the resultant hole filling up with water.

[@davidreece6193]

We can build a tunnel to the continent which is about just over 24 miles. Isle of Wight is like we need rocket science. The English side of the Chunnel was built on marshy water logged land. We spent 6 of our holidays at Cheverton Copse caravan site. The last time we went was in 1977 when a freak wave entered the channel and whipped up the waves and the was howling like a good un. Our boat was like a fairground ride. Horrendous journey. The ferry that followed ours actually sank. On the way back we got to see the ships that had travelled from around the world/commonwealth and we’re docked for a naval review in honour of the Queens silver jubilee.

[@donwright3427]

Thanks.Keep up your explorations

[@velocityadventures949]

Very well made video and information is great

[@walsteadgreen405]

I unfortunately live on the Island and have to commute using the very expensive and unreliable Ferries daily. If only a Tunnel was built years ago. It really does need to happen, but is stopped by the local MP who has family working for Red Funnel ferries! A Tunnel will happen, but not soon enough for me.

[@frey-j-iow5398]

Well said. Bob Seely, I believe, is related to the Director of Red Funnel!

[@walsteadgreen405]

@@frey-j-iow5398 Thank you. Not only is Bob Seelys Cousin a Red Funnel Director, David Pugh....the head of the Isle of Wight Conservatives and the one who helped Seely into his position as MP, his company (Chine Consultancy) lobbies for Wightlink in Westminster. It's an absolute web of corruption.

[@southdown278]

Amazing history, just found your channel which for some reason has evaded me previously! Stokes Bay is 2 min from me and although I'd heard rumours I'd never seen this before. Probably a good job they didn't build one, it would have had to be very deep with the current sea traffic. Keep up the great videos

[@gaugeonesteam]

Very interesting. I live in Bournemouth and never knew about these proposed/attempted tunnels. A great shame one was never built as getting to the Isle of Wight by ferry is slow and, as you say, expensive. I have done it twice in small boats, once in the scouts in a motor boat from Christchurch harbour to the IOW scout camp and once from Hamble to Cowes in a small Yacht. Was that the old Brockenhurst to Ringwood line you were walking on? There's been rumors for years about re-opening that one. There's a house near Brockenhurst station very close to the old junction that's put a bit of railway memorabilia outside in their back garden to mark the spot.

[@1mmickk]

There were a couple of Spitfire wings hidden in the bushes of the IOW Golf Course in the 90s. Might still be here.

[@neilphillips162]

Never heard of this and i live nearby. ?

[@1mmickk]

@@neilphillips162 I seen em, I was following the ramblers path and popped onto the GC and was off a faiirway trying to stay out of the way of the golfingers way when I seen then and some other panels in 1992 I think it was the Shanklin Downdown GC near Sandown and from memory, the north end beach side. I was looking for traces of WW2 ans was amazed that I found them. Being a plane spotter, It was something that I will never forget. They were low chest high bushes, some other bits of metal there, might have been a work shed there once. Bushes be a lot higher now if they are there, but it was between fairways I think so should be bushes or trees there now. No now I remember, was an airfield behind them and it was land kinda part of the airfleild and kinda part of the GC, like a bunch of bushes each thought belonged to the other so they had been forgotten. Yes thats what I remember thinking was the reason they were still there. Hope that helps you have a look for them.

[@trevcam6892]

Interesting. We have visited the IOW four times for holidays. Via the ferry from Southampton. Whilst over there we have chatted to residents about a bridge, but no-one ever mentioned a tunnel. Our personal straw poll of the residents seemed to be 50/50 for/against a bridge. Although the ferry is expensive we like it that way as tourists. It's something special. And it keeps down on the number of pesky tourists (except us, of course). Great walking on the island. Nearly all the footpaths are labelled with their definitive parish numbers and also where they go to. A-Z do an OS 1:25,000 booklet version overprinted with the definitive path numbers for the island. I wish I'd seen this a few weeks ago just before we visited for the fourth time. We would have looked around for clues to the island end of the tunnels, especially at the Yarmouth end where some of my wife's ancestors came from.

[@markiangooley]

In-Solent ferries instead of under-Solent tunnels look to be the future as well…

[@petergambier]

Nice post and interesting research Paul. I even enjoyed the advert for the game EVE. 1st time on your channel and never heard about any tunnels to the Isle of Wight, so thanks for the memory blast. As a kid my Gran would take me across for the day on the hovercraft service from Lee-on-Solent, she liked her whisky. She & I would watch Top Of The Pops and I was forced to watch Crossroads with it's dodgy acting and wobbly sets. in Fareham she took me to see the film Zulu with Michael Caine and she even bought me the LP, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.

[@lindamccaughey6669]

Really enjoyed that thanks. That was incredibly interesting. Please stay safe and take care

[@michaelnedsmar9106]

Us Islanders are still waiting for any reliable link between Cowes & West Cowes let alone a tunnel ! The time a tunnel is built could be 40 or 50 years time, by then I'm sure cars or pods will not only be Electric and driverless but they have wings . What's needed is a 3rd ferry operator that uses smaller eclectic vessels , less staff , no bells or whistles , a ferry that carry's cars and light commercial vehicles only for around £40 return I'm sure If a tunnel was built tomorrow thou it would be a faster way to cross the Solent the tolls would be around £20 each way to pay for it.

[@neilfurby555]

Great stuff, well researched and nicely presented without false drama, music or special effects! One of the best on utube for worthwhile content.

[@Phil-oj5nr]

I only noticed the most westerly tunnel proposal on a map of the Isle of Wight about three years ago. I had not known there were two other proposals. My father’s mother’s maiden name was Wells and she lived in Bournemouth. I wonder if there was a connection to one of the promoters? She would have been my grandmother, but died about two years before I was born.

[@samboss15081]

Great video! Informative and presented enthusiastically!

[@neilphillips162]

Hi paul@rebecca i live near the Yarmouth end of the island and in the early 1800s a tunnel was under construction from the island to the mainland via fort Victoria where it was started and about half way across under the solent it caved in and filled its self in and the project was scrapped im not sure if anyone was killed by it , and if you look hard enough you can still find old bricks on the shoreline from it to this day, . Very interesting vid 👍 but we really don't need a tunnel or bridge hear to the island is perfect the way it is, ..

[@nicholasvalentine3907]

Easier to put a causeway with a road/rail link on top. The isle is small so ships can go around, the dead end area/s could be a new harbour and or a huge marina or new beaches or all of the above and more. Selective clean waste could be recycled as a building material. If the causeway was quite wide and raised to a decent height above sea level then houses, hotels and other structures could be built along it with some fantastic views. Love your videos, only came across you a few days ago, have subscibed, I like the "trade mark" crunchy brisk walk, ha!

[@bbjim1]

Great research. Lovely editing. Many thanks

[@UKAbandonedMineExplores]

I knew nothing of that, maybe look at the older attempts to dig the channel tunnel. Very informative thanks :)

[@pwhitewick]

Thanks, will do!