Gorton Falls was built by the Victorians in 1876 to keep the increasingly polluted waters of the Gore Brook out of Debdale reservoir. Four aqueducts carry the culvert across the water with the rest hidden within the banks, the interesting length is around 1.6km.
I first looked at the culvert back in 2009 when access was possible from the upstream end, the old lid used back then has snapped in two now and the entrance is sealed.
While walking the route of the culvert there are what looked like vent slots on the surface. I think these are actually channels in which to slot boards to block off sections of the culvert or the side pipes from above.
Walking downstream you eventually come to the first of the falls which has a side pipe joining at the bottom.
Downstream is a bigger waterfall, the pipe continues for a way after this before coming to an end at a slide of death. Here the flow drops down into a sump then is pushed above ground in a Siphon.
