London Undergound

For a while now Mr Loops has ridden to work most days for weeks. Each time passing a small insignificant door flapping in the wind, never knowing what was behind it. Well one day his nuts just dropped like a tonne of concrete, he plucked the courage and ventured forth, stepping out into a untold narnia of the underground.

To his dismay there was no silky sheets of white snow covering the ground. No mystical birds flying in the air, and most of all no Mr tumness to show him the way. Instead he was greeted by the humid waft of fumes and the fragrant smell of oil. To me and you however this magical land has a more common name. The London Underground.

The LU has been one of those places where every explorer holds their own opinion. "No chance", "Only way is with a tour" and most common of all "Youll be shot". Hmm well after two trips to this worryingly easy part of the network im starting to wonder. If the rest is like this then boy is london screwed.

I paid two trips to this small section the network, and one thing i have to state is, if your somehow killed by one of these trains then your a complete idiot!. While sitting in the tunnel waiting for one to pass the first thing you feel is the vacuum of air rush past you. A full minute before the train even goes past!. That coupled with the incredible noise and eventually lights is a good warning that a train is coming.

We were lucky with the first trip as the track lights had been left on so photography was easy although getting the correct angle so you get the train and tunnel without loosing your camera and arm proved to be a little troubling. Im not going to ramble on too much as the pictures can explain it faster then i can with words.

Just a quick check, have i been shot..... Nope, all good.

Its Snowing On The Hill

Probably the biggest mission we have ever undertaken. Countless attempts, lots of research into possibilites around 6 trips and countless cheeky bonuses we were in!

Snow Hill opened on the 1st of August 1874 and was built in the snow hill tunnel which linked the LC&DR to the Metropolitan railway south of Farringdon. The station was next to the Holburn Viaduct station and was subsequently renamed the Holborn Viaduct Low Level in 1912. The station finally closed on the 1st of June 1916 as a result of passenger trains through the tunnel being stopped.

Our journey began on a rainy day in April. Our plans had been finalized and we knew the score. I met Dsankt at a nearby bus stop and we headed over to join with JD and Stoop. We chatted for a while, aligning our karma for the up coming assault.

Once everything was set and we had no regret we headed to our "drop off point". With the ropes secured and the equipment checked stoop headed down first. Follow by myself. I didn't get to far before my mind screamed at me "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING". I froze. I had become very aware of how high i was. My body refused to let me go but i was now too far down to go back up so after a few words with JD and DS i slowly but surely got my confidence back, bit by bit. and edged my way to the floor.

We ducked into a side room and waiting for the others to descend. Once rejoined we headed across to the salt store (see Smithfields Salt in Excess) and formulated a plan of action.

Back over the fence we headed towards Farringdon. A little way up the track split and two service tracks headed alongside, finally stopping at a bricked up tunnel. Wonder what it led too. We took a few pictures, ducking into cover each time trains screamed past and then headed up to the station itself.

While the station is stripped bare of all its original features there are a bits that have been left, a sign or two and the stop lights for the tunnels but not a lot else. Again we took a selection of pictures before deciding wed done enough and headed back up to the car.

Took an incredible amount of time and planning but we finally got it done!.

Goldie Looking Chain?, No!.

Littered throughout the city of London, under the hustle and bustle of the street life, twisting and diving around the tube tunnels, the drains and sewers is the nervous system of London. Long tunnels of all shapes and sizes carrying water, gas, power and broadband.

It was a nice evening and i was strolling around Hyde Park with Loops in search of a memorial. when i got a phone call for JD who was also in London checking a few drains with Dsankt and Stoop. "Where are you?" i asked. "Underground", baffled as to how he had reception i probed deeper.

"In a drain?"
"No, well not exactly"
"hmm, is it brick"
"Yes"

I pondered for a while trying to think what else could be explorable in London apart from drains and trains.

"Not the subways?"
"....Yes"

I instantly high tailed it to the nearest tube station and headed over to meet them. Since they had been exploring for a while they were on the way out when we arrived. After a quick chat myself and loops headed down.

GLC Subway

After a small ladder we touched down in a lit brick tunnel with broadband cables running overhead and water pipes running along the floor. This was too good to be true, it felt like a drain, it looked like a drain but it had lights and there was no dirty water to trudge through. This must be what heaven is like.

We started taking photos before heading to the north. A few small alcoves connected from the side seemingly leading nowhere before we reached the end, a brick wall. The cables and pipes seemed to be fed through smaller holes and continued onwards but for us this was it.

Hmm lets try the south shall we. Same result, a brick wall. Ahh well it was good while it lasted. We were about to head out when loops pulled a rotten piece of cardboard from behind a pipe, as he turned it around his face lit up like the sun. Printed on the back was a detailed map for six other pipe subways in the surrounding area. The hunt was on!.

North Thames Gas Subway - West Branch

Easily the largest of the subways, in fact quite monstrous in size. This felt like the Paris comm tunnels, they just seemed to go on forever it was amazing. We visited this subway in two trips, as it needed it.

It was another cold night, but we had a mission to undertake. We arrived at our entrance and promptly headed down into the warmth of london's underbelly. We entered into a tunnel which was rather small in comparison to the others, but we persevered and headed west. Before long we came to a set of several junctions leading to small rooms housing emergency exits. We found that they cant be opened from the underneath. So basically they are the most useless emergency exits known to man.

