58mm

Hiatus, Manchester

2011-03-12T15:08:00.000-08:00

This started out with me taking to Gone over msn discussing startrails and a certain program over at a .de web address. It was Gripper that I had last seen him and so when Gone mentioned he fancied a trip to Ancoats to try some trails himself, with finally no work to do, I mentioned I'd make an rare appearance myself.

Startrails are effectively, taking a huge amount of the same photo over a period time (1 hour+) and then using software (either Photoshop or any third party program) to compile these into one image.

This one was really a 2 in 1 kind of explore, I'd had several recce's of Sarah Point over countless months in the past, but without the right knowledge and with word of over zealous security guards on site, I put it to the back of my mind. So with ninja-like speed and agility, we were in no time climbing floor after floor of unfinished-recession hit building work, passing birds and birdnests along the way till we hit the top.

Now I don't know if it was a visit from some Druids, or just some crackheads but what appeared to be a mini half-arsed attempt of Stonehenge seemed to have appeared on the roof. With these, we set up our gear and started on some startrails, with mine fucking up - I thought it would anyway, having to press the shutter-release button every 30 seconds for almost an hour.

Boom.

Gripper Drain, Manchester

2011-02-01T13:10:00.000-08:00

Gripper Drain. This one happened to be on my list for a long time, it's not the nicest or even the most interesting of drains out there, but seeming as though every explorer in the Greater Manchester area has seemed to venture down it, including our Australian brothers; the 'Cave Clan', I decided it was time for me to cross it off.

I won't lie, I was actually getting ready to go shopping in Tesco but when Gone popped up online telling me he was with NickUK and fancied a return to Gripper, I eventually caved in and agreed, putting my shopping off till later in the night (as gay as it sounds).

It proved to be somewhat of a challenge climbing down the muddy bank, skinny jeans on an explore will do that, I made it without slipping which was a success so from this point on, anything else was icing on the cake.

Gripper presented a nice little explore which was dry and fairly clean, what was the highlight was when NickUK attempted to climb over a railing, ripping his jeans in the process, hanging his under-garments for all to see, Good times.

Cannon Brewery, Sheffield

2011-01-24T11:15:00.000-08:00

We had just stepped off the train from Derby back to Sheffield, and our plan was to hit this place or what was left of it before the night set in. Megatron was doable anytime of the day, I don't think you'd find pikeys down there.

After what seemed like forever walking to the outskirts of the City Centre, and a stop off at a Hotel to drop the A Bomb, we had arrived. With the rain starting to fall and the sky not getting any brighter, we had a quick walk around the vicinity in the hope of a gaping hole to step through and with no luck, bounced over the main gates.

Bricks fell, I fell, Gone's boots fell as the bag ripped but we were in. We walked over to the main building we had sussed housed the holes we had walked half and hour to see. We were greeted with the lovely sight of fresh footprints from the rain, looks like we had company! With a 'fuck it' attitude, we went up the stairwell anyway only to be greeted with our own personal copper thief, he made for brief conversation and bailed, not before he left us with a tip; "Keep away from the windows".

After this it what your usual explore from then on, different angles, different floors, pack away and go before any of his mates take a shining to us and the contents of our bags.

Mann Island, Liverpool

2011-01-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

I always find Liverpool explores being the most memorable for me, maybe its due to me being a thieving scouse bastard from this lovely Metropolis, or maybe because the city has been undergoing some major redevelopment and as such, plenty of stuff has popped up.

Regardless, Mann Island had been a goal of mine for some time ever since it was hit up way back by some of the Northwests finest, Gone and Agour. Tonight, the timing seemed right however the weather was far from it. There is nothing I hate more than bailing up flights of stairs in the pissing down rain and gale force winds, with a crew assembled, we done just that.

After a pretty eventful day landing us in Wigan x2, Lancaster and Preston...myself and Gone headed to Liverpool with Millhouse and Sho chilling in the car behind, after a check of a known site and a look around the City,Mann Island was on the cards. Gone had previously topped this a while back and so didn't bother taking any photos. I have to admit, it's not some of my best work but with the conditions in mind, I'm not arsed....it was fucking cold.

Megatron, Sheffield

2011-01-19T17:34:00.000-08:00

Located next to Sheffield Train Station, this has been on my list since I first took a trip down it's sister Optimus Prime and what a whore she was! The day didn't start very well when I realised my waders were lying neatly next to the front door and not in my hand like they should have been, this being the case; Flo Selecta seemed to have been alright with only a slight case of 'walking-boot-fail'.

The big test now was how I'd cope with the waist deep water of Megatron. Arriving back at the train station after bouncing round Sheffield on another Pikey filled explore, Gone wadered up between a bus stop and a disappointing closed Co-Op, while myself on the other hand simply put on some boots and rolled my jeans up praying i'd come out with feeling left in my legs (I did....just.)

We waited for the right moment when traffic was at a minimum and no-one was looking over the into the water (BTP included), when the time was perfect-ish we climbed over with athletic precision and sprinted down to the safety of the culvert.

Headtorches on and backup torches out (the best being saved to light up 'the beast') we made our way through rubble, fast currents, open spaces and sudden rises of water level, after 30 minutes we were closing in, we could see a glimpse of daylight/sunset and there she was. We left our bags in the spider operated cloak room on a dry patch of rocks and made our way into the water...set up our cameras and tripods and lighted the place up in various ways with the water now completely swallowing my jeans and being at waist level.

The obligatory people shot in the water was taken in turn and after shaking our bags for any potential stowaways, we made good time in making our way back, stopping occasionally for some more shots of the arches/graff.

When we were happy and drained-out, were packed away and emerged under the cover of darkness...de-wadered and with a swift change of socks and shoes, we bailed to the train station to find that our Manchester train back was already at Platform 8. I guarantee those in the station were not expecting 2 lads to run full pelt to the train, one of which looked like he'd sat there and pissed his pants 5 minutes prior.

Edit: It probably wasn't our more clever idea to venture into Megatron just after it had stopped raining, the water levels reflected this...however we were there and a £14 return was not going to waste.

Train Discos for.the.win.

Captain Birdseye's Flo Selecta, Derby

2011-01-19T12:27:00.000-08:00

I read about this drain a while back but at the time I was limited to exploring the Northwest and so no more though was given. Located within a public park in Derby, it's a good walk from the train station and on a time schedule.. it's quite a feat to accomplish. With 45 minutes upon arrival at the Park to find access and do what we came to do, we wasted no time and were in with no problems.

Before we departed from Manchester, I arrived at Gone's place around 8:10am to only just realise that for a draining trip, I had forgotten my waders...no wonder I was able to have that Lucozade Sport and Quavers with the use of 2 hands so easy. The only solution we could come to, was for Gone to lend me some top form walking boots... This did the trick as it kept my Vans dry for between explores and before we knew it, we were bashing our way to Derby (Involving a swift telling off through by the Train Operator.)

