The Shard, London
Sometimes, the passing of time is all it takes.
Tower Bridge, from The Shard
Newport Transporter Bridge (Pont Gludo Casnewydd)
Meeting with The Winch, GoblinMerchant, Marc and Urban Fox in Reading, we powered down the M4, New Order blaring the whole way. Having reached the Severn Crossing, and paid to enter Wales (surely this should be the other way?) we parked up a short walk from the bridge, and up we climbed!
The main deck of the bridge
The Heron – Crane Climb
Confusingly, a company called "Heron International" are building 3 new buildings in London. One is called "Heron Tower" which I climbed back in January 2010. At that point in time, it was the tallest building in London. (Now The Shard) The second building is called "The Heron". Fortunately, Heron International seem to have fired their marketing team, or perhaps just decided to actually employ one... As the third building in London is called "The Peak" Well done Heron International. You succeeded in giving two buildings within 1/4 mile of each other the same name. Taxi drivers will love you. Or not.
Anyway, the building I climbed on the evening in question is called "The Heron" ... Not the taller "Heron Tower".
Barbican Towers
Abbey Mills Pumping Station, London
[This is a re-hash of an old post. I've been back to the pumping station more recently, taken more photos and re-edited all the old ones. Enjoy!]
The original Abbey Mills Pumping Station (Station A) is located in East London and was built between 1865 and 1868. designed by engineer Joseph Bazalgette, Edmund Cooper, and architect Charles Driver, it is cruciform in shape, and in the elaborate Byzantine style. Known by many as Bazalgette's "Cathedral of Sewerage", it originally had two Moorish styled elaborate chimneys, a relic from the pumping stations steam powered past (pre 1933). However, these were demolished during the Second World War, as they presented a landmark for German Bombers.
"Station A" The old Abbey Mills Pumping Station building at night
Aldgate East Crane Climb
I've climbed the crane on this seemingly abandoned building site about 3 times now. I'm not really sure why, as the views aren't great, and it's not that high... That said, there doesn't seem to be a great deal of security present on site, and it makes for a nice relaxing climb if one has nothing else to do! I've been up with "Jim Gillette", The Winch, Gary, Ercle and my friend Amanda. I've climbed the jib, and the crows nest, and even exited the site by hopping across to the hotel next door, through the air-con maintenance areas, into the janitorial areas and down the lifts. Craning in style, some might say!
Up the jib taken by the nice chap over at Jim Gillette
Bull and Bush (North End Station)
Bull And Bush (North End Station)
Before we begin, I maintain that this is the stupidest and most worthless piece of tube exploring I have ever done. The risk-to-payout ratio was way off the scale, and unfortunately, in totally the wrong direction. In short, Bull and Bush is one of the shittiest derelict stations I have had the misfortune to run to. 800m of zero clearance tunnel running, for no platforms, no posters, no tiles, no period features and no atmosphere. Just bags of rubble and tube dirt. Over 200 feet down, it is one of the deepest stations in the whole network, bored out in 1907, and never opened.
Rubbish. Literally.
Turned off. Yup, I was.
Featureless.
The most interesting thing down there. My mates.
Rubbish. Did I mention rubbish?
Down Street Station
Down Street Station
A blast from the past, one I have been sitting on. No particular reason, just sheer lazyness.
This isn't the first visit to Down Street. I can't claim credit for discovering the way into this station, others came before me, and others followed after.
Despite having been visited the previous night, upon approaching our access, it had been boarded. No issue for one of the guys I was with produced a DeWalt cordless drill and removed a dozen screws. Meanwhile, I was stood across the street, every time a passer-by drew close to our alley-way, I would signal to someone at the front of the alley, who would signal to the unscrewer. No nosey passers by were going to hear our drill and spoil our night!
Down.
Night At The Museum – Rooftopping The British Museum
In 2004, a security review took place at several of London's top museums and galleries. The review (carried out without the museums and galleries knowledge) found that access to, removal of, and exit with priceless artefacts was, in theory at least, not difficult, and that there were serious holes and weaknesses in security and protocol.
Fast-forward 6½ years, and I am in the pub with friends, and my phone rings; It's Patch. I listen with disdain as he explains to me that he thinks we can top out the British Museum. I'm used to occasional madcap schemes from Patch, some of which pay off, some of which don't... It seemed foolish at the time, but I agreed to join Patch and Alex in London on the Friday night to check out his idea.
As we rounded the final corner, it became obvious what he had in mind. On Montague Place, there is a building site, part of the museum is being rebuilt. There is scaffold up one side of the building. The perfect route onto the roof.
Returning to the car, we racked our climbing gear up, harnesses on, scaffold hooks at the ready, rucksacks stuffed with rope, descenders, ascenders and camera gear, we climbed the hoarding and navigated around the first of what turned out to be many, many alarms.
Patch and Alex on the first section of roof, just after our climb
South Kentish Town Tube Station
Simples. A derelict tube station, sans platform.
Now simply reduced to a ventilation shaft...
Going Fishing…
It's the Drain0r rules. You find it, and hit it first, and you get to name it. So we did!
in the middle of "Gone Fishing", Looking upstream, towards County Lock
Random post
The River Fleet - An initial tripLive Urbex Updates!
- Going to london for a struggle snuggle with a police dog...
- Watching a black and white tv in our squat in london :)
- Draining in london town. :)
- At a rad party, taking place in a huge chamber in a storm drain under london.
- Make trouble, question everything.
- Collapsing into bed at almost 4 am after a successful nights urbex!
- Hey dad
- Still not caught... I think they know im here though... Some sneaky walking through tire tracks means they are looking in the wrong pl ...
- Inside Pyestock on a snow day, with my mountain bike. Security here sucks :-p
- Tara sucks!