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The Bowels of Brighton!

The Bowels of Brighton!

title The Bowels of Brighton!
event: Brighton Fringe
review date Tuesday, 6 May 2008
photos & words by Sam Milford

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The tour of Brighton's Victorian sewers is one of those things every Brightonian wants to do, but never quite seems to get around to. Lucky for me that Camillindenny Architects had booked a group to go down and a spare slot was available for your trusty Fringe reviewer to tag along!

The impressive network of red-brick tunnels has over 100 million litres of waste passing through it every day (I know... that's a whole lot of poo), and - as it happens - it's well worth a look!

Yes - it does smell a bit. But the stink of urine under Brighton Pier was actually stronger and far less wholesome than the smell once inside the tunnels. You do, quite quickly, get used to it.

After a safety briefing and a short (slightly bizarre) video you're led down into the sewage system and talked through some of the key mechanics of getting your poo seen to before it is evacuated into the sea. Although the sewage system was fantastically well engineered, some of the problems it now faces are caused by unforeseen factors like the huge number of restaurants and homes that clog up the pipes by disposing of kitchen oil down the system, and the fact that Southern Water were forced to add a few rows of bricks here and there by the EU - which has created entirely new problems for the flow of sewage through the system...

The tour is perhaps a wee bit shorter than expected - but this is probably partly due to part of it being cut out due to safety issues. But emerging through a manhole in the middle of the Old Steine is a very nice end to what was an absolutely fascinating hour or so underground.

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"Jim's always so practical!"

Said by Samwell on Thu, 8th May 2008.

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