This little beaut was discovered by Yaz and Little Mike a few years ago and parts of its function is to perform as an overflow for the Markeaton Brook, the only feature I was interested in however was the split from the Tunnel and with such low water present, I came off fairly dry even without any Waders.

"The UK's answer to Confluence."

Mersey Tunnel, Liverpool

2011-01-15T16:13:00.000-08:00

Not really falling under the criteria of Urban Exploration, the NWEX meet still gave a good opportunity to put names to faces, even if I was suffering from a severe case of a Hangover and Sleep Deprivation. Without going into the history of the place, which to be honest is only a short Wikipedia search away, its fair to say the Queensway tunnel is pretty huge with alot of unused areas. this was mentioned by the SS Guards leading the 'tour'. If anything other than photographs came out of this experience, it was the knowledge of how landmarks such as this are in very close contact with the Merseyside Police.

Metrolink, Somewhere

2011-01-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

Hit this place up early on in 2010, there's nothing like climbing with security guards from foreign lands, others with canines and a Tannoy earning their wage chasing you off the site with the sounds of Police sirens on fast approach.

Shouts to Gone / Morse / Dan Helsing.

Who would of thought one of the above would make a return trip for a quick climb with some undesirables.

DEPLOY BIG BLACK SECCAS.

Miley Tunnel, Preston

2010-12-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

With stories of a supposed 'Grey Lady' occupying the tunnel, and with a previous failed explore of the Lancaster Moor Hospital earlier in the day, we headed to Preston and thought we'd give this a try. Fairly easy explore of a long stretch of an abandoned railway line, it gave us the opportunity to light paint the shit out of it.

VW's don't park well in snow ...Landrovers do.

Salford Junction, Manchester

2010-12-25T03:18:00.000-08:00

Getting a message at 2am in this morning to get myself down to Deansgate as soon as humanly possible is not the way to start an explore, well it kind of was in this instance. With word that it was now or never as a certain access was wide open for all to see, I found myself at the mercy of Greater Manchester Public Transport, sharing my company with drunks and pre-drinking students.

Unable to reach anyone to them already making their descent, I hastily walked past a GMP van and its 2 accompanying officers, took a breath and took the plunge, step after step for which seemed like it would never end. Disappearing into darkness, not for one second did I feel at ease due to access and exit being at the mercy of luck that someone did not come across a certain hole in the ground that was certainly not meant to open.

I had no idea to what size the place was, I followed the painted directions from another era, leading me to the others who were just finishing up. With this in mind, I took no time in getting set up and doing what I came to do and with one or two scares near the end, we were home free.

Shouts to Gone/Nckt/Agour & Sneak for this one.

Red Barn Drain, Manchester

2010-12-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

Explored this one with Gone before we headed out to Wales the next day for the start of our Road Trip. With many different brickwork involved in the complicated and different sized tunnels, it gave us a great opportunity to experiment with our cameras and equipment. However, it was a cold and wet explore...even with waders involved.

A good mix of Dre's 2001: The Chronic and The Fugee's is essential draining music.

Cheers for returning, Jimmy.

Optimus Prime, Manchester

2010-12-02T15:08:00.000-08:00

Not much can be said about this place that already hasn't, except this time we explored it with Morse. After finding the good route in had been compromised, with a little help from Gone, we made do with the crap that had piled up in order to make our entrance and gave me an excellent chance to dust off my waders before i headed into the Cathedral Arches, good times...

Kinmel Hall, North Wales

2010-11-30T17:13:00.000-08:00

It's not good when you wake up to the sound of someone singing outside the room you're holed up in, especially when you're sleeping in another person's mansion. However...with 3 beds, a fully working sink and electricity, who are we to complain?

Sick explore and a hilarious start to the Wales Roadtrip.

Shouts to Gone, Appo and Rookie.

Duke of Lancaster, North Wales

2010-11-28T15:39:00.000-08:00

Having heard many tales of the people who guard this beauty with accessories such as baseball bats, it was something to be wary of as we set down the pitch black lane leading to the once sea-bearing Duke of Lancaster.

I had always imagined this place to be on top but nothing could prepare me for how we set about exploring the ship. After what seemed like an infinity of infiltration and sheer courage, we were all up and in one piece. My next top priority was to take the best possible photographs I could without alarming the 'security', this proved to be ISO 1600 \ F 4.6.

Once satisfied with what we had taken, we spared no time in packing all our kit away and making the return journey back onto solid ground, all the while exposing ourselves to sub-zero temperatures.

Certainly one that I won't forget any time soon and possibly the highlight of our Wales road trip, The Duke of Lancaster certainly did not disappoint.

History on the place can be found here or here

Cathedral Arches, Manchester

2010-11-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

One of the finest explores I've done to date. A sort of 'right of passage', being one of a handful who had yet to challenge the River Irwell on access to the Arches, the time had finally came. With Gone and Morse patiently waiting all day for me to make the return trip from Liverpool and pick up my camera gear, I made my way to Gone's place where the 2 already there waiting for me. After a short revisit to Optimus Prime, proving to be an excellent opportunity to dust off my waders, we were gearing up for our descent into the Arches and after a few heart in mouth moments, we were in.

Once all 3 of us were in, the first stop for my was the Gentleman's Toilet's i had seen documented so many times before. With all too familiar names, written in the dirt; 'Sneak '08, Morse, Appo...' I knew that no matter how I took my photographs, none would come out unique.

Taken from Wikipedia; "The Victoria Arches were a series of arches built in the embankment of the River Irwell in Manchester. They served as business premises, landing stages for Steam packet riverboats, and also as World War II air-raid shelters. They were accessed from wooden staircases which descended from Victoria Street."

"Regular flooding of the river resulted in the closure of the steam-packet services in the early 20th century, and the arches were used for general storage. In World War II the arches were converted for use as air raid shelters. The arches are now bricked up and inaccessible; the staircases were removed in the latter part of the 20th century."

A major one off the list, big shouts to Gone and Morse, at the time this was done, there was no 'easy' route in.

Green Quarter, Manchester

2010-11-19T10:34:00.000-08:00

Got a call from Gone earlier in the day telling me him and NickUK were up for some exploring if i fancied it. After the last few attempts of exploring in Manchester were very eventful to say the least, I thought i'd give it another go.

After meeting up with the two lads, we were debating what places there were to do, that we haven't really done before. After a long walk around the majority of the City Centre, we set our sites on the Britton House apartment building of the Green Quarter complex.

The ladders leading upto this rooftop defeated me once before the summer, because to be completely honest, they don't feel as though they're a permanent feature of the building and feel as though they'll fall off at any minute. With this in mind however, the three of us continued from the lower rooftop to the main rooftop, enjoying the views of Manchester once more.

On our descent, we had jokingly mentioned how funny it would be if someone had closed the door we had entered the roof through, when we got back down onto the lower roof, it wasn't so funny when someone had actually closed the door. After spending a good hour on the rooftop, phoning everyone we could think of, we finally managed to get someone to open the door, however this was not before we had a good laugh at the couple experimenting in some odd sexual activities next door.

