Urban Exploring

My Images Stolen!!

2009-08-10T15:36:00.004+01:00

In late june I came across a website "newmanchesterwalks.com" while searching on google for information on underground Manchester. I then discovered that they had stolen 2 images from my website (one showing Manchester Cathedral Steps and the other showing Salford Junction Canal Underground), cropped off the watermark and used them to advertise a walk about underground Manchester. I have since taken them to the small claims court for stealing my images as the owner of the company is very rude and refuses to accept responsibility for his actions.

A few people that I know have actually been on the tours they offer and all it actually involves is walking on the streets with a poorly informed guide telling you what may or may not be under your feet while showing you images stolen from urban explorers websites.

If they want images of underground Manchester like mine I suggest they do a lot of research, grow some balls and get their hands dirty.

Power Station Huncoat 06/2009

2009-06-02T19:57:00.002+01:00

This power station lies derelict in Huncoat; this is the last explore I have been on so far. There were a few interesting pieces of graffiti and a fashion photographer we bumped into + his female models. Great place but most of it has been demolished now.

NWEX Meet - Victoria Baths Manchester 10/2008

2008-10-12T19:53:00.000+01:00

Not really an explore, just an organized trip to an old swimming baths that is currently being restored to its former glory. Met lots of great people and enjoyed taking snaps of this fantastic place.

Salford Junction Canal Underground 07/2008

2008-07-30T19:44:00.001+01:00

This site is located under the Great Northern and was originally an old canal which was drained to make way for air raid shelters during the Second World War. After the success of our over underground Manchester trip we decided to head towards the great northern warehouse a few weeks later only for a reccee but we managed to get lucky. Access was through a tiny hatch on a underground car park and down a 30 foot ladder. After spending around 45mins under here we decided to head back to ground level as our lack of preparation and lack of torch batteries got the better of us. Sadly our return trips never ended up with another success due to the proximity of the entry to security guards and security cameras.

Manchester Cathedral Steps Video 07/2008

2008-07-30T07:58:00.000+01:00

On our second trip to this fantastic underground site, fellow explorer and friend Mike filmed the entire adventure from start to finish on his Sony camcorder with night vision.

Cathedral Steps Underground Manchester 07/2008

2008-07-22T19:31:00.002+01:00

After Months of planning and research with dave and some lads from Stockport, we managed to find out how to get in this epic place, the date was set for a visit. After a sleepless night due to the excitement and a long day of waiting we arrived at the entry point, 30 seconds later 8 people are in the pitch black and untouched site. What an amazing feeling it was to be in a location that 1000s of people walk over every day on one of Manchester's main streets without realising what lies under their feet. This has to be the best 2-3 hours of my life and I was totally gutted when I had to leave, although I did return a second time and a good friend of mine (Mike) recorded it on his night vision camcorder (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roZ-0_3EMMY).

USAF Burtonwood Warrington 07/2008

2008-07-21T19:41:00.000+01:00

After a work training course in Aintree I passed these on the M62 motorway, I returned a few days later but sadly i couldn't get into these ex USA hangers.

Fine Worsteds Mill Huddersfield 07/2008

2008-07-06T19:24:00.000+01:00

Me and dave met up with Gimbulate from nwex.co.uk and headed to Huddersfield after an unsuccessful trip to a derelict swimming pool. Once we gained entry we found this place in a nice and un-chaved condition most likely due to the nice area it was located in. Gimbulate kindly let me use his 8mm sigma fisheye lens in exchange for my 17-40L, this let me get pretty creative with the uber wide angle of view.

Hartford Mill Oldham 06/2008

2008-06-11T19:15:00.000+01:00

This was the first new site that I visited with Dave. After driving around Oldham for hours trying to find this site we discovered it was located in the roughest area I had ever seen. Un-deterred by the local deviants we proceeded inside to discover a huge empty mill although it did have an interesting basement

A New Exploring Buddy 05/2008

2008-05-01T19:09:00.000+01:00

After a few months off from exploring I happened to get talking to a mate from work Dave about my adventures. He was very interested so i decided to take him for a trip to Blackburn Royal to see how he liked the hobby. After a successful trip I took dave on many of the sites I had already visited such as Whittingham, Brinksway shelter and many more.

I also discovered an awesome new internet forum/community called Northwest Exploration now know as nwex.co.uk.

I was also armed with nicer lenses a new camera body and a lot more photographic skill!!!

