On Saturday (29th Sept) fifteen 1st Barnham Scouts descended into the smelly underworld of the South Coast to tour Brighton’s sewers.
Starting off just underneath Brighton Pier at 9:30 am on Saturday, the gloved and hard-hat clad Scouts were guided through 366 metres of the Victorian sewer system, learning how they were first built, how they have changed over the past 100 or so years and seeing how our waste is dealt with first hand.
The Southern Water tour took the Scouts along narrow, whitewashed corridors and up and down metal ladders to see the route of the day’s waste and stormwater, which was flowing to the brand new water treatment plant in Peacehaven before being pumped out to sea.
Reactions to the sewer were mixed… “Why’s it so disgusting?” asked one Scout “because it’s a sewer,” came the answer. “Smells a bit like Glastonbury,” said another. “It would make a great log flume,” suggested a third.
After around 90 minutes underground the Scouts emerged through a manhole in the middle of Old Steine and – after a thorough wash – went off to enjoy the pleasures of Brighton Pier before heading back to Barnham.
A huge thank you to our amazing guide’s from Southern Water! To find out more about Brighton’s sewers, click here.