Jimmy...

LNWR Goods Depot, Stockport

2010-11-06T14:24:00.001-07:00

Housed in the old LNWR Goods Depot in Stockport, is quite an usual find, a V12 1938 Lagonda left to decay on the top floor..what a shame, having saw some shots of the old boy on forums who need no introduction, we were in the area and thought i'd be worth a look. Not really your average explore when you have to ask several guys if you can go in after you had been called back from walking straight into the warehouse/garage.

St Thomas' Hospital, Stockport

2010-11-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

Met up with Gone at his and then made our way to Stockport via Virgin's Pendolino service to meet up with Sho and explore St Thomas' Hospital. The place is pretty much a write off apart from 2 little gems hidden in the corner of the site, the chapel and the morgue. Security was on site and made their presence pretty well known with a visible cabin and dog kennels, still no match for us however.

Caution: Watch out for grasses.

Dodge Hill Air Raid Shelter, Stockport

2010-10-31T06:52:00.000-07:00

An old WWII Air Raid Shelter in Stockport built out of the sandstone on which the city stands, not really alot more to say apart from its massive, you could easily get lost if you forgot what way you came, its a tight squeeze to get in and the beds are mostly in top condition over 60 years later!

Shouts to Gone and Sho...

The Opera House, Deansgate

2010-10-30T07:02:00.000-07:00

Cheeky little climb to the rooftop and this place provided some nicely light views of Deansgate and the surrounding area. With 5-0 X5's zooming past and secca's pulling up every few minutes it was still one to keep quiet on, a hard task to accomplish when you have a cough like you've been honking on a crackpipe.

Jean McFarlane Building, Manchester

2010-10-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

One of the more successful explores of the week, hit this shit up after the smaller Kilburn Building. Access was easy, too easy but allowed for some decent views of the usual landmarks from a different part of the city, managing to capture the Ramada Hotel, City Tower, Origin Cranes to name a few all in one shot...

Jimmy...

Kilburn Building, Manchester

2010-10-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

From visiting the place on an Computer Science open day back in '08 I always thought that it was an unusual building, fast forward to September '10 and I noticed a way up onto the roof during one of my many trips along Oxford Road.

After rambling on about this place on pretty much every explore, we were this end of town and thought why not hit it up for the sake of it.

Jimmy.

Ramada Hotel, Manchester

2010-10-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Tales of this place put me off for a long while, with stories of arrests amongst other things, it was still on my list of 'to do's' however. After meeting up with Gone, Millhouse and Ojay for some high stuff frolicking we were strolling past when we noticed the guard at the door wander through a set of double doors. After bouncing over the road and to the other side, we were swiftly through the doors and into the lifts heading upwards.

Bank of Scotland, Manchester

2010-10-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

At what was first thought to be just a ladder leading to a single platform, we were all quite surprised to find that it infact led to a whole new rooftop...with one major drawback, ontop of a live bank. This being said, we took our photos, chilled and were on our way.

Athenaeum, Manchester

2010-10-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

The night was drawing to an end, what was supposedly a quick explore in town with Ojay and Millhouse soon turned out to take most of the night, however what we had accomplished during these few hours made it well worth the sleep deprivation I experienced the following morning.

A quick climb up the scaffolding on the exterior of the building and we were on the rooftop, the only interest we all seemed to have was the dome on the corner of the building.

Eagle Insurance Building, Manchester

2010-10-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

The plan was to get a killer shot next to/ontop of the Eagle statute in the centre of this buildings roof, but once up there I thought it was out of the question, climb itself was sketchy. Gone however was determined, even with being successful I played it safe and chilled on the main rooftop.

Vanson Raivan Crane, Manchester

2010-10-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

Climbed this one solo after aload of abuse from Rookie, Appo and Gone back in June. This time, it was windy as fuck. The crane was swaying like I've never saw before and the chances of getting a shot of the city centre in focus was completely out of the window...

Brraap.

Thistle Hotel Revisit, Manchester

2010-10-11T07:54:00.001-07:00

Hit this place up the other day during the daytime after a successful day of rooftopping. The security on this place was appalling as I've pointed out before, it's even worse during the night. So to acknowledge this, here's some little beauties...

Shouts to Ojay, Millhouse and Gone

Kendle Milne & Co, Manchester

2010-10-08T16:54:00.000-07:00

Pretty chilled rooftop however as always I seemed to be paranoid that at any moment we'd be fucked ...hopefully not literally by the department stores security. That didn't happen and even with the most ridiculous of access routes (did someone say windows?) we were away only to be told off for taking shots of underwear in the store.

Opening in 1832 etc etc It's now under the name of House of Fraser and a sketchy entrance to the roof is what they weren't expecting, especially not from some of the North-West's best.

Jimmy...

Thistle Hotel, Manchester

2010-10-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

The Thistle Hotel stands not far from Piccadilly Gardens, At the moment its under refurbishment but at one time was three separate Cotton Warehouses designed by Architect Edward Walters, none of this probably means a thing to you but all we know is that with their level of security....which is none existent, they were asking for it.

GNRC Goods Warehouse, Manchester

2010-10-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

One off the list, The Great Northern Railway Company's Goods Warehouse. Not the safest of rooftops as its a mix between sheer glass and thin metal that you're trusting your life with. Gone also had a chance to have a nice little play with his new Fisheye Converter.

Great Northern Tower, Manchester

2010-10-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

The main priority was to get on the main roof however this wasn't to be, with return visits leading to the same result. We finally settled on the lower of the 3 rooftops, sat and chilled, catching some scenery from the surrounding area and what happens in the apartment block opposite.

Budge Culvert, Manchester

2010-10-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

"What you doing lads?"
"Just getting into this river...we're off, see you later"

A late start but pure comedy none the less, with arguments with car park security and big time wader fail (to the others, the adhesive didn't work!). With Budge being a short but sweet culvert just off Oxford Road you can imagine it to be packed full of student-esque shite, you aren't wrong.

Yum.

HSBC / Midland Bank, Manchester

2010-10-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

The holy grail of Manchester, even with Gone close to tears with how they have treated it, it's certainly going up on the list as one of my favourite explores to date.

Built between 1933-1935 and is currently a Grade II listed building. The Brainchild of Sir Edwin Lutyens is constructed of Portland Stone around a steel frame and is built in an Art-Deco style. Originally the buildings purpose was to operate as Midland Bank and was so until the 90's when HSBC took over, rumour has it Jamie Oliver is about to ruin it; the evidence is already there inside.

M.E.N Arena, Manchester

2010-10-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

Nothing like chilling on a roof that feels as though you're soon to go through it. It's an Arena...and it's in Manchester.

carparks/train stations/hobo's/planes.

26 Cross Street, Manchester

2010-10-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

Not the best idea when you shut a fire door that only opens from the outside or throw yourself through tiny windows head first when someone takes an interest an watches you from another rooftop.