We stuck it out with the original tunnel which began to open up and broaden. The amount of pipes and cables just seemed to increase as we went further along before we came to another large junction with a large concrete box shape tunnel heading south. We had a quick look and after the first corner we were met with a tunnel that just seemed to go on forever.

We decided to leave it for another time and headed back along the main path. This ended up turning into a real slug of a walk. Stupidly the ladders heading out were placed in the middle of the tunnel so a serious amount of squeezing was in order to progress further. Eventually we came to the end of the tunnel with a ladder leading up into a small room with what looked to be a disused drain running off half way up, now filled with concrete.

After a quick rest and a few pictures we headed back to our entrance and back to the car. We would return three days later.

North Thames Gas Subway - East Branch

Once more we ventured down into the Thames Gas Subways, this time heading east. Sadly it turned out to be the same situation as the GLC subways, the tunnel just kept going on and on until it finally reached a dead end.

We headed back and checked out some of the side tunnels, a few leaded directly over an underground station which was fun as there was a cold blast of air rushing through the subways every time a train went past. Unfortunately access down into the underground tunnels was not possible. We continued on before coming to a junction with the west branch. Damn. Oh well we had one more tunnel to check.

We backtracked to the main junction along the west branch to the tunnel that seemed to have no end. Sure enough it did have an end. A metal wall which connects to the Thames river. I wasn't to sure what the purpose of this tunnel was as it wasn't carrying any cables and didn't seem to go anywhere. Odd.

After exhausting all the other nooks and crannies we headed back topside.

We visited several other section and regional subways but those tales are for another time.

"You stay where you are, no sudden movements!"

Police and security can sometimes be a little bit, well, over the top. Stereotypically theres always a similar pair in every car. Like good cop, bad cop you have the one who wants to be friendly, jokes around with you and tries to find common ground. Then on the other hand you have the guy who has watched far to many American police movies and thinks hes just pulled over the baddest ninja terrorists, who if he takes his eyes off for one seconds will "gat" him down.

Alas there doing there job i guess, but a word of warning. "Relentless" gives you glazed eyes and makes you look like your on drugs. So expect the rubber glove treatment if your happen to come across your local bobby.

Enough Blabber, two random pics for y'all. (open full view)

International Drain Meet 08

Not so many nights ago 15 of the biggest and baddest hard hitters of the Drainorz community descended on the town of London for one night of suits, top hats, monocles, balloons and of course booze!. Cheers to all who showed up to make it an epic night we wont forget!.

Cementarium

For a long time now Shoreham cement has been on the husk of a planning permission commitee. Shorehams owners planned to redevelop the site and eventually reopen it sometime in 2010. Now i dont know anything about the cement industry, but from what ive seen from some of the sites in london that take up less then 1/8th of shoreham's size and still perform the same task, surley it would be easier and cheaper just to demolish the entire site and build a new one on top of it?.

In the 2-3 years its been since my last visit the site has become even worse. Every single walkway, platform, support and machine is covered in rust, presumably beyond repair, but the owners must have a plan, right?.

I had some free time in the week so i headed down with Site (AKA Garyface). As we arrived we were disappointed to find the site was crawling with builders. Crap. Now i had been driving for an hour to get here so i wasn't ready to give up without a fight. We headed over the fence and down towards the nearest building, just as a door opened and a worker came out right in front of us. We dived into a nearby bush and prayed we hadn't been seen. We stayed down for a few minutes until the worker drove off round the corner in his truck.

We made a break for the building again and ran straight into a room with no way out. Damn, try the next one?, blocked, next one?, also blocked. As we entered the next room we heard the rumbling of a truck coming towards us so with nowhere else to go we squeezed through a letterbox sized window covered in broken glass and finally arrived in the main turbine room.

Now it might be because i have done some bigger sites since i last visited Shoreham, but my memories of the huge concrete supports holding up the large metal pipes were instantly shattered. They seemed a hell of a lot smaller at only 2 stories high. Nevertheless we were here now so we started taking pictures.

One of the main reasons i like Shoreham is the graffiti that litters the site. Of course you still have your crap tags done by prepubescent kids trying to impress their local crew. But apart from that the rest have clearly had a lot of time and effort put into them, you could even call some of them "art".

By now the workers had left for the day and we had been walking around the dusty buildings for almost 5 hours and i was about ready to go so we headed back out and over the fence.

As always a good trip at Shore ham but i cant help wonder how its future will pan out.

Landmark

The last time we found ourselves in London was for Broadgate. Sadly Landmark is nowhere near as high or impressive but its something to pass the time i suppose. Current build height for Tower A is 33 floors while its brother B is following at 29. We ended up climbing both towers and each gave different views of the town not possible from the other.

Access was simple, well simple ish. We hopped a fence which had three levels of foundations the other side. A quick slip from tank saw him millimeters away from skewering his head on a iron pole, luckily he managed to escape with just a few scrapes and bruises.

We headed down and towards the first tower. Hmm. The views from the very top were, well, sh**. Large Advertisement hoarding meant unless you had a three meter tripod handy you weren't going to see anything. Rubbish. Luckily i spied a half decent vantage point. A sketchy support pillar with the dodgyiest ladders known to man, They weren't even bolted on. We were lucky in the fact it was just turning dark so we had the perfect clear blue skies before the nasty black or yellow skies descended upon us. A few snaps of Canary Wharf and we headed to Tower B which we thought we be better.

