When I saw RCP through the grated infall I thought this would be another of Bury's boring prefab systems. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when after a short length the concrete turned to stone and joined another culvert.
Going downstream was 5ft stone arch that went for around a hundred meters before turning back to RCP. At the junction a manhole shaft went up a good 15ft, a rope was tied off a stepiron and suspended from it was a pail full of crystal clear water. It looked like it hadn't been moved in a while and I wonder what it's purpose was.
A concrete arch section allowed me to stand up properly for a short while, before shrinking into brick arch. This wasn't particularly deep and had about 2ft above the water. I went a short way down this before deciding it wasn't likely to open up anytime soon and headed back. Upstream of the first junction shrank down to heavy stoop height too, so I called it a day.
Approached from the other direction the outfall can be seen. A very dubious construction of steel and wood supports some machinery above, it prevents casual inspection although a low stone arch can be seen beyond.
The brook continues in an open channel for around 60m before going into another culvert, Sloppy Seconds.
This drain has also become known as Smurf's Hollow.