Tales of tunnels underneath village prove to be true

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The group now has "quite a few lines of enquiry" of other places to explore - Image © Bloxham Underground Tunnel Society

"Since I was a boy, there were rumours circulating and, as you do, you listen to all of the villagers - and that's where the stories came from."

In 2024, a Facebook discussion in Bloxham about a long-mythologised set of hidden tunnels running underneath the north Oxfordshire village saw locals compare their subterranean tales.

Following that exchange of stories, Dave Green - along with a group of fellow villagers - decided to set up the Bloxham Underground Tunnel Society to see if there was any truth to the legend.

In the two years since it was first formed, the society has now investigated and uncovered an ever expanding network underneath the quaint village on the edge of the Cotswolds.

"You've always got sceptics that say there's no such thing as a tunnel, there's nothing like that, but we're out there to prove that there are," Green said. He explained that the tales of the tunnels had "come from the past, but the problem is people don't investigate and people die, and the stories die".

"Unless, that is, you do something about it and try to find out - which is quite difficult," he said.

(BBC article continues)