After the long climb down and back up again i was disappointed to find out, it wasn't much better. Although this Tower had no hoarding in the way it now had another problem. The other tower. It wasn't so much of a problem with cropped or portrait shots but landscapes had to be centered left to exclude the building from frame.

We had a little mooch to the roof and the cranes then decided to call it a day and get a Mcflurry. But oh no, McDonald's had "No Ice cream", any cheeseburgers? "Nope". What a service!.

Chambers

We accidentally found this site whilst looking for something else. Luck, what a crazy mistress she is.

I met up with Dsankt and we headed in and down the ladder towards the lift. We came into a series of wooden walkways leading to a large cold door marked 5. The rooms and passageways reminded me of American gold mines. As we ventured further into the maze we came across several relics of the buildings previous use. Meat carriages, shipping boxes and several cargo trolleys.

The further we went in the more damaged and dangerous the building became. With some of the ceilings completely collapsed in and several walls warping out. We eventually came to several large vaults containing lots of cabinets.

Upon closer inspection the cabinets contained, piles of old cheque books, sales documents and official wax stamp plates. We continued exploring all the remaining nooks and crannies looking for possible ways down to the rail station before heading back to the stairs and headed up.

Each floor above the basement level was stripped and the higher you got the more rotten the floors and walls became. We managed to get as high as level 4, only to be stopped due to the fact the stairways to levels 5 and 6 had collapsed and now sat in a twisted wreck in front of us.

After exhausting all further passageways we took a few pictures and headed back to our entrance

Sniff, Sniff

Whats thats smell?, can it be?, London Baby!

The Finale

The final stage on our 'Epic' 08 road trip. After climbing the Newport Lift Bridge our adrenaline was through the roof. We certainly were not going to be getting any sleep any time soon so we headed towards the Transporter Bridge.

Built in 1911 by Sir William Arrol & Co it was designed to carry passengers and cars from the south bank in Middlesbrough to Port Clarence on the north bank. While its not the highest structure we've climbed it still boasts 850 feet (260 metres) long and 225 feet (69 metres) high and during its working lifetime it was the tallest structure of its kind in the world.

Access to the bridge can be a little tricky and can result in a very watery ending if you make any mistakes. But we soon found our way heading up onto the maintenance walkway which spans the bridge. I think we did the bridges in the wrong order at the end of the day. Although i was impressed with the Transporter bridge, after climbing the Newport lift bridge it left a lot to be desired not nearly as impressive in my mind.

Nevertheless we took some photos for good merit and after seeing the sun about the break decided it was time to end our adventure.

A trip finally worthy of the brand 'Epic'.

Lift This

I've always wanted to climb a bridge. Mainly for the views but also to take in the sheer construction wow factor that comes with it. This trip therefore started with the aim to climb bridges. Two in fact. The Newport Lifting Bridge and the Transporter Bridge located in Middlesbrough.

"Opened on the 28 February 1934 by the Duke of York , the Tees Newport Bridge spans the River Tees a short distance upriver from Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge , linking Middlesbrough with the borough of Stockton-on-Tees , England . Designed by Mott, Hay and Anderson and built by local company Dorman Long , who have also been responsible for such structures as the Tyne Bridge and Sydney Harbour Bridge , it was the first large vertical lift bridge in Britain

Constructed around twin 182ft (55m) lifting towers, the 270ft (82m) bridge span, weighing 2,700 tonnes, could be lifted by the use of two 325 H.P. electric motors at 52ft per minute to a maximum height of 120ft (37m).

In the event of motor failure a standby 450 H.P. petrol engine could be employed to move the bridge, but should both systems fail it was possible to raise or lower the span manually using a winch mechanism. It was estimated in 1963 by Mr R. Batty, long time Bridge Master at Newport Bridge, that "it would take 12 men eight hours" to complete the movement by hand"

As we drive into Middlebrough we looked at the map as the bridge should be around here somewhere we turned a corner and bang. There is was lit up in all its glory. We decided to have a quick "drive by recce" to see what access would be like. To be honest a little bit to easy. You had two options. Brave the savage external single ladder which ran along the side or climb the interior caged ladders with platforms ever two meters. It was a clear cut choice.

We parked up and within half an hour found ourselves surveying the bridge from the top!. Finally i had conquered a bridge and i have to say it was well worth it. Photography proved to be a little problematic from the top as on the ground were huge halogen blasters illuminating the bridge which caused horrible amounts of flare in the photos. Either way we spent a good hour and a half walking around the top and along the middle lift sections.

From the top we spotted our next target the Tee's Transporter Bridge. So after we had shot all we needed to we headed down and on to our second objective.

Draycott

After saying farewell to the brummies we headed to derbyshire to take a look at one of Dweebs recommendations. Draycott mine. As far as i am aware this was originally a train tunnel which had to be closed due to a cave in near the north entrance. A mining firm saw this as an opportunity and purchased the tunnel from the rail network. They then proceeded to sink audits and new faces off the side of the train tunnel and thus a new mine was formed.

Entry is totally comical and sketchy as hell but we soon found ourselves at the first audit. Down we went. Flooded, to the roof. Err. Since none of us had seen or heard of this place we wasn't too sure if this was the norm or we had made a mistake or.....A long list of questions arose.

We headed back up and further into the train tunnel. Another audit came into view, so in we went. This one was a bit better it still contained tracks, intact walls as well as a fully loaded coal truck perched perilously on a steep hill, ready to fall into the waters below at any moment.

