Hobotrip – March 2010

Following Paris and the Einslife trip, the plan was to get away to Belgium again and see some powerstations and industry. More of the usual, whatever we can get our grubby, bramble scratched hands on. This trip seemed almost routine, a foray into dereliction for a prolonged period of time less of a novelty. If I’d have taken this trip a couple of years ago I’d have probably been beside myself with excitement. Thanks on this trip must go to Miles in particular, driving all the way to Liege and back in short stints between our long houred days of exploring.

Achtung Baby! (Part two) – August 2008

Following Noisy we headed for Hasard Cheratte, a mine on the edge of Liege. We sat in the car and laughed at both Duck-girl and the hugely dangerous game of football tennis played across the road. Access was easy, the sun was shining, and there was industrial goodness all around. Where would I rather be? Nowhere.

Memories of Hellingly

Nestled 10 miles back from the East Sussex coast lays Hellingly Hospital. Red brick, stark and decaying, closed in 1994; Hellingly is a place of mystery from the exterior. When Mental Health moved into the community in the early 1990s, Hellingly was boarded up and left, with only a small secure unit operating on site.

Einslife! (Part Two) – December 2009

Enter ins Deutschland. Home of leather shorts, big sausages and Radio Einslife. We arrived in the dark, having drank copious amounts of Blue Chimay and eaten dried apricots. Chris put up with us in the car on the way to St Josefsheim, where we walked in through the front door. Wilkommen ins Deutschland indeed. In the mostly enclosed courtyard, we could finally use our firewood. We found a little wheelbarrow and cooked sausages, onions, peppers and mushrooms. They were delicious.

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.

Achtung Baby! (Part One) – Aug 2008

Writing retrospectively about my first Eurotrip isn’t so easy. I usually put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard within a few days of getting home, before the buzz wears off and the trip begins to fade into the memory.

It was a pretty hot night when I got to West Park. We’d agreed to meet in Guildford/Granton Ward, and as all of us could arrive at different times, some of us spent more time here waiting than others. As the last arriver I bought Calippos, and met an excitable Rooks doing some colouring in. Bless. This was also the first occasion I met Statler, who has been on many subsequent trips with me (but not this one)

Millenium Mills – Jan 2010

My first visit to the Mills was in July 2008, following my first visit to Battersea. It was dark, we got on the roof, and that was all there really was to it. This visit was more conclusive however, as we saw the vast majority of the two mill buildings on site.