United Utilities Audenshaw 03/2008

2008-03-02T18:49:00.000Z

My last explore for a few months, and sadly it turned out to be a big empty building with very few interesting features other than its sheer size.

Loxford Tower Mancheter 02/2008

2008-02-10T18:43:00.001Z

After driving past this old university everyday on the way to work, I decided it was time for a visit after a long break from exploring over X-mas. Entry was easy although finding the roof proved harder than we expected. We had a fantastic few hours just sat on the roof watching the traffic go by on Mancunian Way on a cool sunday evening.

A Few Minor Trips 12/2007

2007-12-12T18:52:00.000Z

Short on both time and cash at this time of year we just did a few visits to some relatively un-interesting sites.

Henbury school Macclesfield 11/2007

2007-11-20T18:38:00.001Z

To date this is the only school I have ever explored as they dont really interest me. The only thing I found exciting about this trip was the hiding from the security guards inside after they spotted us. After they give up trying to find us they buggered off so we were free to roam around and get a couple of snaps.

West Pennine Hotel Oldham 11/2007

2007-11-10T17:35:00.000Z

We headed down to Oldham after hearing that an old hotel we had tried previously had all of its power cut off which in turn cut of the security alarm. After a tricky climb over a sheer 8 foot fence and a very dodgy climb inside the lift shaft we were inside. We were amazed at how many rooms this place had and how good condition they were all in.

Barnes Hospital Cheadle 11/2007

2007-11-04T13:11:00.001Z

Having not yet visited anywhere that was "haunted" we decided on a trip to Barnes Hospital just off the M60 motorway. After discovering a lack of security guards we decided on a front door entry. Once inside I was blown away by the stunning Victorian brick architecture giving this place its haunted look. After seeing a strange orb floating down one of the hallways and a room which somehow managed to turn all our torches and cameras off we proceeded to the clock tower only to see a guy in a high viz jacket shining a torch up at us, at this point we started to make a swift exit only to bump into a security guard. Thankfully he was a nice guy who had a laugh with us especially after telling him of our strange finding and "ghosts", he just sent us on our way.

Bleach Works Cheadle 11/2007

2007-11-04T08:24:00.001Z

On the way to Barnes hospital we decided to have a quick trip to this derelict bleach works. One of the most derelict building I have ever seen with its roof now located on the floor in some section. Not really much to see to be honest.

Air Raid Tunnels Wigan 11/2007

2007-11-01T16:42:00.001Z

After the success of the Stockport tunnels we headed over to Wigan's Meznes Park. We spent almost an hour trying to find this place, which happened to be located near a college. Once inside after a small ladder climb we were in and sadly we were very disappointed, as compared to Stockport this place was tiny and had very few features.

Fletchers Paper Mill Mossley 09/2007

2007-09-30T18:29:00.002+01:00

I wasn't very excited about this trip as most mills are just square, big and empty or so I thought. Once inside this mammoth of a place I discovered that mills can indeed be exciting. Never before had I been to a place which had so many strange sounds and old equipment lying around. After spending many hours wandering around we stumbled across some pristine looking offices with working computers, internet access and even a server room which was hidden in a room behind a broom cupboard (which to this day i dont think any other explorers have managed to find).

Brinksway Air Raid Shelters Stockport 09/2007

2007-09-17T17:28:00.001+01:00

One of 3 shelters within the Stockport area, Brinksway is the largest and the one with the most tricky entry. After squeezing through the tiny entrance and seeing the array of long red coloured sandstone tunnels, we were overwhelmed at the sheer size of this place and got lost a few times.

Blackburn Royal Infirmary 08/2007

2007-08-30T17:59:00.001+01:00

I heard from a friend that a hospital had closed down in Blackburn so we decided a trip needed to be done. After an "interesting" entrance we spent many hours inside wandering around taking pictures of this place in pristine condition being carful to dodge the many patrolling security guards. However we heard a strange sound in a small room on one of the upper floors, intrigued I put my ear to the closed door and it sounded like a radio, how odd someone must of left a TV or radio on inside, we entered cautiously only to discover a figure stood up and absolutely lifeless. Think it was maybe a manikin dressed as a security guard we jokingly taped it on the shoulder only to discover it was actually a real life security guard sleeping stood up. As we were standing their gobsmacked he woke up and immediately began radioing for backup, we were in the shit big time so we ran like hell while being pursued and after a few wrong turn and near misses we made it outside to the car. Thank god

Underground Arches Bolton 08/2007

2007-08-20T18:19:00.000+01:00

After a mooch along the culverts of the river Croal, we found a bridge behind steel gate which led to a series of underground arches, which to this day i have no idea what they were used for. Strangely we found some x-mas decorations hung up in certain places.