However nothing can beat bouncing from rooftop to rooftop.

http://www.26crossstreet.co.uk/

Wolffkran 500B Tower Crane, Manchester

2010-09-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

At 222ft, this was a mac-daddy crane for me. The climb however was made x10 worse when the heaven's opened halfway up our ascent of the beast, this didn't deter us one bit though and we smashed ladder after ladder until we were chilling in the cab, got to comment on the guys cleanliness, brilliant crane and stunning views.

It's official now, Jimmy and Gone are back in Manchester.

Turning the Place Over, Liverpool

2010-09-08T07:47:00.000-07:00

....again.

Done this building back in June, link, I was in the City Centre with Whiteyeti and thought it'd be an easy one to pop his rooftopping cherry.

I won't bother with the purpose of the building as it's been covered in my other post, but here's a video of the structure in the day time. youtube.

Found it to be a much better night than last time and with a proper DSLR this time, found it to be a nice little chilled night.

However it did take forever to get Whiteyeti to even the first fence and alot of persuasion to continue after that.

Fucked about a bit on London Road with an Aldi Trolley to end the night.

Whittingham Mental Hospital, Goosnargh

2010-08-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

Having explored this place long after the pikey's had gotten hold of it, it was safe to say the place had seen better days. With the whole ground floor secured with metal shutters there was no other option but to pull off some SAS shit to gain entry, keeping lookout for any onsite security.

Considering the size of the place, there is little evidence left that it was once a mental asylum. The sheer size of the compound was underestimated by both me and Gone and we had to keep a track of time of how long we were spending in certain areas to make sure we managed to see the majority of the place in time, and without a map we got lost on more than one occasion.

After climbing, crawling, jumping and walking through countless corridors, buildings and rooms we decided we had seen enough and called it a day.

Holiday Inn, Preston

2010-08-16T16:23:00.001-07:00

Located in the Fulwood area of Preston, Lancashire and according to their website the “Holiday Inn Preston is a modern and stylish hotel, providing a great stay for business and for leisure.” Since the 1970’s when the Central Lancashire New Town was proposed, many developments have taken place within the city, including establishing a new area of the city ‘East Preston’ which would house many businesses ranging from the Lancashire Evening Post (LEP), Asda and the Royal Mail to the likes of the 3 star Holiday Inn.

After a long visit to the Whittingham Asylum, we ended up in Preston to check out some other sites, and after a quick recce and a trip to the Colonel, we ended up on the roof of the Holiday Inn, their own fault really, who puts a reception on the first floor anyway?

University of Liverpool Research Facility / Shepherd Construction Site, Liverpool

2010-08-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

The site was not the top priority of the night, however the views that the Crane would give on a hill over Liverpool City Centre certainly was. After a brief moment of hesitation we found ourselves on site dodging a large number of onsite security, both dome camera's and onsite patrols, and before we knew it we were making shapes bolting up the fully exposed exterior staircase of the structure alongside the crane as we had noticed that our top priority was locked halfway up.

None the less, what we had managed to climb provided an equally amazing view of the city and we quickly threw our camera's and tripods out our backs and started snapping. For me it was a brief one, I'd forgotten to charge my battery beforehand and ended up flat. Comedy exits also ensued.

"Shepherd Construction have been awarded the £16.5 million contract to build a new research facility for the University of Liverpool, It is due to be completed by October 2011.

The 5950m squared facility will be able to accommodate 600 researchers using the site to research into infectious diseases, cancer and digestive diseases. Various heat saving features will be inputted into the facility along with using recycled materials and sustainable timber."

The last 2 before the panoramic are Gone's shots.

'DOGS ON SITE.' Bullshit.

Commerce House, Chester

2010-08-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

"I have a strong feeling we're going to get arrested tonight"

For us, luck was on our side and this didn't happen and we accomplished near enough everything we had planned for our urbex invasion of Chester. Having all met up at separate times and one McDonalds later, we assembled into the car and were soon on our way to Chester, choosing to take the 'scenic route'.

Parking up near the Travel Lodge, we made our way through crowds of people approximately the same age as ourselves, who probably had the better idea of getting drunk rather than avoiding Police and being where they shouldn't.

We finally arrived at our first explore, The Commerce House. With some major skills and team work we were finally in, testing doors for alarms and with keeping torch light to a minimum made our way floor by floor to the roof hatch, which seemed all too easy and within a minute was taking in views of Chester and the local Police force dealing with altercations in the surrounding Pubs and Clubs.

Liebherr Litronic/Watkin Jones Crane, Chester

2010-08-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

Nothing like Craning on a Saturday night, it's not like it's the Police's busiest time to be out and about. With some ninja-type agility we were easily onto the construction site, surprisingly minus any security of any kind, cameras or otherwise. With this, we split into 2 groups on our ascent up the 90-foot structure.

The sights were what you would expect 90ft above the ground, with not a good running track of taking night shots with my 'Rebel beast', this continued up the Crane with only a handful managing to come to fruition, unfortunately a shot down the Jib was not included in these.Standing at approximately 90-ft, on a chilled and surprisingly quiet Construction site, the Liebherr Litronic/Watkin Jones Crane has to be my most enjoyable Crane experience to date, taking the toll to 2 1/2 for those who know of my Sarah Tower experience.

The place was so chilled, we decided to hang around for a bit on the site itself, after pissing about with long exposures of the passing traffic we ended up constructing ourselves with some make-shift cribs seen in the distance.

Queens Park Suspension Bridge, Chester

2010-08-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

The final explore of our Chester invasion, and although being a small one, provided with many views of the early morning reflecting of the river's water. However some 'phat' Spiders inhabit the bridge, putting those found underground in drains to shame. Obviously Suspension Bridge spiders own.

Now onto some of the historical and structural information on the place. The Queen's Park Suspension Bridge connects 'The Groves' with the affluent Queen's Park area of Chester.The suspension bridge is also the only footbridge to cross the River Dee in Chester apart from the footbridge attached to the railway bridge. It was originally built in 1852 and according to Thomas Hughes, author of The Stranger's Handbook to Chester, "It was 'a pretty object in the landscape. Though of such spider-like construction, its capabilities and strength have been fully tested". Whatever that means.

Shortly following was a quick trip to Wales and 4 guys asleep in a VW. R.I.P Rabbit.

G-ANCF Bristol Britannia Series 305 / G-JMAC BAE Jetstream 41, Liverpool

2010-07-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

After seeing a few other people heading down to Speke, I thought with nothing else to do I may as well follow suit, nothing like seeing some planes being restored.

Martins Bank Building, Liverpool

2010-07-28T11:17:00.001-07:00

Had my eye on this place for a while and after a failed attempt back in June, I managed to make it this time onto the lower roof, however manoeuvrability was some-what limited with most of the offices being in use.

A return explore is definitely on the cards to make it onto the main roof.

Caisson No 2, East Float Dock, Birkenhead

2010-07-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

"In engineering, a caisson is a retaining, watertight structure used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair of ships."