We took a surprising amount of time photographing this junction alone and after a quick look at a watch realized almost 2 hours had gone past. Since we had to be in Middlesbrough in a few hours we high tailed it back to the car.

A further exploration has been set for a later date

Take A Chance

The first site on the Birmingham leg of our journey. While it wasn't the biggest of sizes it made up for that with detail and construction. We were looking at the old Chance Glassworks, but more importantly a smaller section many would pass up and ignore. Housed under a burnt out shell of a building is a series of passage ways and arched tunnels which used to contain some of the old kilns

The arches were extremely impressive and if this was a drain much wet pants moments would be had. We spent a while photographing the different tunnels and the old sections where melted glass had stuck to the walls before meeting up with Dweeb and Raddog in the main building for a further look.

We wanted to look at the old bunker which was under the building but the pikies had stashed a pallet of bricks over the entrance. We tried to remove them but the noise disturbed the beast and we were forced to flee post haste.

End of London

Finally some big industry again! "Stewartby London Brickworks". It feels like an eternity since i last explored anything truly expansive that wasn't an empty asylum. I saw a photographs of Stewartby a few months ago but as we all know that girls loves her photoshop so it was a tad difficult to decide whether it was worth the trip or not.

Fast forward 2 months, the trip to the north had been set and we had a day free to make plans. Stewartby?. Why not. After a quick visit to show Dsankt and Hount the wonders that is west park we exited off the M1 and down towards the village of Stewartby. What an two sided coin of a place to live. Overlooking the 4 massive chimneys and large brickwork buildings must have been a site to be seen, or on the other hand a smoky nightmare of pollution. The brickworks itself only closed down earlier this year (2008) so many of the buildings and equipment still stood as it was last left.

Access couldn't be easier its a simple case of walk in. But to be fair after walking around a thief would have trouble finding anything of value anyway. We aimed to make our way from the back of the complex by the brick stores over towards the main chimneys and soon to be found the railway goods depot.

Stewartby was a treasure chest of industry and construction from the stone catacomb style arched passages under the machines to the large belt rooms, the brickworks had something for everyone including a few trinkets for the eagle eyes adventurer.

We must have spent 4 hours of so just wandering along the raised walkways in many of the kiln and processing buildings before heading over to the railway. Now used to store cargo trains it was previously used for the export of finished brick with one of the conveyor trains rusted into place on one of the tracks.

We eventually called it a day, we still had many miles to travel to our main objective. The trip was on.

Something Fishy?

Just testing out a lens im borrow from a friend. !80 view fish. Its quite nice don't think id buy one myself though. Needs to be used with ptgui or a program like that to sought out the distortion. Anyways a picture i took with it.

Train Sleeping Hobo

Would it be fun?, hmm. I heard the idea floating around recently of "riding the iron rail". Ie jump on a goods train and see where you go. Just like in the movies.... right?

Wrecking Ball

Well well well then. When people heard demolition crews were on site at Cane Hill everyone said "it'll take years". Unfortunately for us, in the 2 weeks the firm have been on site the mortuary was demolished, the laundry as well as several other buildings and corridor's. Not only that but many of the other parts are already ready to go.

Time is really up for Cane Hill, if you want to see it id go within a month max!.

Autobots

Prime was first discovered by Userscott and Stepping lightly whilst on there quest for Manchester's underground crypts and chamber, but surprisingly enough they never really thought twice about the monster tunnel we stood in. It was always just a means to an end.

Running for roughly 1km underneath Manchester and passing straight under Victoria station prime boasts several features from days of old such as old cattle bridges and more importantly a morgue shaft. Ie where the dead cattle were loaded onto the barges after having the meat sold.

The infall is a large weir bringing the water flow down two meters before sending it along the tunnel. The only problem here is there is a large quantity of water and even the slightest bit of rain sends it into overdrive meaning crossing the flow is nigh on impossible.

We had two trips down here but sadly due to severe negligence on my part all pictures from the first trip were lost!, although i have a feeling they might surface in later years when a wayward traveler stumbles across the memory card.

But the question is now, which one is the winner?. Megatron?, or Optimus Prime?.

If the milk turns out to be sour

Manchester never ceases to amaze me. Just when you think youve seen something incredible, something new pops up out of the blue and smacks you in the face like a wet fish. So what do we have for your culinary delights today then?.

Lock Stock, and apparently two smoking barrels. Named due to its presumed double pipe outfall. The currently explored section of Lock Stock include one huge overflow chamber for a trunk sewer and a smaller relief tunnel which runs about 200 meters before hitting another sewer running across and sumps underneath it.

The arches and supports in the main chamber are a smooth curved red brick supported by large iron poles. There are also several penstocks to control the flow of the sewer and release water from the relief tunnel but they are all pretty rusted. We had a little wander around, taking pictures here and there before heading back topside.

Plans are in action to find a way into the southern reaches but for now, this is where the journey ends

The Arches

Its been a rather long time coming. Ive sat at my computer trawling through report after report of people visiting the Arches. Saying to myself, right i'm going this week. Well fast forward to today and a good seven months had passed. Thanks to Userscott and Snappel, the Manchester draining scene was exploding again with new drains being found holding features that even Indiana Jones would tip his hat too.

