Mysterious doors

A few years ago Steve took the boat out on his own for a few weeks. He had no itinerary in mind, and no time limit. So when he came across a mysterious  open door in the passageway underneath the M40 he just had to stop and have a look.

The doors are made of heavy, blast proof metal. Behind the doors are rooms and chambers, full of graffiti and remnants of bonfires and the occasional abandoned mattress. Research suggests that they are service hatches for the M40 above, but are they really? Why do they need such strong doors, and why are there so many chambers? To us it’s still a mystery, and they intrigue every time we pass them. Today, the door on one side was shut with a heavy padlock, the one on the other side was latched with a crumbling stick. We didn’t stop, but if we had, what would we have found behind that door?

I love coming across things like this on our journeys. After Steve discovered the rooms, he did as much research as he could, and next time we passed under the M40 together, we stopped so that I, too, could have a look. We even mentioned this to a boat coming the other way and they, too, tied up, got their torches out and investigated.