In this case, the Caisson No 2 is situated alongside the Sarsia Fisheries Research Vessel in the East Float Dock in Birkenhead. It is also the sister structure of the Caisson No 1 seen in the Bramley-Moore Dock, the other side of the River Mersey in Liverpool.

Sarsia Fisheries Research Vessel, Birkenhead

2010-07-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

Launched in 1953 as a fisheries research vessel for the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom by Philip and Son of Dartmouth. The Sarsia remained in the service of the Marine Biological Association up until 1979. The history of the vessel is not well known past this date apart from that it was laid up in its current position on November 16th, 1996 and sank at it's berth in 1998. Currently, it is located, semi-submerged, in the East Float Dock in Birkenhead.

Double Trouble Storm Drain, Runcorn

2010-07-19T17:22:00.001-07:00

After an unfortunate turn of events with Gone's new VW and it's feud with the battery, we weren't able to follow Plan A in Speke and so thoughts then turned to a bit of draining and what better time to dust of the Lidl beasts. Lucky for us we had our waders packed and ready for use for situations such as these.

Made up of several chambers ranging in size in between RCP's of multiple lengths and sizes, Double Trouble is home to some magnificent concrete staircases with a regular flow of water. Some are set out within the concrete features of the drain, others are encased within the brickwork further along allowing for the waters flow to continue to the outfall with ease.

One of the two outfalls.

RCP from a concrete chamber.
Staircase towards a stooping RCP.

I was very surprised at how clean this place was considering its location, haha joke, and after roughly an hour underground, we were satisfied with our pictures and popped a spider-filled manhole to call it a day.

Cheers for Looking.

Bunker Storm Drain, Warrington

2010-07-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

Built towards the end of the 1980's, Bunker spans an approximate 3.5 miles of concrete RCP ranging in height, Bunker is home to multiple access points along its route as well as various chambers within its system. By far the cleanest drain I've seen but a return explore is needed.

After meeting up with Reddood outside Warrington Central. We set about finding the best access after being told various access points by different people. After finally deciding on one that was less 'ontop' we made our descent.

New with the whole manual focusing so only a few came out well.

Warrington Guardian

2010-07-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

A month or so ago, myself and Gone visited Legh Street Public Baths in Warrington, blog post here, and posted our pictures on forums such as 28 Days Later and Nwex. While away in Scotland, Gone phoned me up to tell me we had made it into the local paper. Winner.

Joseph Heap and Sons Rice Mill, Liverpool

2010-06-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

Not alot of recent information can on the mill, however from sources dated from back in 2006, it has been under discussion to be transformed into 2 new luxury apartment blocks containing a total of 355 residential apartments, although there is absolutely no evidence of this at all.

Joseph Heap founded a rice mill in Liverpool in either 1778 or 1780. Up until the 1880's, the firm owned it's own ships known as the Diamond H line after their house flag and sailed between Liverpool and Australia via the Ragoon and the West Indies.

Visited with Reddood, from records within the offices and on documents located around the mill, the place closed it's doors in 2005 and judging by the amount of decay that has occurred in this short period of time, nature has not be kind to it. With the amount of cobwebs and spiders present along with the faeces left by birds and rats, many still in residence, this is certainly one place not to be taken lightly, you'll leave it feeling like a schizophrenic.

Album.

Turning the Place Over, Liverpool

2010-06-27T02:54:00.000-07:00

Designed by the part sculptor, part installation artist and part musician Richard Wilson, in 2007 Wilson installed 'Turning the Place Over' in a former Yates's Wine Lodge building within Liverpool City Centre. The art feature comprises of an 8-metre diameter disc from the walls and windows of the building. These were attached to a motor which literally turns this section of the building inside out in a cycle lasting just over two minutes.

Although access to the inside of the building for a closer look at the mechanics was not possible the rooftop itself allowed for some fantastic views of the surrounding area. However, a Saturday night is the worst time to explore in the City Centre with the amount of people about and the amount of Police patrolling.

For those who are unfamiliar with it, here's a video showing it in action. Youtube.

Album.

Cheers for looking, Jimmy.

Britannia Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool

2010-06-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

After meeting up with Gone and Appo outside the Adelphi in Liverpool, we decided why not try our luck at the place itself. Access was by far the easiest I've came across in a while with our choice of how to get onto the roof, a first for me. My first rooftopping explore in Liverpool and I'm glad it was this one, a chilled explore to kick start the day.

The Britannia Adelphi Hotel is a 4 star hotel located on Ranelagh Place in the Liverpool City Centre and is the largest hotel in the city.

The Adelphi Hotel originally was opened on the same site in 1826 by the owner of the time, James Radley. In 1912, Arthur Towle acquired and rebuilt the Adelphi. At its present time, the building currently occupies 402 bedrooms and en-suite bedrooms, and also features 2 restaurants, 2 bars and a pizzeria.

Album.

Waterloo Tunnel/Victoria Tunnel, Liverpool

2010-06-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

After meeting up with Appo, Gone and Rookie, we headed around Liverpool City Centre looking for some rooftops to hit up, with one success already in the bag for the day others were not so successful. After around 3-4 failed attempts, we decided we would go about what we initially set off to do, Waterloo tunnel, which is situated just off Pall Mall and is in the Dock area.

Running at 862 metres long and opening in 1849, the western end of the tunnel was Waterloo Goods Railway Station. After 1895 this was extended further to the Liverpool Riverside Railway Station. On the tunnels eastern side, this led to Edge Hill Railway Station, with a short cutting between both tunnels with a width of 4 tracks. This cutting is situated between Byrom Street and Fontenoy Street and connects the Waterloo Tunnel and Victoria Tunnel.

Both tunnels ceased to be used and were closed on the 19th November 1972, and although they are effectively one long tunnel from Edge Hill to Liverpool Waterloo Dock. Both tunnels was given separate names due to the nature of the trains they involved. One tunnel was used for cable hauled trains whilst the other would be used for locomotive hauled trains.

full album.

Warrington Public Baths, Warrington

2010-06-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

After a short visit to RAF croft earlier on in the day, myself and Gone wandered around Warrington for other places to do. Garnetts was on the list, but never got done. We noticed the baths whilst walking through the shopping centre, this did get done however it took over an hour to finally find access.

The 120 year old Victorian designed building was built for £2000 in 1866 and finally shut its doors on the 1st August 2003. One of its many reasons for its closure was the state of the rooftops over 3 of the 4 swimming pools, One of these being Olympic Size. The other swimming pools are still rather large in size with the exception of the children's pool which I would say covers only half the size of the adult pools.

full album.

RAF Croft, Warrington

2010-06-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

Explored with Reddood, Gone, Lazlo and another.

RAF Croft was originally built as a Naval Training Centre called HMS Gosling. Commissioned on the 1st July 1942 they had facilities for the training of Air Fitters, Air Mechanics, Radio Mechanics, and Royal Marine Trainee's.