Philips Park Hall Manchester 08/07

2007-08-13T18:58:00.000+01:00

This old night club was on my to do list for a while, It proved to have a tricky entrance through a hatch on the roof which we needed to drop down onto some kind of water boiler. This place was very trashed with the bar completely smashed and the stairs wrecked from people trying to open the safe which assumed involved it being rolled down the stairs many times. Although upstairs we managed to find intact photo frames with some pictures of previous parties.

Withington Hospital Manchester 08/2007

2007-08-11T17:46:00.000+01:00

Digging deeper into the reports within the exploring community specifically hospitals after our awesome trips to Whittingham we found out about this place. Sadly when we arrived we found it was located opposite a brand spanking new police station, however undeterred with hopped over a few 6 foot fences and had no difficulty finding a way in. Once inside we found an wreck of a hospital with missing floors, missing walls and smack needles everywhere. This is the only place i have visited to date which i honestly thought i would bump into a smack head as there was DIY bed, empty cans and even clothes everywhere. Luckily however we only bumped into 2 other urban explorers who we had a good chat to and managed to extract a few leads.

Whittingham Metal Asylum Goosnargh 08/2007

2007-08-05T17:19:00.000+01:00

A the time this was one of the most popular destinations for urban explorers as in its day it was the largest mental asylum in Europe with many 1000s of patients. Armed with my new digital SLR camera a canon 400d i decided it was time for a visit. It took a few trips to get some photos as we had one or two "incidents" with the patrolling security guards. This has to be my favorite hospital ever with awesome long corridors which really help you get a fell for how big this place really is.

Premier Travel Inn rooftop 07/2007

2007-07-27T17:08:00.000+01:00

In the few months since my previous adventure i had learned from the community that urban exploring wasn't limited to just old building but people also explored live sites such as tall building in Manchester city centre. We set off to Manchester and arrived at our destination, the Premier Travel Inn armed with a plan. Less than 2 minuets later we were on the roof, wow what a rush. After spending over an hour 26 floors up we decided to head back down, 2 minuets later we were on the way back home in the car.

ROC Bunker Bolton 02/2007

2007-02-23T17:01:00.000Z

From the newly discovered urbex community I found out that during the cold war a group called Royal Observation Corp had over 500 small bunkers around the country that were manned 24/7 to report on any nuclear strikes that the soviets launched at us, Thankfully non ever were!!!.

I also discovered that there was a pristine example of one of these underground posts located only 2 miles from my house which was abandoned in the mid 90s, so we fashioned a torliff key to open the hatch from aluminum and off we went

Fall Birch Mental Hospital Bolton 01/2007

2007-01-01T16:49:00.000Z

Almost 1 year after the bunker explore in Goosnargh, a friend of mine stumbled upon an internet forum which had 1000s of reports in which explorers had gone into unusual derelict places and taken photos. From this point i discovered the urban-exploration community / hobby as well as an old derelict mental health hospital located right on my door step which i hadnt even known existed. So off me and my mate went armed with our new cameras (fuji 6500)

ROTOR Bunker Goosnargh 01/2006

2006-01-07T19:59:00.000Z

After our "accidental" visit to the filter block bunker in Goosnargh we managed to stumble across this derelict, decaying bunker by accident as well on the way home. Located next to a vets (yes an animal doctor) we decided to drive around the back and get out for a quick look. Sadly the bunker was sealed up tight, the main entrance being sealed with a huge thick steel door so i only managed to get some external shots. On another visit we bumped into a workman that was on site who told us this place was being converted into an "alarm monitoring station linked to Manchester", although he wouldn't let us inside. On a more recent visit to this bunker i have discovered that it has been completely overhauled and modernized although its true purpose is not fully known.

ROTOR Bunker (Filter Block) Goosnargh 01/2006

2006-01-07T17:36:00.000Z

My first ever explore, driving through the village of goosnargh with 2 friends and we spotted a sunken structure, we were very interested so we decided to drive back home to bolton to grab a couple of tourches and a camera, so i grabed my good old fuji point and shoot and snapped away.