Box
Real World and all that ........
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Box Tunnel and The Great Western Railway
Peter Gabriel and Real World Studio's
Explorer David Hempleman-Adams
Box Tunnel
Box is at the western end of the tunnel on the Great Western Railway line built by the famous Victorian engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The tunnel, known as Box Tunnel, was at the time it was built between 1836-41, the longest railway tunnel in Europe at around two miles.
At its peak the building work employed some four thousand men and used about a ton of gunpowder a week. Unfortunately a hundred men died during the five years it took to build. The tunnel was opened without any ceremony on 30th June 1841.
The line is dead straight and descends a 1 in 100 gradient from the east. Apparently, although I have never seen it, the sun shines through the tunnel, as it is rising in the east, on or about April 15th each year.
Real World Studios
These days Box is probably more famous for Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios which are based in an old mill in the village. You can find out more from the excellent official Real World web site RealWorld on the Net
Peter Gabriel made his name as the lead singer in the rock group Genesis during the early 1970's. He soon decided that he wanted to branch out on his own and began a very succesful second career. You can find out more about Peter, including his discography, at one of the very best fan sites "and through the wire"
David Hempleman-Adams
Box is also home for the intrepid explorer David Hempleman-Adams
In May 1998 the 42-year-old adventurer became the first man to achieve the grand slam of conquering the North and South geographic and magnetic poles and the highest mountain in every continent. It has taken him 18 years to achieve this feat.
David Hempleman-Adams thinks that he has one more Arctic adventure in him, despite a close call on his latest challenge. Just before Christmas he was forced to make an emergency crash landing in his balloon, while attempting to cross the Andes, in South America. A second attempt was more successful, and now he is back at his Box home.
He has been quoted as saying that: "I've got to the age where the polar challenges are getting tougher. I'm probably at my peak mentally and physically now, but I don't want to pull a 350lb sledge across the Arctic any more. I have one more big polar challenge in me, although I haven't told my wife yet."
The explorer says he is lucky that he has a proper job running Global Resins in Corsham and does not have to make a living from his adventures. It also seems that most of these adventures originate over a pint of beer in his local pub.
Copyright © 1996/2000 by
Hugh Collins
This Page Last Updated
12 March 2000