The base was used by the RAF from 1941 up until the mid 50s when it became tenanted by the USAF as a processing station for Burtonwood airbase, being the largest USAF base in the country until it closed, Airmen could fly in to Burtonwood then make there way over to croft, here they had resident buildings to stay with your family, a running track, playing field and even a theatre. When the airmen's stay was up they would go back to Burtonwood and continue with their working duties.

full album.

Hanson Aggregates, Liverpool

2010-06-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

They produce aggregates (crushed rock, sand and gravel), ready-mixed and precast concrete, asphalt and cement-related materials and a range of building products including concrete pipes, concrete pavers, tiles and clay bricks.

for full album.

Nelson Swing Bridge and Control Room, Liverpool

2010-06-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

After having spent the day exploring Collingwood Dock and Hanson Aggregates, the Nelson Swing Bridge was next on my list. This is located next to Hanson Aggregates and is obviously used, or once used, for transport of either heavy machinery or vehicles due to the reinforced materials used in its creation. The swing bridge also acts as one point of access to the Nelson Dock and leads to the Clock Tower located next to the River Mersey.

I was unable to find any information regarding this specific bridge, however a swing bridge is normally a movable bridge that lends its primary structural support to a vertical locating pin and support ring, both of which were visible in regards to this specific swing bridge.

Pedestrian walkway.
Underneath.
2 half's make a full one.
Vertical locating pin.

Panoramic.
full album.

Collingwood Dock, Liverpool

2010-06-15T15:25:00.001-07:00

Quick history lesson about the dock...

Collingwood Dock is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall, Liverpool and connects to both Stanley Dock in the east and Salisbury Dock to the west. Having a bascule road bridge connecting Collingwood Dock and Stanley Dock together, Collingwood is the blander of the two as there is not as much information on this dock as it's sister however, I do not doubt for one moment that they are both equally rich in the history of the Liverpool Dockland, having opened in 1848.

Now lying disused, Collingwood Dock is in great condition none the less with views of the City Centre and the Victoria 6 Face Clock Tower in sight, this is a perfect visit on a hot summer's afternoon.

Headed into town today without the intention of doing any particular explore, rooftop or 2 was in mind but eventually I happened to end up in the docks, so to continue where I left off...

Sunday Mirrah 2k3
Chilling facing the Clock Tower, target No.1 .....and also Hanson Aggregates
Lonesome sleeper:
HDR shot of the Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse (Heritage Market), this place is on my list in the near future.
Panoo;
As always, heres the rest of the shots from today, Clicky

Overhead Railway Tunnel/Terminus, Dingle Tunnel, Liverpool

2010-06-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

Visited by myself.

The Dingle Railway Station was an underground station connected to the once vibrant Liverpool Overhead Railway (LOR) and is situated on the south end of Park Road in Dingle.

The Liverpool Overhead Railway was the world's first electrically operated overhead railway as the nature of goods being traded in and around the dock area was dangerously at risk if a steam alternative was to be used on the LOR.

The extension of the the Liverpool Overhead Railway was opened on the 21st December 1896 and served as the southern terminus within the railway line. There were at one stage, plans to allow the LOR further access inland when funds became available, thus making the Dingle Terminus into a through station, however this was not to come to fruition.

The Dingle Terminus was the only station situated below ground on the LOR line and trains accessed the station through a half a mile tunnel that was bored from the cliff face at Herculaneum Dock leading through to Park Road, where now the tunnel is in partially in use as a garage called 'Roscoe Engineering'.

As with the rest of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, the Dingle Terminus closed permanently on the 30th December 1956.

First are some images I have taken from Google to give a look the Dingle Tunnel entrance before and after the removal of the LOR.

In all it's glory;
As it stood afterwards, and still does;
An old 'Liverpool Corporation Environmental Health and Protection Department' Van

An old 1960's/1970's Morris Minor/Morris Traveller found still in excellent condition.
In-cutting within the tunnel for workers to avoid train-related injuries during working hours.
Equipment from the old Terminus is still clearly on show with the addition of old train bumpers still being present.
Having seen more cars than I could photograph, I experimented with the lighting after a while.
And again, this time however with an old banker's Jaguar with the light of the tunnel end in sight;
Paper shot;

More equipment relating to the LOR still present;
Retro-Graffiti;
Original Sleeper;
Mysterious stairs stored at the end of the tunnel;
Panoramic of the end of the tunnel looking towards the half-mile stretch;
PANORAMIC

Prince's Landing Stage, Liverpool

2010-06-10T10:12:00.001-07:00

This was a kind of solo with wh13y3t1 opting to wait for me on safer grounds.

The Prince's Landing Stage was created in 1850. At the time, the stage was much bigger than it currently stands today with operation lasting up until the 1950's but as with the decline of the city within Liverpool in the 1960's, the majority of the stage was either removed or allowed to decay and fall down.

All that is left now is a small, rotting section of the former landing stage with the ticket booth still standing, just.

At first, I thought this explore would be easy as I had done this once before back in March, at the time armed only with my 2mp camera phone and I thought that no-one would bother noticing anyone checking out an abandoned landing stage, this wasn't the case.

During my brief time here, I was faced with a Police Boat passing and before I had the chance to venture further down onto the lower floors, security in all it's high-vis glory put an abrupt end to my explore, informing me that I was not allowed on there as it was a dangerous structure and that "one's fell in already".

I am however, determined to head back to this place in the next week to venture onto the lower floors.

Jesse Hartley's Warehouse, Stanley Dock, Liverpool

2010-06-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

Visited with wh13y3t1.

This being my first proper explore in Liverpool, it didn't disappoint one bit. I could have spent hours more in this place, there was so much to see but as time was pressing on, we kept our stay to a mere 3 hours.

Stanley Dock, situated on the River Mersey is situated in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool running alongside the Dock Road and is connected to both the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the Collingwood Dock.

Designed by Jesse Hartley in 1848, the original warehouses share similarities to those seen in the Albert Dock and are grade II listed buildings. Part of the northern warehouse was demolished due to damage sustained in an air raid during the Second World War.

In 2006, work commenced on a £20 million extension of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, thus providing a further 1.4 miles of navigable waterway leading towards the newly developed Pier Head.

As of March 2007, plans have been unveiled for the warehouse to be redeveloped into office space and 930 apartments, these plans include digging out the centre of the tobacco warehouse in order to make room for a garden filled courtyard.

An interesting fact is that the warehouse hosted part of the Most Haunted Live! Liverpool investigation in January 2009.

During today's explore, we ventured into the Jesse Hartley's Warehouse as well as alongside the Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse, home to the Heritage Market as well as the Accumulator/Hydraulics Tower and the Grain Silo.

Lift shaft on the ground floor;

External overlooking the Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse.
Jimmy_Halfway and wh13y3t1;
Some light reading.