So we made plans to visit the newest discovery "Hulme Flume" and as we were there we might as well do the Cathedral steps as well. Since the purple beast had recently gone through a service it no longer shook like a old mans hand when you reached speeds of 50+. With that in mind we made steady progress through the night arriving in Manchester in the early am. I had heard that the entrance to the steps was, well comical and sketchy as hell at the same time. And sure enough it was. Major cliffhanger and pigeon ninja skills were needed, but we soon found ourselves standing inside. Only took 7 months to get in.

The Steps are a series of Archs, passageways and vaults that were once used as landing station for boats on the nearby river although any sign of the old wooden jetty's now lay only in photographs as they had all rotted away and fallen to their watery graves. During the war the arches were converted into several air raid shelters with many of the doors, signs and warning notices still in place. Sadly there is now less of these then before due to "explorers" who felt the need to take them. We spent a good hour or so just walking around the winding and maze like passageways taking in the sights and getting a general idea on what it must have been like in its day. Then it was time for the cameras. For such a large site most of it was really un-photogenic but a few bits were still fun to shoot, such as the main corridor's and especially the old toilets (looks better then it sounds).

By the time we were finished the sun was gleaming through the vents and we decided it was time to leave unnoticed. A top site i just hope that it stays that way. But once an easier access is found. Wannabe explorers, chavs and scum will destroy the rest of it. My advice. Don't leave a site like this for 7 months, see it as soon as you know about it!.

Countdown

Cane hill, easily without question the best asylum that england has to offer. Its characters and status isn't matched by anything else, in fact nothing even comes close. For several years time stood still in Cane Hill. While redevelopment plans were considered and rejected several times due to cost recently they were finally accepted. Whats to be saved?, the admin building, chapel and the water tower.

That in itself is shocking if you think of the size of the site. While other less impressive asylums have more saved and converted, why is it this one only has the bare minimum?, and only because the buildings are listed at that. I'm sure the contractors wouldn't shed a tear at demolishing it all.

Since the clock of Cane Hills life had been wound up again and was now ticking down, several explorers felt it was a good time to pay homage to a place that has greeted 100's of like minded people.

Time Machine

We have been sitting on this one for a while now, but due to a lack of transport we've never been able to get there. Well today was finally the day. Aided by the purple micra beast, myself Dsankt and Loops headed north in search of the Ramsey Culvert. Its most predominant feature, A triple tunneled chamber which also housed the device that once powered the clock sitting on the street above. Sadly due to the continual decrease in water flow the device became useless and places with a electrical power source.

Before the Fens were drained Ramsey was an island, isolated and safe, ideal for the world famous abbey and center for education that was once here. In the 1850s when the London, Kings Cross to Edinburgh railway was built Holme Fen was drained, this resulted in the drop of water in Ramsey and so the 'Arches' were built. The work started in 1852 and was finished in 1854.

During the construction problems were found with water flow during the winter of 1852. From the Clock Tower onwards it was decided to continue with three culverts, the main culvert being assisted with two side culverts. The side culverts also took sewage.

Access was comical, almost crashing a bikers wedding to take a sneak peek at the infall and being invited for a roast dinner afterwards was just a small piece of the pie that was Ramsey. While its not the longest of culverts in the world, Time Machine starts as a fairly large, yellow brick tunnel before entering the main clock chamber and splitting into three pipes, with two minimal flow sewers feeding in from the north.

We decided to venture down to the outfall which exited into a canal to the north of the town. After a bit of talking with the "locals" you seemed very interested in Dsankt's tales of "Huge eels" we headed back up the smaller pipe to see if there were any branches off. Well there wasn't and after a little accident with loops and his phone we were back in the clock chamber. We took a few pictures, using the wonders that is the mini fluro before heading back topside.

A game of cat and mouse....and fox

Being in England, clear night skies are a gift rarely bestowed upon us by the gods. So when one does roll along you'd be a fool not to snap up the chance to do something.

Since we've already visited a large majority of the "good" towers in London, we decided to go back to the Bishopsgate development. Since the last time we visited was over a year ago the building had come along way. Only one final crane remained all the main construction work had been finished and they look almost ready to decorate.

Access hadn't changed a great deal apart from a few new cameras forcing us to make a few "detours". We were thwarted by cars several time before we made our way into the side hiding in the darkness before we began our accent. Well that was the plan , just as we were about to move on we heard some talking followed by a worker/security guard? coming out from a door no more then 4 meters away. We sunk back down praying we weren't seen.

We waited several minutes before we deemed it safe to move off. We headed up around the corner and were just about to enter the stairwell when we came across a baby fox, who upon seeing up disappeared up the stairs.

We finally reached th 36th level and found ourselves on top of the air con fans. The view was amazing as ever, coupled with the perfect weather, it was a sight to be seen. I split off from the other two to photograph the east side of the building, but 5 minutes later i noticed Loops and Random sneaking around, and waving frantically at me.

"We've been seen!!!!!"
"What?, by who"
"A worker or something, there looking for us now!"

Bugger i packed away my stuff an got a further explanation of the events. Workers in the building at 12pm, come on. We headed into the nearby stairwell and suddenly heard a door creek open 2 levels above us. We booted it down several floors looking for a place to hide. It was clear they were onto us. We managed to find cover on one of the floor with a view of the elevators which were descending down each floor with someone walking down the stairs....crap.

PING. The elevator reached our floor and the workers stepped out meeting up with those from the stairs. At this point there were no more the a couple of meters from us and needless to say i was sweating buckets. As we listened in on their conversations of broken English we realized if they looked in the windows they would see our reflections....

"Look over there, they came down here".

