Old Warden Tunnel, Bedfordshire
Posted by: 
Dragontree
N 52° 05.452 W 000° 22.687
30U E 679613 N 5774388
Quick Description: This old railway tunnel was part of the old Bedford to Hitchin line.
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 1/12/2008 11:44:41 AM
Waymark Code: WM2YR7
Views: 181
Long Description:
Bedford to Hitchin
Railway has a website here. The cutting and tunnel were built
to take the London, Midland and Southern Railway's main line
through this area of countryside. The line was opened in 1857 and
closed in 1964.
The site above the tunnel is now a Nature Reserve belonging to
the Wildlife Trust since 1973 and is open to visitors. There are
some good views of the Cardington Hangars, where the early airships
including the R100 and R101 were built; the latter left from here
on its fatal trip to France There is a panoramic view of the
surrounding countryside from this high point of Bedfordshire. In
1964 'Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines' was filmed
here.
The tunnel itself is half blocked off with a wall of breeze
blocks but there is a hole above for bats to fly in and out as they
use the tunnel for roosting in and a small access hole in the wall
itself. Being half a mile long the other end is visible through the
tunnel but is somewhat more concealed. Access down to the railway
from the Nature Reserve follows a stepped path, some of the steps
can be steep and slippery, so be careful. From the top the view
along the old railway line is worth a visit in itself.
Personally both Male and Female Dragontree have had experiences
of this railway and it has some very fond memories. Male Dragontree
travelled along the line in a steam train whilst the railway was
open and running. After joining up as a RAF National Serviceman he
travelled from the station a mile up the track at Cardington
enroute to square bashing at Royal Airforce West Kirby on the
Wirral. Female Dragontree came here regularly before the tunnel was
blocked up as part of Sunday School sing-song adventures in the mid
1980s as a 5-7 year old.