Dock and Sunblest;
External;
For the full album click here

White Tomkins & Courage Grain Silo, Stanley Dock, Liverpool

2010-06-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

The White Tomkins and Courage Grain Silo is one of 4 structures situated within the Stanley Dock area of Liverpool. White Tomkins & Courage Ltd manufactured a number of products ranging from tapioca, maize and flaked rice to other forms of ingredients.

With the raw materials coming from exotic countries, storage facilities such as the Silo seen in Stanley Dock were constructed in Docks around the country, with the Stanley Dock Silo responsible for the housing of Grain.

Not a very stable structure to say the least, and the broken metal clanging had us thinking we were not along. After a short but fearful trek up the stairs we were on the roof, which has certainly seen better days, however the views make up for it.

External again taken from a second visit.

Sights of the City Centre, Radio City Tower and the Anglican Cathedral.From the roof, Stanley Dock, more specifically the Jesse Hartley's Warehouse.
wh13y3t1 repping.
Stairz.

External from the Tobacco Warehouse.

Accumulator/Hydraulics Tower, Stanley Dock Liverpool

2010-06-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

External taken from a second visit.
Windmill
Rooftop Turret.
Facing towards the Clock Tower, River Mersey and Birkenhead.
Spiral Stairwell in the Accumulator/Hydraulics Tower

Miles Platting Transco Gasometer, Manchester

2010-06-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

Good times with Gone. Most likely being my last explore in Manchester until after the summer, after having a quick chat with him about the possibility of a Gasometer, we we're out and on our way towards Ancoats.

When we finally arrived at the location, we checked around the area for the easiest and least detectable way in. Once in major skills were needed to infiltrate the site, however before we knew it we were making our way up shady ladder after shady ladder until we were nearing the top.

It didn't help that it was pouring down with rain and that both me and Gone were drenched before we even started our climb. I also started to notice midway through the climb that with each floor, the size of the platform was getting smaller, not something I was very happy about.
Built in 1869, this Gasometer, also known as a Gasholder was built at the time, on the new Bradford Gasworks site situated north of the Ancoats area within Greater Manchester. I couldn't really find any more information past this point.

All in all, it was worth soldiering through the rain and enduring the climb to chill at the very top, and finally looking down at the view. However, security needs to up its game.

view towards the city centre from the 5th platform;
gasometer/gasholder;
final ladder leading the to the top of the gasometer;
view of the city centre from the top;
ground shot;

Picture quality is not at it's best due to the rain, I couldn't keep it off the lens no matter how much I wiped the camera.

Victoria Square, Manchester

2010-06-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

Visited with Gone, Rookie and Appo.

After a successful climb of the crane beforehand, we tackled the scaffolding of this building. The others made a quick job of it, scaling floor after floor, I was too busy arseing about up and down the floors, and by the time I got to the top, it was time to leave thanks to an annoying police helicopter.

Nice rooftop with some beautiful dated features all around the building, and unlike me I was enjoying the climb of the scaffolding this time. All in all, end to an awesome night.

Here's some pics of the external I took once back on the ground, unfortunately none where taken any higher.

View from the development site 'The Old Mill';

Note: I hate people who stare out of windows for a good half hour.

Excelsior Printing and Bookbinding Works, Manchester

2010-06-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

Visited with Appo.

This place has been on my list of things to do for a while now, having asked Appo the night before if he fancied it some time this week I got a call the next morning at 9 a.m asking if i was still up for it, too right I was.

So by 10.15 we had infiltrated the place and set about exploring this gigantic building. There was so much stuff to look at and the place was huge to explore. The place did however maintain an eerie atmosphere as though you were not the only people in the place.

Information from Appo;

The Excelsior Printing and Bookbinding Works was originally opened on the Monday 4th July 1870 and the owner at the time was Mr John Heywood. At the time when it was opened this place could take on upto 750 employees and was one of the largest of it kind.

Not much history can be found for this epic place but Clare Tooling Systems occupied the building around the late 80's early 90's. many of the tools used have been left behind aswell as alot of paperwork office equipment and files.

Slightly Picture heavy, but there was so much to see in this place.

For the full album click here

Vanson Raivan Crane, Manchester

2010-06-04T06:20:00.000-07:00

Solo.

Having hit up City Gate earlier in the night, we walked to the other end of Manchester to the development hit up the day before. Here I was presented with the option to semi-redeem myself for lack of completing Sarah Tower Crane (getting only 125ft out of the 250ft of which the crane stood at).

Having wanted to stand at the top of a crane for a while now, after a brief period of hesitation, I set about climbing the 80ft crane consisting of vertical ladders on my own and I have to say it feels like such an accomplishment sitting at the top of one of these things, even if it is only 80ft tall.

City Gate 2 Apartments, Manchester

2010-06-04T05:48:00.000-07:00

Visited with Gone, Rookie and Appo.

After hitting up City Gate 2 Apartments earlier in the day with Appo, we learned to find that this was not the one completed by Gone and Rookie. Instead they had conquered the 12 storey apartment block previously overlooking us.

With this in mind and Gone's suggestion to return later in the day/night, we set out back to the complex and within in minutes Gone had worked his magic and we were climbing the ladder and onto the roof.

With spectacular views from the south of Manchester, I was very happy to be here. Again this visit was kept quite short as we were sure the guy sitting in his penthouse apartment had noticed 4 of Manchester's finest citizens chilling next to his place.

City Gate 3 Apartments, Manchester

2010-06-04T05:31:00.000-07:00

Visited with Appo.

After hitting up the Excelsior Printing and Book Binding Works, walking back me and Appo decided to try some rooftops that we had saw Rookie and Gone master a few days back. Moho was a success for Appo, with me waiting at the door giving assistance when needed and City Gate 3 Apartments was a success when we scaled the fencing up onto the roof.

Such a hot day and such a nice roof to chill on, got to remember however that the 12 storey City Gate 2 Apartments was overlooking us so this visit was short and sweet.

Some information on the place;

City Gate by Bellway is made up of three buildings, each with it's own individual design and height.Located in the Castlefields area of Manchester, City Gate provides 149 luxurious apartments, spanning 6 floors, overlooking the Hulme roundabout.

Having already won the 2005 Specialists in Construction Awards, this apartment building is not one to miss. The view from the roof is something else, allowing for the opportunity to view Manchester from the south, something I do not have the opportunity to do very often.

Appo and the Hilton Hotel:
Deansgate:

View from the ground:

Panoramic:

I would suggest if you are taking a trip past this place, to stop and pay its rooftop a little visit as you will not be disappointed, especially on a hot summers day.

The Old Mill Development, Manchester

2010-06-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

Visited with Gone and Rookie.

Now I'm not 100% certain that is the correct name for this development, although if I'm wrong, I'm sure Gone or Rookie will tell me.

After walking around Manchester City Centre for a while and having a few failed attempts of places, we decided to take a look at this place. It has already been hit up before by the guys back in May when they conquered the crane running alongside the structure. After scaling some scaffolding a few floors, walking on makeshift flooring and balancing on beams we were in.

