Archive for the ‘Infrastructure/construction’ Category
Prohobohemia 3.1 – Belgium, July 2010
Prohobohemia seems to be the adopted name of this alcohol fueled, 3,400 mile trip and it initially seemed to ring true. At the point of writing, we’d slept in 4 different locations and they were all widely different. A train depot in Belgium, a steelworks in Luxembourg, a sports centre in Germany and a Soviet base deeper east.
Prohobo
Novotel – June 2010
Having realised that June was a very quiet month for my nocturnal expeditions, I guess the last night of the month was the best one to top up the explore count with. Originally meeting for a couple of beers and some of the finest grub mr JD Wetherspoon could muster, we discussed our recent lack of high stuff as we walked past the local Novotel, realising that maybe we could get up on the roof there.
A night in The ‘Don – May 2010
We just can’t stop ourselves, we keep going back: Every time we visit London we pass a crane on the A4 at Brentford, a big red bastard we can see for miles before. We practically go underneath it, but we never pull off and stop. Always other things to do, places to see.
In the Gasometer – April 2010
I’d looked at Gasometers since I was a kid, always fascinated by the scale of them, what they were, how they worked, and why they were built. Never quite got it, you see. Since long before I started exploring, I’d always fancied going up one, and on a night where we scoped out several other sites, this was the only one we ended up doing.
(This is why I still shoot Film)
London Highs – March 2010
Beneath London, above London, in London. Get it all here. We approached the capital with vague intentions of hitting something high. We discussed various sites we didn’t even go near, took the piss out of Nebba’s noddy car and upset taxi drivers by driving erratically. First site was the delightful Temple Court, a medium sized block close to Bank. In fact, it’s right next to New Court. Easy as pie, comical almost. Only downside was the presence of the wind, which knocked Nebba’s tripod over before he’d even opened his bag.
Home Fires Burning, 2007-2010
The desire of explorers to conquer local derelict sites is always strong. Like a dog pisses on walls to mark its territory, explorers become expert at their local sites to gain early credibility. Reading isn’t exactly a haven of exploration. Aside from Station Hill’s 80s urban wonders, there is little else in Reading aside from an outdoor swimming pool and some office blocks. Construction comes and goes, there is the usual crap such as nursing homes and hostels, but the bottom line is, Reading doesn’t really draw explorers in.
Winch and Speed Do T’north – Dec 2008
Following the success of the Achtung Baby summer Eurotrip, myself and Speed decided to visit the north with our remaining annual leave, early in December. We planned a rough route taking in Inverkip Powerstation, some North Eastern Asylums, as well as the 28DL Manchester Meet. We intended to go with a full car, but we don’t have any friends. Boo hoo.
Of course the idea of ‘Doing’ the north of England is a daft one. Things change, and you could never see everything an area had to offer in a long weekend. We cherry picked the sites we wanted to see, and didn’t quite ‘do’ the north… Always time for a return trip…
Climb Cranes – Feb 2010
We turned up at Heron looking to climb the big tower. They had action on the ground floor and delivery lorries parked up waiting. We gave it an hour, stuffing our faces with McDonalds and then decided to fill our boots with something else. So through a hole in the wall we went, into another building site we’d not seen before.
Kinky Paris – Feb 2010
Les Carrieres de Paris, the Catacombs, l’ossuaire municipal , the Catas, whatever you want to call them, they’ve been on the scene for years. Take the official tour along with the other quarter of a million others who do each year, see the bones, hear the story, emerge into the sunlight after an hour to shoot to le Louvre or la Tour Eiffel. Catas done, tick the box, au revoir.
Aside from the official tour, there are around 180km of catacombs that are not open to the public. Guarded by a group of ‘Cataflics’, the punishment for getting caught is a €60 fine and a slap on the wrist. Hence, the Cataphiles exist. A clandestine group of urban cavers, explorers, artists, graffers, partygoers and adventurers, the weekend sees the catas become a bustling hive of activity.
