Inside Rhondda & Wenvoe Tunnel

Join me on an epic journey inside the mysterious Rhondda and Wenvoe tunnels!

Ever wondered what lies within these historic passageways? In this vlog, I take you deep into the Rhondda Tunnel, where exciting plans are underway to reopen this hidden gem. Discover the secrets of its potential restoration and the incredible potential for future explorers thanks to the Rhondda Tunnel Society!

But that’s not all! I also delve into the intriguing past of the Wenvoe Tunnel in Cardiff, a crucial hideaway during wartime. Learn how it played a royal role, safeguarding the Royal Family and concealing a vital trains from enemy eyes.

Subscribe now for more thrilling adventures and untold stories from the tunnels that shaped history. Hit that bell icon so you never miss an update! 🛎️✨

SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE VIDEOS: https://bit.ly/2Zc7x5r​​​

FOLLOW MY JOURNEY ON SOCIAL:

http://instagram.com/jc.explores
http://twitter.com/jaycurtis​​​
http://facebook.com/jayexplores​​​

Music in Video: www.epidemicsound.com/referral/vgckxi/
My Gear: https://www.jcexplores.com/gear

well today I’ve got a pretty cool adventure lined up and it’s a trip that not many people get a chance to make today I’m checking out this Gem of our industrial history so join me as we head deep into the darkness of the Rona tunnel well from the Curiosity of the iconic watchman’s Hut to the remarkable landscape these valleys truly are in my opinion a special place now just before we head inside the mountain I’m starting today’s Vlog in the picturesque Aven Valley a place quite literally steeped in history because just down there is the birthplace of Hollywood actor Richard Burton and I’m standing here on the Pont reeden Aqueduct because it’s here you get a real chance to understand that industrial Heritage which is what today’s video is all about so let’s get kitted up and climb inside the r the tunnel walking up the valley you’re reminded about the industrial community around every single Corner in fact the last mine closed in just 1970 and the area was designated the aen Forest Park just 2 years later because of that great walking and cycling potential but as for the tunnel well the team invited me along and I foolishly imagined I’d simply maybe walk through the amazing Hillside before stepping through perhaps a I don’t know locked gate or maybe crawl through a small Gap in the face fence but no said Tony Oh my days this a tight squeeze after being given a full set of yes caving gear and a full safety brief I discovered it’s a bit more complicated than I first thought so instead I’ve got to be heisted down this ventilation shaft which is just a few inches wider than my shoulder blades and did I mention I’m not correct with small spaces after the next run now come on there a concrete so now I know why only a handful of people have seen inside this tunnel in the last 50 years now this air shaft is 11 M deep and I’ve got to squeeze through a pipe which is just 60 cm wide and 5 m long wish me luck time to get on the skateboard closed way back in 1968 the disused tunnel was later blocked up and today I’m joining the Rond the tunnel Society for a unique look inside now walking through the tunnels kind of like stepping back in time you can imagine the sound of the steam engines that thick black smoke the countless trains that once flowed through here each and every day carrying huge amounts of coal to Swansea and Port Albert it’s it’s eerie but also quite [Music] fascinating so the tunnel stretches over 3,44 three yards it kind of means it’s the longest disused railway tunnel in the world and if these plans to reconnect the communities of Rona and The aen Valleys go ahead it would make it the longest cycling and walking tunnel anywhere in Europe the tunnel was built over some 5 years in the late 19th century and connected blind to Blind gwyy and you can still see the outline of the Old Railway line and where the sleepers would have been just as a matter of if everybody puts their lights off a [Music] moment this is the light they would have had years ago when they drove the tunnel initially maybe they could turn the flame up a bit more than this and give a little bit more illumination but that is very often what people used to work with now the tunnel also features a coal seam which is believed to have been worked probably by local villagers why was it closed while a survey in 1967 revealed Distortion in the roof but in December 1970 the Ministry of Transport announced the withdrawal of services citing the cost of repair to be too expensive but that just happened to coincide with a beaching cuts which related to a series of efficiency savings on the railways across Britain so that’s why there’s a series of wooden sleepers otherwise known as the Cog as a safety precaution however recent tests have in fact revealed the tunnel remains in remarkably good condition over 50 years later this is back fill 25 M down there is the portal the opening yeah and they back fill it with a bulldozzer it was only supposed to be back filled up to 5 m but they back filled it 25 M and there’s a drain down here a new drain was put in and we think that drain is not working because this