As for history or information of the development, this is hard to come by and I therefore I can't find any information to post.

Nice little explore on a lovely day, recommended if your passing, although make sure those on the apartments opposite don't see you.

Chips Apartments, Manchester

2010-06-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

Visited once by myself and again later on with Gone.

The Chips building is on a narrow site bounded by canals, being situated alongside the Rochdale Canal. To build it, an old hospital and mill were demolished. It's a concrete frame clad with colourful composite panels declaring the glory of canals and rivers: Mersey, Ashton, Rochdale. There are nine storeys of 142 apartments with a commendable mix of affordability and price.

Another eyesore courtesy of Urban Splash!

Lower 6th Floor roof;

Main Chips Rooftop with views of MCR;

HDR Panoramic;

Phillips Park Cemetery Anglican Mortuary Chapel, Manchester

2010-06-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Visited this one by myself.

Information borrowed from Rookie

Philips Park Cemetery was Manchester’s first municipal public cemetery when it opened in 1866, though work was in fact not completed on its grounds and structures until the following year. Manchester Corporation recruited unemployed cotton mill workers to carry out the laying out and planting work.
The site was divided into separate areas for different denominations, The Church of England, Dissenters, or non-conformists and Roman Catholics. Each portion had its own mortuary chapel, all built in the gothic revival style but to different designs. A fourth mortuary chapel and burial area, for Jews, was later added. Of the four mortuary chapels, only the Anglican chapel now remains.

Macintosh Mill, Manchester

2010-06-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

Done this one solo.

Information borrowed from Gone:

In the early 1800’s Charles Macintosh the found of the well known waterproof coat/garment invented a process of softening India rubber and opened up a small establishment in Glasgow producing waterproof cloth.

In 1824 a deal was set in motion between Macintosh and Birleys an owner of many large cotton mills to build a mill to produce the rubber although the mill was built so that if the producing of rubber was wrong or inadequate then the mill could be converted easily to a cotton mill.
Macintosh’s waterproof cloth was not very fashionable in its early days although a large market existed within the armed forces and the merchant navy.

Macintosh died in 1843 and the process was continued by Thomas Hancock who then patented vulcanisation which was originally discovered by Charles Goodyear in America.

The works was taken over by the Dunlop Company in 1923 and the manufacture of rubber products continued at the site until early 2000. Although the original mill was destroyed in 1940 as a result of the WW2 bombing raids over Manchester.

The first 3 shots I took back after the Hacienda in the evening.

Stubbs Mill, Manchester

2010-06-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Visited with Gone.

Rookie told me about this place and how good it was so I decided to give a shot. I had done a few explores earlier on in the day on my own and for this one I met up with Gone outside of Chips Apartments.

Formerly a machine works making and assembling machinery for the surrounding cotton mills including those within Ancoats, this Mill offered quite alot on the upper floors, the same cannot be said for the lower sections as the wallpaper was awesome and it had been turned into what looked like office space. With a little comical trip through a claustrophobic's nightmare of a gap with the use of a ladder to gain access to the tower, not without the presence of bird shit.

One of me in action making an exit, borrowed from Gone

Helter Skelter, Manchester

2010-05-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

Visited with Rookie and Appo.

Hit this place a while back but only had a compact at the time so the photo's didn't come out at all. This time armed with my Fuji, we took a trip back and got some new shots although this time we didn't hang around for as long and didn't go as far.

With Rookie losing his torch to the currents and with the torrential downpour we wadered through on the way out, this was one of the more memorable little explores.

Ancoats Hospital and Dispensary, Manchester

2010-05-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

Visited this one by myself.

It was the hottest day in the year so far and what better to do than to do some exploring. Armed with my camera and other gear i set about heading up to Ancoats on the outskirts of the Manchester City Centre.

Ancoats Hospital, situated on the outskirts of the the city of Manchester in Ancoats, was built in Victorian England in 1873 to serve the highly populated districts within Manchester. The site, located between Old Mill Street and the Ashton Canal is currently being gutted and redeveloped under 'Urban Splash' with the intent of bringing this historic building into the 21st century whilst keeping its significance to the history of the area.

Enjoy.

Media City Blog

2010-05-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

Blogged. Unofficial Media City Blog has wrote an article on our explore of the Media Enterprise Centre at Media City in Salford Quays. Link.

The Media Enterprise Centre, Media City, Manchester

2010-05-20T21:03:00.001-07:00

Visited with Gone, Rookie, Appo and Agour.

Words cannot describe this place, My first thoughts when we reached Salford Quays was that I was spending the night in the cells but not before swallowing an SD card! This luckily didn't happen. Top marks have to be awarded to all of the crew for their ninja-like skills, after what seemed to be an eternity we were rooftopping it, feeling relieved but quickly reminding myself that the other half of the job was yet to come, we took our shots and spent some time before embarking on the return trip.

Security Guards are highly overrated as this lot didn't know what hit them, black-clad crew bailing past their window was probably not on their days agenda.

I have never ran so much in my life knowing what is at stake, good time, good shots, excellent rush!

What I can only describe as the highlight of my short career in urban exploration, I present the photographs I took on this epic night;

Supercharger B, Manchester

2010-05-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

Visited with Gone, Rookie and Appo.

This drain definitely put my fear of spiders to the test, after entering through the infall from Gore Brook we made our way through Supercharger B with explores into the the joining RCP, through concrete chambers filled with spiders and processors.

Later on towards the end, within the large bricked chamber, we entered through an RCP after mimicking arachnids with our stomach crawls, we found ourselves wadering through in Gone's words "only 10% piss". With not much to see down the sewer, we headed back but not before I had the chance to fall on my arse getting the whole of my left side soaked in river water.

With laughs and piss-takes, this is on the list of my favourite explores. Thanks to Gone and Appo for creeping me out with 'spiders' on their tripods chasing after me, ending up in me again falling flat on my arse for a second and third time, resulting in me being drenched all the way home.

Awesome day.

Supercharger A, Manchester

2010-05-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

Again visited this place with Gone, Rookie and Appo.

After leaving Sidedraught and wadering through the open water with some kids following us and getting some stares, we arrived at Supercharger A. This drain was quite small compared to the others but this didn't deter the spiders from all chilling on the ceiling.

In all of the 3 drains visited this day, after buying a new tripod earlier in the day I was able to put this to the test. Even though we spent most of the day underground, we were still able to make the most of the sun by chilling in our waders next to a very active trainline producing some laughs.

Sidedraught, Manchester

2010-05-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

Visited with Gone, Rookie and Appo.

After a short bus journey into the 'ghetto' we wadered up looking very suspicious near a playground in a park. Not wanting to hang around for the locals to find us, we entered through a low gap in the drains entrance.

Sidedraught in my opinion, is a very good drain to explore with several routes to explore before leading to its exit, although short this drain offers alot to photograph its not however a good idea to make a stupid mistake of not checking what megapixel your camera is set to, 2 megapixel is shit!