Pillboxes, thrills and heartache!

Having plotted out the tantalizing area running from East of Bramsall down to Hazeley, East of Hook and out along the Basingstoke Canal it was time for me to start chipping away at the plethora of goodies in the areas. It wasn't easy be any means and the area was criss crossed with rivers, boggy ground and the going was tough. Most areas in the woods were triffid head height in ferns and nettles and i wondered what the hell made me tackle such a forbidding tract of land. I did get a few fails as always but again they will still be sat there waiting for me to say hello soon so no worries on that score.
The rewards were high though as it got me to my first prefab 26, a section post and the amount of shutters still in place in the area with their pull to cables intact made for interesting viewing. I might have found an undocumented 24 though this will need confirming. Some of the information on the DoB was slightly inaccurate but i shall comment on this later in the thread.
I cycled down to the area after a faint hint that it wouldn't rain only for it to pee it down as soon as i reached the first area i wished to explore. Fantastic news when i knew i would be knee deep in wet sodden grass who seemed to pass their seeds to me like i was a magnet. I also came to a stand off with a herd of cows again but this time i handled the situation calmly, clucking at them like an idiot and touching their noses to let them know Sunday roast wasn't on the cards just yet. Once again i decided to stay out there after the light fell so i could make a very early morning start and get to the line of pillboxes that were so close but so far away. Hacking away at the undergrowth in certain areas proved just rewards so i hope you enjoy the photos.

PILLBOX (PREFABRICATED): S0011154
Partly flooded up to 2 inches or so, but the stones inside provided decent stepping stones to allow me to get inside to have a squint at me first prefab. There are two further north in adjacent fields but the weather at this time was not fun so i need to revisit. Scaring the herd of sheep as i moved across the field, they gradually moved away with a mixture of inquisitiveness and fear.

Shutters still in place on some of the embrasures. Something i was to find increasingly common the further into the explore i went.

Having searched in vain in the area for other remnants and battling the wet grass i gave up on the area and decided that a dryer day was needed for such madness.
Cycling back up towards the junction of Wiggins Copse and the junction of the B3011, located on the right hand side are two AT cylinders which are not on the DoB.

Taking a rest at the Shoulder Of Mutton Pub, i then left the bike behind for a cross country excursion which, with the sun breaking out brought a smile on my face once i had located my first reference point. From there i could get my bearings and skirt the fields full of curious cows. These ones stayed away from me thankfully. An open field dash on the pee, muck and mud would have been interesting. The DoB confused me here but more of that in a moment.

PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/24): S0010902
This was a first view of a T shaped table for me.

Again part of the shutter is in place. Something that was to become increasingly familiar while in the area.

Embrasure shelf supports in place.

PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/24): S0010905 (possibly)
Sat further down the bank south east to the copse of trees running opposite to Hatch Farm. The pillbox overlooks the section post which is sat in the next field and to the south west of this pillbox. Overgrown and inaccessible. One wooden shelf in situ, and one 'T' shaped table.

Below is an excellent example of an embrasure shutter and cable attached. There were for blackout purposes only and as they were made of of asbestos, certainly easy to shatter. The cable was use to close the shutter and this was then hooked onto the inside of the embrasure.

As i said earlier, rare until you find an area that has not been vandalised over the passage of time.

SECTION POST: S0007439
Again something new for me. My first section post. Four embrasures in a boomerang shape. Sadly no shelving in situ and all the embrasures are southern facing. The nearby pillbox would have covered the exposed rear of the section post.

Single entrance on the western side. Once again i an thankful for the double layers i put on to allow me to brush past the nettles. Also my secateurs come in quite handy on occasion. This allows me to clear some of the foliage to gain far better images than i would have. Getting used to mud,cuts,stings, aches and pains can be a hazard of the job in hand. Many a time i have drawn blood from barbed wire and have a few scars in inappropriate places.

Entrance depicting the 'boomerang' shape of the post.

A well disguised pillbox sat under the tree further down the field.

PILLBOX (TYPE FW3/24): S0012846
Internal X-shaped blast wall.

As mentioned - in this line of hedge there are 2 type 24's and the variant. The amazing thing about this is that i was not expecting to come across another pillbox. The area is fairly open aside from the line of hedges at the lower end of the field which mask the pillboxes. Either the local survey relied on local knowledge and simply did not carry out a full survey or it was missed off the survey due to human error. The close proximity of the pillboxes would make me think the latter was more accurate. Getting this information corrected is the reason many of us to the legwork, the secondary factor being the condition reports that often go with the site visits, and naturally the photographic evidence can be used to update the EDoB layers when needed.

The brick shuttering is gradually falling away from the pillbox. Usually damaged through frost cracking the brickwork and occasionally due to roots of plants/trees splitting the brickwork away.

Damaged and very fragile, the shutter is actually just resting in place.

PILLBOX (VARIANT): S0007005
Rectangular pillbox with 3 embrasures, all in the same wall. Sat in the line of hedge and facing opposite to the section post. This is a heavily fortified area.