back fill is blocked it hence the fling that’s why we drill the hole well walking squeezing and crawling my way through the full length of the tunnel you get a real understanding of the potential that opening up this project would bring mainly because of how quickly it can take you to reach the very end of the tunnel a journey which can normally take you up to an hour by car that is actually the blind wind P there right to the now if you’re enjoying this video so far why not like And subscribe to join me on plenty more Adventures of hidden history all across the country now because both ends of the tunnel are capped and filled in we’ve got a ring up above ground using a special phone line just to let them know what part of the tunnel we’re in should the worst happen Sten is it the end Steve yeah chairman give a couple of rings hi Steve we’re at 460 this is the last point the last point he Steve we’re at 460 the last Point cheers T up so how cool would it be to be walking and cycling some two miles deep inside a Welsh Mountain but is it even a possibility now it’s fair to say this isn’t just a pipe dream it’s already been done and there are two nearby tunnels open to the public one the CB down tunnels in bath the this one the tienam tunnel in the Y Valley so let’s go check out inside to see how the Ronda tunnel could look in the future running along the route of the former y Valley Railway the tunnel offers cyclists Walkers and wheelchair uses a safe and sustainable link between Chapo and the picturesque Village of Tinton home of course to the famous ABY the low-level lighting inside the tunnel means people can enjoy the route in harmony with the local bat population so as I climb out of the run the tunnel what’s next for the project well there’s a renewed hope and a passionate campaign to restore this Marvel of Victorian engineering by those volunteers and that includes a famous face on our TV screens so with your help the help of the society and some Goodwill and the help of of people in in government local and national uh I’m I’m convinced that we will make make this project uh a reality and you will once again be able to walk from here to Blind uh as you were many years ago okay ready pull off the plastic yay um so Martin Roberts you’re really passionate about this project what is it that’s so special about this tunal so when you look at what it does geographically it links two valleys that have been separated for 70 years you know to get from this side to the other side at the moment you have to drive all the way around the mountain so it’s about 45 minutes Drive you’d be able to cycle it in in 5 minutes um so so just purely to link these two communities uh together again and if it that was the only thing that would be enough but it it will be for for half the year the longest walking and cycling tunnel in the world in the world not in Wales not in England not in the UK not in Europe but the world and to have that in the the Ronda Valley to have that in this Valley to have that in in Wales is just extraordinary and it’s not that big a project I know it’s a reasonable amount of money we need to raise but when you go down the tunnel it’s in amazing condition so it is such a crying shame that it’s just sitting there hidden underneath you know mountains of rubble on on each end and ridiculous that we just can’t you know just get it reopened it needs to be reopened and talking about these valleys they’re um a special place to you at the moment you know you’ve made this place home as well I have you know and I I renovated the house in in in t on you know on the other side of the tunnel and then I I discovered this pub called the hran hotel which had closed at the start of lockdown and and the community lost its heart and and I just I just felt like a I just I just felt I had to do something to try and renovate it so I’ve been spending the last uh year or so in all my money trying to get this place back together and we’re and we’re really doing great things we’re using local kids to do a lot of the work uh we’re working you know with the local community to make sure it’s as as as as as as good a place as it can possibly be for that Community now it’s also worth mentioning that there are tunnels like this right across Wales from the nearby guy tunnel in the D Valley to the WBO tunnel in [Music] Cardiff now halfway through this rather Eerie wo tunnel is a ginormous ventilation shaft designed to let at the steam from the passing locomotives and hard to imagine up there is C house cross retail Park where right now hundreds of people are going about their daily lives oblivious to the fact the tunnel is below their feet now what’s really interesting is during World War II when the royal family would come to South Wales they would hide the Royal Train deep inside weno tunnel to avoid the German bombers and the Air Raids above meaning the royal family would have spent the night right here on the Royal Train so finally should these dark and dingy passageways be left sealed up or could they be turned into an untapped resource for tourism and commuting let me know your thoughts in the comments section below and of course as always feel free to like And subscribe until next time [Music]