We received this message to the forum's gmail address last night. If anyone is interested, the source's contact details are below (please don't PM me!).

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We manage a large area of land near Lenzie to the East of Glasgow and we have a dilemma. There is an outfall of a loch which passes under some 500 - 600m of land and it has become choked. The outfall tunnel was built over 300 years ago by hand (Napoleonic I believe) and we believe that it may have collapsed at some point. The loch level is now rising although there is some water passing through the outfall (restricted flow). We have met with companies who investigate sewerage and drainage systems with cameras etc but no company really wants to investigate it.

I was wondering whether there would be any local potholing / caving groups who would want to have a look inside and they may be able to give us an idea of where it has collapsed. I understand that it is very dangerous and we cannot in any way warrant the safety or stability of the tunnel. Our client may offer a donation to any club if they can provide any information.

If you would like to discuss, please do contact me on the details below.

Yours sincerely,

Alistair Christie

Have ensured that the GSG locally know about this.

The Cynic inside me reads it as this...

Blah, blah, blah. We have met with companies who investigate sewerage and drainage systems with cameras etc but no company really wants to investigate it on the cheap.

Blah, blah, blah...local potholing / caving groups Blah, blah, blah may offer a very small donation blah, blah, blah.

Click to expand...

The pragmatist in me wonders what the insurance situation is should someone have an accident investigating this tunnel on behalf of what appears to be a property management company.

Personally i wouldn't touch the situation with a 20' greased bargepole.

If there's any question of diving involved it must only be done in a way which follows HSE regulations. These are onerous and attempting to bypass them is illegal, with serious penalties. It's extremely unliklely that an amateur could dive legally for the purposes described.

Is it a matter of diving, or do they want some brave soul(s) to wade upstream into the tunnel to see how far they can get before they meet the blockage?

Local folklore would suggest that the intrepid explorer should play the bagpipes as he advances...

We (the GSG) have responded to requests for help and advice from other landowners to investigate similar tunnels - but not when blocked with a steadily increasing head of water beyond a blockage with the potential of zillions of gallons of mud and water chasing us back out. From a quick look at the map I think the body of water is Gadloch (NS 650710) and the outflow passes under two roads, a railway and possibly several farm buildings and houses. They are all potential sites for the blockage where the original tunnel may have been damaged or replaced with a much smaller and inadequately sized pipe. I agree with the barge pole comment except it needs to be 500m long! We might think about offering to have a look once the loch has drained down to drought levels, but nobody should even contemplate it right now.