I didn't even breath due to fear of revealing myself...

"They've gone" , "No a few more floors"

The lift went down and the remaining workers continued down the stairs...phew. We kept down for another 15 minutes just to be sure and just as we let our guard down and started speaking we heard a mobile phone ring. Sh**, we must be done for now, no way in hell he couldn't have heard us. We prayed as the person spoke on his mobile phone. Time seemed to stand still until we finally heard the clunking of stairs as he continued down.

20 minutes past, the lifts finally stopped there movements, and we presumed it was ok to move. So up we went back to the roof. We split up with loops who decided to climb the crane. We were busy taking pictures for at least an hour and we were in the clear. We headed up to the highest point which involved a bit of a climb and took a few candids of loops.

Well i was cold and wanted some food so we decided to head down. Random was first to jump down and just as it was my turn he looked at me and said.

"A workers coming",he smiled and then said "Im only joking"

Well thats what i thought he said anyway. I looked right to see a worker walk round the corner and into the lift machinery room. Amazingly just nodding at Random, i just down and we made off quickly passing another worker who did the same!. What the hell was going on. Once out of view we charged down the stairs and then though. Fu** loops is still on the damn crane.

We couldn't go back up or wed be seen again, we frantically search the building for any bars of signal. Finally managing a "Get the fu** down now" call. We regrouped and headed straight for the stairwell, coming out at the 27th floor to check the lifts, only to see our dear friend Mr fox walking around before he ran crashing into a toolbox after a failed jump.

We continued progressing down passing several floors with work going on. Before vaulting the perimeter fence and charging off into the night.

All i can say it was an eventful trip, one that i do not wish to experience again!!!!!.

The depths

It never fails to amaze me. The underbelly of London. You think you've seen it all and then something new and even stranger slaps you in the face like a wet fish. So what have we found today, well to be honest... we don't have a clue. It could be something to do with a drain, water main, access tunnel, or just some random bore hole, but with it being in the middle of a random field theres nothing around to give any clues or hints. So, your guess is as good as ours.

Macro, something big

Macro, Bradford. What an impressive mix of old and new, including several truly impressive pieces of British architecture and design. There is only one downside to all this. Being a culvert in the north, the floors once constructed with stone or brick have been ripped up during storms and heavy rainfall and now lay in a mess, an assault course to the unwary traveler. One that proved to much for me the first time around. Earning me the timely badge of "Teh Otter"

This time around we viewed more of the northern parts of macro, including a few sub sections and side branches known as "Academy" and "Pandora's Box".

The first target was to explore a unseen sewer which lay in the depths of Pandora's Box. The only problem was that Pandora is a mean bitch who tests the determination of all who seek to explore her, giving them a challenge in the form of a tiny box.

While the average noob explorer maybe put off. Those that day simply donned their mystic ninja gear and after chanting a protection spell or two, materialized through the portal arriving dry on the other side. Or... something along those lines.

After regrouping we headed towards the main sewer, and after climbing a set of ladders we found ourself staring down a small drop into the channel. Now all we had to do was get down.

The drop was roughly 4-5 meters, a bit to far to jump. Luckily since Mike and DDT had been before we had planned for this and brought a length of rope with us. The sewer itself was fairly uninteresting. A 15ft RCP heading in both directions. To the north the nastiest ladders in the world covered in all kinds of man-mud. At the top a small vortex with the water spiraling around the edge and down.

Whilst walking back to the main chamber we found a little trapped frog trying to escape the sewer flow. Now i knew karma would kung fu kick my ass and make me do the otter dance if i left it there so i stuck it in a box to free later in the day.

Once out we said goodbye to DDT and Pandora the frog and after a brief subway snack we headed back under and on to the next stop, Academy. A newer section in comparison to the rest of macro. Constructed mainly of large concrete sections and bunker style staircases. With a little secret hidden at the top. A huge overflow chamber with 4 "U" bends which would bring flow down from the sewers above in the event of an overflow.

We took a few pictures in Academy and its junction with macro before heading back topside. It had been a long day and food was defiantly next on the agenda so we set off for the maddest curry and planet sized naan bread

I think i touched a cloud...

The final explore of what was an exhausting weekend. After a brilliant trip this was the perfect way to finish. The building currently stands at 187 meters high, with the crane towering over the building, i am unsure at to the total height probably around 670-700ft but either way its the biggest structure i would have climbed.

As the Sgt had already climbed this building before and adding the fact it was 4am, we said our goodbyes and i headed on solo. Once over the fence i headed towards the building and up. By the time i got to level 25 i was exhausted. I needed to rest, but as i only had 1 hour to be in and out before the builders arrived i pushed on.

Lucky for me there was a gangway across to the crane near the top of the building so i didn't have to climb from scratch which was a welcome change. All was going well until the crane cleared the protection of the roof, then the wind hit.

I'm not the greatest person with heights, yea ill do them but i get the shakes easily so the last 10 levels of so took longer, but i eventually hit the hatch. As i looked up there was a chain across the hatch and i had the sinking feeling it was going to be locked. Luckily it was just wrapped around to stop the hatches banging. With one final push i was on the jib and began to take pictures.

The view was amazing. Although Paris is a fairly low set city, the majority of La Defense is high rise. Much like the city district of London. On the other hand the wind made it almost impossible to get any crisp images as the crane was swaying around like a pendulum. Out of around 45 pictures i only managed to get 8 that were remotely salvageable. If i had more time i would have taken some from the building. Maybe on the next trip.

