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City underneath Aberdeen?


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True. I always look twice every time I go past that junction now. What you said earlier about important people getting from place to place underneath the city - that's what I was told the tunnels were for.

The mystery unravels.

I'm getting very excited by this. I may even go searching for the 'Lost Tundra Of Aberdeen' - self proclaimed lol.

The way I see it. Union St (means the Union of something??) is the keystone of the arch and it's holding a lot of secret underground places. The Harbour is roughly about 50ft below Union St. So there's something in the harbour that were missing that may lead up ship row and right down to the beach. Then back up towards Holburn. It would be the aceist thing ever to find something like this, if it does indeed exist.

Then again, if not, at least I could have some fun at the Harbour without paying.

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I mind being told of a 'hidden' street behing the Jessops on Market street ages ago. I thought it was just a wind up but who knows.

The other one I was told was that the pole thing on Justice Mill Lane (on the junction between the Foundry and Glentanar pubs) is to allow air out/in of an underground tunnel that runs right under aberdeen down to the beach. Again I thought someone was taking the piss.o_O

I don't know about hidden streets there because the medieval street plan is still pretty intact - take the lane from the Adelphi, round past the cinema to see some of it & I lived in a flat in that area for a while once (the source of a few more bonkers stories in itself! :D ) & didn't turn-up anything. I do remember the basements in Marischal St tho. When Telemech had its shop there, the record dept (yup it had a good one once!) was down in two of them - I bought my first Stranglers album there & there was a near legendary incident in another building where a group of workmen decided to deal with a strange obstruction that reduced the ceiling height in one cellar & were a tad surprised to discover where part of the Castlegate Sewers went!

The Vent at Holburn Junction was for the original electricity cable tunnels, that ran from the old city power station at the foot of Crown St - which is being rebuilt into flats just now & a few months back, the old generator hall was visible again. I'd have to look the details-up but IIRC there is indeed a fairly extensive tunnel system to the main distribution points for the old tram network (so it could quite feasably go to or near the beach where some of the main tram-sheds were) & there are/were at least three other such vents serving other high voltage tunnels around the city centre - The system ran to several miles all-in & most of it is apparently still there.

There is also a cracking sewer sump @40 feet under the Bedford Road St Machar Drive roundabut BTW.

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Then again, if not, at least I could have some fun at the Harbour without paying.

There is also a pedestrian tunnel across the Dee to Torry from North Esplanade East - You can still see the stair houses on each side, little domed granite structures by the dock on the City side & in the oil yard on Sinclair Road. It is in good condition & still open occasionally on Doors Days etc. Worth a look.

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There is also a pedestrian tunnel across the Dee to Torry from North Esplanade East - You can still see the stair houses on each side, little domed granite structures by the dock on the City side & in the oil yard on Sinclair Road. It is in good condition & still open occasionally on Doors Days etc. Worth a look.

Quality.

I have to pass that when I come home from work. Cheers Pogo, you should be on TimeTeam or something.

:up:

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  • 12 years later...
On 11/21/2006 at 12:44 PM, Lonz said:

Ah well, not as exciting as it sounds!

It is a vent pipe and I have had the joy of being in the tunnel underground. The access in in front of the glentanner pub. I don’t know how far it goes but it is far, I walked as far as I felt comfortable. Red brick construction and nothing inside apart from some old cables. Very good condition and nice and dry. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 10/18/2019 at 11:14 AM, Doshie81 said:

It is a vent pipe and I have had the joy of being in the tunnel underground. The access in in front of the glentanner pub. I don’t know how far it goes but it is far, I walked as far as I felt comfortable. Red brick construction and nothing inside apart from some old cables. Very good condition and nice and dry. 

Wow that’s actually amazing. How did you gain access?

I worked in Jessops years ago and the basements there used to be fairly interesting (few ancient, huge and inaccessible safes!!!) plus a large door at the back and bottom of the cellars which lead to what I think was part of an old street or courtyard. The cellars also connected strangely and were all arched! They were also dry and well ventilated. 

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