just a little comment to those exploring old tunnels filled with steam pipes, ancient boiler rooms and old industrial sites, FFS take disposable overalls and a decent orinasal respirator. Those places are usually riddled with asbestos in poor condition

This is true, though actually pigeon poo is a more realistic respiratory worry – if you don’t mess with asbestos it won’t mess with you. But as with all exploring, knowledge and common sense come in to play. Underground places also have other problems – coal mines, for instance, you really don’t mess with unless you know exactly what you’re doing.

Right, because you know great apes have not been used in any UK research facility for, literally, decades 😕

great ape testing wasn’t banned in the uk unitll ’86. The Americans still use chimps

the facility was mothballed, we were in, in the early 90’s. The place was literally locked up and not mentioned on the site like a dirty secret.

This is true, though actually pigeon poo is a more realistic respiratory worry – if you don’t mess with asbestos it won’t mess with you.

psittacosis is a far lower risk than exposure to asbetos fibres from exposed and damaged lagging, aib etc…fibres on damaged material can readily become airborne or with disturbance of settled dusts containing fibres.

The Americans still use chimps

Yes, so close observation is needed, and don’t disturb stuff 😉

always a good move ben 😀

Worst I’ve had wasn’t asbestos, it was fibreglass dust – climbing Inverkip power station chimney, it’s one of the tallest freestanding structures in the country, and the flue lagging was falling off so it was full of fibreglass. Climbing 1060 steps wearing a full respirator was not fun 😉

Contrarily, I went into a Cold War bunker in Edinburgh wearing full PPE, as it was supposed to be riddled with asbestos – it was a bit unnerving to see all the dust floating in the air. Then later it was properly inspected by new owners and I got to go back with permission – turns out it was only plaster dust, not a trace of asbestos in it…

some of the old/original london underground lines and abandoned stations are bloomin freaky as well

Reims ?.

In October this year we went to Cyprus for a week.
My wifes Grandfather is buried in a British military cemetery thats inside the UN protected zone. We went to visit his grave.
Driving through the protected zone, in a UN Jeep, the British soldiers working for the UN were brilliant. They gave us a bit of a tour of the UNPZ, it was amazing to be driving through the old streets, buildings full of bullet holes.
The British grave yard has Cypriot graves either side, they’ve gone to ruin now as the Greek Cypriots obviously can’t get access.
My wifes Auntie was with us, we drove past her old school (a British army grammar school). There were Turkish soldiers on the roof.
The strangest part was Nicosia International Airport, we got out of the Jeep for a wander around there. The UN escort told us the history behind it, it was only used for 6 years before the Turkish invasion (I think the official UN term was ‘intervention’ or something equally sterile). There is still a Cyprus Airways plane sat outside that didn’t manage to take off before the Turkish ‘disabled’ it.
Pretty sombre day. 🙁

I used to play at ICI Ardeer (chemicals/explosives) when I was a kid.

This thread is fantastic. Check out

Andrew Brooks – Hidden Manchester

I used to play at ICI Ardeer (chemicals/explosives) when I was a kid.

That place is wonderful – so much cool stuff hidden in the woods:

Mortar Testing Machine by Ben Cooper, on Flickr

Cropped up while looking at filming locations for Skyfall.

The abandoned island was actually filmed in Macau although it was doubling for Hashima Island.

I like the fact that the Skyfall house, supposedly set in Glencoe, was actually built in Surrey. 🙂

Great thread though – there goes my morning!

Love all this stuff and the 28DL forum.

Wales is absolutely stuffed with underground things

I spent quite some time underground in the Blaenau/Tan y Grisiau area with Uncle John (yes, really) in my youth. Horrified to find that the underground incline down into the mine from the Twll on top of the Molewyns had been blocked by rockfall a few years ago. Simultaneously amazed by the through routes from Croeso now.

On a related note, I went to a concert by Efterklang a couple of weeks ago. Their inspiration for their current album was a deserted mining village in Spitzbergen called Pirimida. Features the world’s most northern grand piano apparently!

Are we allowed to link to our own sites?

Here’s one from my travels, more under my personal work link here: http://www.brokenclockphotographic.com

That place is wonderful – so much cool stuff hidden in the woods:

Ben, i’m assuming you are Glasgow based (or thereabouts). If you ever need an extra pair of hands to hold a flash when you go exploring, do let me know! 🙂

I had a mispent youth exploring abandoned factories etc around Ayrshire, nothing quite comes close to the buzz, especially after you’ve just climbed up to a second floor bathroom window, at 1am, to get access.

Depending on the state of any available anchors, i might even be coerced into taking my climbing kit and abbing into places to get some cool shots (although I suspect this will almost certainly result in tears)

tazzymtb – Member

some of the old/original london underground lines and abandoned stations are bloomin freaky as well Isn’t there a faq up on 28DL saying to swerve the London underground? Would be serious bother if caught rummaging around there (as opposed to mild bother getting caught exploring most other abandoned stuff).

Yep, if you get spotted on the tube network out of bounds ,there’s a good chance you’ll end up with so18 pointing a gun at your head. 😯

Ben, i’m assuming you are Glasgow based (or thereabouts). If you ever need an extra pair of hands to hold a flash when you go exploring, do let me know!

Sure, though at the moment with a 2.5-year-old, my exploring is a bit spur-of-the-moment 😉

Have you joined up to 28DL? We’re not that scary really, and it’s a good place to search for places to go.

Isn’t there a faq up on 28DL saying to swerve the London underground?

Yes, not least because some people (including an American idiot) got caught and admitted to criminal damage. Trespass on transport networks is always more serious than in abandoned places.

great thread.

some interesting stuff here – http://www.hiddenglasgow.com/