With time of the essence i headed back down and fast as i could and all was going well, i was almost out until i heard a loud bang and a series of angry sounding French nonsense. I didn't turn around to see if who it was and sprinted for the fence. I vaulted over in one, landing practically face first in a bush the other side and ran off into the night. Job done. Paris, ill see you soon!

Fire!

The first stop on the two day Paris trip. The tunnels were built by the Germans in world war II to house and store their V2 rockets and associated trains that launched them, although it is unsure if they were ever used or not. The first striking feature is easily the size. They are huge, easily the biggest underground space i have explored.

After meeting Sgt Marshall in Gare du nord, we headed down to the metro and onwards towards our first stop. A little bit of walking and climbing later and we were stood outside the entrance. A quick look left and right and we were in.

We found ourselves in a small quarry which connects to the end of the main tunnel. All we had to do was find it, which took a surprising amount of time. As we searched the quarry for the entrance we ended up going in several loops and circles, returning to the quarry entrance almost 3 times!. Out of pure chance we looked around a corner which at first glance was a dead end, but no in the distance a large arch could be seen. Bingo!.

As we drew closer then ground sloped downwards and the real size of the tunnels became clear. Along the route of the main tunnel two other tunnels fed off from the side, but we saved them for later. Instead we headed for the main entrance to the tunnels. At the end two large blast doors around 10 meters in height covered the exit with a guards post overlooking them in the roof. It was said that this entrance was also rigged with dynamite so in the event of an allied attack the guard would detonate the explosives sealing the exit.

After taking a few pictures we headed back to the first junction. A short walk on and the tunnel split in two again. The roof was something to be seen. The original quarry roofs were now supported by rows upon rows of carved arches heading off in several directions.

Sgt told me that there was another quarry to the north that had to be closed due to a large cave in some time in the 70's. We decided to have a quick look. We discovered a large web of interlinked tunnels much like a reservoir with large pillars, with tunnels spanning off into the distance in all directions. We spent a while wandering around and photographing the remaining features of the quarry before finally heading back to the entrance, and off to our next adventure.

Take a ride....

No trip to Paris would be complete without a venture down into its massive train network. Although we didn't spend as much time in them as i would have liked too, it still gave me a little preview of what its like and set me up for next time.

The Paris network it very different to the one we have here in London, The most notable difference is the size. In London if your in a tunnel and a train comes thats it your pretty fu****, so kiss your ass goodbye. But here the tunnels are much bigger then the trains, they have duck out points and generally have more then 1 line per tunnel. Which means they are perfect for explores!.

We visited a few different spots on different lines. As we were sitting on the side of one line i could hear a train coming. I couldn't believe just how loud they were. It was pretty scary as it kept getting louder and louder then suddenly screamed past you in a flash of blinking lights. The vacuum behind pulling you forward!. It is usually best to wait for the trains to stop running but that would mean all you'd get would be pictures of tunnels, just wouldn't be the same without a train rushing through now would it.

With comical prowess we tried to set up cameras in between the trains to avoid being seen by the drivers. Sometimes it worked but as the space in between trains was different and they ran in both directions sometimes you think you were safe just after the train went past only for its noise to have disguised that of the one coming the other way!. All in all totally enjoyable!.

Get crunk

Ever since visiting the Pimlico Steam tunnel a few years ago ive always wanted to do more tunnels of the underwater variety, and after stumbling across a article reviewing two which had recently undergone a mass clean i thought that would be a good place to start.

I met up with my friend and we headed off into the snow, of to the mega pollutant that is London. We briefly stocked up on supplies and food and headed over to our entrance.

We popped the cover and headed down and into a large chamber with about 7 ladder taking us down to the floor. We seemed to be midway along so we decided to head north to begin with. The tunnels themselves had only just been cleaned last year and checked for damages and leaks but only 8 months on there was newly formed pools of bright yellow gunk lining the floors every now and then, and small droplets of water dripping from the roof.

Midway up the tunnel there was a huge dent in the ceiling where the tunnel had almost caved in to the pressure of the river above. A few emergency support beams had been welded in place. After 800 meters or so of walking we came to the end a small chamber with ladders leading up to a concrete manhole.

As i shone my torch around i came across a black object proper up against a wall. On closer inspection it turned out to be a briefcase with what looked like "London Electric" printed on the front. I clicked the top and my eyes lit up when i saw the contents. Blueprints and diagrams of several tunnels which ran beneath the river including the most detailed drawings of the two we were in now.

After taking a few "documentation" photos we headed back down the tunnel to the southern side. We eventually came to a series of stair which took us up into a large chamber with signs for Tunnel A + B printed on the walls. In the middle was a staircase leading to a cover at the top of a ladder.

We left the hatch for now and headed down tunnel B. A few feet bigger then tunnel A and had what looked like shelves running along the side. Apart from that this tunnel was the same as "A" but towards the end it split into two with a smaller tunnel heading of to the left. We continued on with the one we were in until we reached the end. I received the fright of my life while walking under a manhole cover at the exact second a lorry drove over the top. The sound and vibrations scared the living hell out of me, i thought the tunnel was collapsing.

By now i was getting tired and we had a long walk back to our entrance. We took a few pictures here and there on the way back, quickly lifting the hatch we found which led up into a room with a jammed door we could not get out of, oh well.

A good trip all in all and there should be more to come.

Altitude Syndrome

The love of being in high places. Nothing can beat the feeling of standing above the clouds and smog of your nations capital, just taking a few moments to watch bystanders scuttle about their lives, acts which at the moment seem unimportant to you. It gives you a slight feeling of superiority.

London, while it does have a handful of tall buildings, there is nothing that i would genuinely call a "skyscraper". Those that come close are spread out in small cluster where building permission was granted.

But as you stand atop the highest floor you look out, watching the smallest foundations slowly becoming a new viewing platform for people like us to climb in years to come.

London will become a taller city, just not yet.

Skank factor

After the return visit to Devil's Gate we headed over to meet with Dsankt and Loops to explore Stoop's Limit drain, also known as the London Bridge Sewer. Another one the drains that keeps getting pushed back into the "Maybe next time" box, this time there was nothing to stop us, so down we went.

We emerged a small side pipe a short distance from the main junction. After a short walk we climbed down into the main branch. The junction chamber had two pipes flowing into it with the roofs construction similar to that of an ice house, on to the limit. The sewer was fairly deep which in itself is not a problem but couple that with the fact theres god knows what lurking beneath, ready to catch the feet of a weary traveler it proved to be quite a pain. My right foot clipped something heavy and i stumbled forward, in my mind i just remember Bradford and the events that earned me a stupid nickname and pulled my other foot over somehow keeping upright.

Now i had been out all day and was low on sleep so this and trying no to take the poo-dive of death made this drain rather un-enjoyable while walking although it was fun to stand still and admire the Victorian pride every so often. We finally arrived at the limit, but due to a set of new pipes spewing there hearts out we decided against going further although Dsankt was kind enough to slip through for a couple of pictures. After Dempsey re secured his magic duck tape waders we headed back to the main junction for more photos. We pondered exploring upstream but we still had things to do tonight and to be honest i wanted out.

Supersoaker

London once more, its been a while since ive had a decent drain explore here. Having recently visited the big smoke to try out new leads which all proved to be something already explored or far far to deep to get anywhere. So today plans where made to visit Stoop's Limit drain and the upper parts of the Fleet. Both of which were instantly pushed back once more and off we ventured to Supersoaker, AKA the Regents Street Sewer.

Now anybody who has been to London knows that Regents street and streets below are amazingly busy and some sections rate as the busiest in London. All of which makes finding and gaining access a tad tricky. Undeterred we eventually found a quiet road which became our ticket down. We kitted up and headed off.

After several flights of stairs we came to the bottom a tiny sewer at stooping height. As this was a side pipe and not the main tunnel we put our money on it being bigger when it joined the main section and braved the backbreaking walk. All was going according to plan, we were now able to stand up due to a few more mini sewers joining and we were making good progress until we came to what can only be described as a wall of water.

Three small pipes where discharging their content a few meters up which once collided spread out to create the waterfall. Hmm. We had only just started and i didn't feel like getting wet, but, on the other hand this was probably the only sensible manhole we could find. We sized up our options and decided why not lets go!.

I went first got a steady footing and made a break for it. While i was under the water for less then a second i instantly felt the cold chill of wet on my back and my bag was drenched!. Loops looked at me clearly seeing that this was crazy. But i was wet already and i was going to maker damn sure he came through too!. Once through we continued along the pipe having to pass another three waterfalls, luckily none where as big as the first one.

We eventually came to the main junction another sewer joined to the east combining into a round 8ft yellow brick pipe and too the north was a large entrance chamber identical to the grand shaft in dover. We stood up with relief our backs thanking us loudly.

We set off down a rather uneventful pipe, with a few large entrance chambers lined with stone and a few side tunnels along the way. One thing i did notice was this tunnel was unbelievably bendy. Even through it runs down one road it changed direction every 10 meters as if slaloming round something.

In the distance we could hear a heavy rushing sound, which judging by how far we had traveled, we presumed to be the northern interceptor. The pipe shrunk to 7ft and diverted downwards in a s bend slope. The speed at which the water cascaded down was incredible but very shallow so we pushed on, once more getting very wet, only to find the pipe was heavily backlogged due to silt probably caused by a diverting wall stopping normal flow heading further down the pipe and into the interceptor. Damn! after all we've done to get here we couldn't continue. I tried my luck but it was no good i managed only 5 meter before i was 3 ft in silt and my head was close to the water.

We eventually gave up and headed back to our entrance, taking a few photos and renewing that wet feeling which i had only just gotten rid of. We only explored probably 25-30% of the drain but we told ourselves we would return to find a way into the downstream sections, but this wasn't the way.

Do you take the blue or the red pill?

You have two options, you can either take the blue pill and walk away from the open door that stands in front of you. Passing off whatever might lay behind as something which you dont need to know about or don't care to know about. Alternatively you take the red pill, go through the door and find out for yourself what lurks behind.

This is urban exploration, if you thought that the blue pill sounded like the better choice then this isn't for you, only those with the red pill mentality need apply. Answering the "whats behind that" question is how we play this game. Unearthing many hidden treasures some thought lost while others just ignorantly forgotten.

Sadly this is the world we live in, everything revolves around money these days. While there are a few trying to retain our heritage, others just see it as an inconvenience that obstructs their way to the bank, and promptly remove them.

This blog is all about the photography and exploration of these places. Be it something as grand as a Victorian asylum to the darkest depths of the sewer networks beneath us, we visit them all without prejudice and that is how we live.