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Tuesday 29 May 2012

Bolton, Blackpool, Preston - a quick spin in the plane

A quick spin over the North West of England, dipping into North Wales, enjoy.

To be honest the purpose of this trip for me was to get my photographs of the ghost ship but a spin over to Blackpool via Preston and the Reebok at Bolton was long overdue.

Given that both my daughters had flown over Blackpool (the 8 year old took control of the plane over Preston a few months back) it had become a running joke, as every bugger who has got in the bloody plane got a flight to Blackpool except me !!!

So first up Reebok Stadium - Bolton v West Brom, I'm told I had the best view as the match was terrible.

Reebok Stadium - Bolton v West Brom

Reebok Stadium - Bolton v West Brom

BWFC v West Brom

Over to Preston, Preston North End Football Club

Preston North End Football Club

and we swing over into Blackpool !

Blackpool Central Pier - you can just see Blackpool Football Club

 Blackpool Central Pier

Blackpool North Pier

 North Pier, Blackpool

Blackpool Tower, still has its magic for me (coz I'm a Northerner) and we few past a few times circling back over the sea for more shots.

 Blackpool Tower

Blackpool Tower

Off into the Irish Sea, a gas platform - I love stuff like this

Gas platform, Irish Sea

Wind turbines, sorry love them as well, wouldn't want to live next to one, but hey as you hurtle toward them at 120 mile an hour they don't half look good.

 Windpower - Irish Sea

Liverpool Docks

 Liverpool Docks

River Mersey - I've got to admit I've only ever visited Liverpool 3 times in my life, and it's only about 37 miles from Bolton.

Liverpool - River Mersey


Out of England and into North Wales and we then few over to the ghost ship

Duke of Lancaster

We landed at small private air strip for a cup of tea (hey we are English after all) and then shot off back to Manchester for a spot of Afternoon Tea airside back at the base, which was spiffing.

Couple of videos below, Blackpool, Bolton and one tit of a pilot trying to put me off - turn the volume down on your speakers - I wear headphones in the plane, not so I can speak to the pilot Captain Pugwash, just for the noise of the plane.

Can't get the staff...



Blackpool, lining up for the shots

 

 Returning to the Reebok Stadium, Bolton






As always thanks for looking and hoped you liked my ramblings, photos and videos.




Ten By Ten & Ex-More - out of my depth at the Railway

"Come along and take some pics, we'll get the beer in !!"
"and yeah the lighting is good"

I'd been meaning to go to the Railway in Bromley Cross, Bolton for ages - I used to go to school opposite, but that was many, many years ago.

I'd also been meaning to go and watch my friend's band Ten By Ten for ages, but these days life is a little like that with the juggling family stuff, work, sneaking off to go flying and that's without even a mention of any urbex stuff.

I'm not a fan of low light photography, well not in a venue of limited space and to be honest I'd bought a Metz flashgun and I've never used it  - so off I go with Mrs F. Hunter to the gig - no flashgun, coz hey the lighting is good and bands don't want some wannabe photographer gimp flashing away whilst they belt out some rock ditties.

Red, green and blue lighting - shit !!!

So here we go, a few pics


Ten By Ten

Ten By Ten

Ten By Ten

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This one is my favorite of the whole evening, being Chris Ward - lead vocals of Ten By Ten.

 Chris Ward - Ten By Ten

The second band of the evening, Ex-More, a cheeky bunch of rock scamps, which included Chris Tsangarides aka The Dark Lord on guitar - record producer for Thin Lizzy,Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Depeche Mode and the list goes on and on and on and on - oh and he's in the cult film Anvil.

- They had some photographer with them - get him with his fancy lens and flash guns - I was going to look a proper plonker if my pictures didn't amount to much and the cider my band had been pouring down my neck was starting to kick in big time.

So lets start with Chris Tsangarides

Exmore - Chris Tsangarides aka The Dark Lord

Paul Stickles, Ex-More

Exmore - Paul Stickles

Exmore - Paul Stickles

I rather liked the last one of Paul Stickles, and it would seem so did he.

Exmore - Paul Stickles

So all in all I think I may have pulled it off ? But me photographer ??? narrrrr, I'm just a monkey with a couple of cameras.

Thursday 24 May 2012

Kearns of Waterfoot Ltd

Summer is here and what better than a drive in the sun with my round headed friend Urban Spaceman.

Waterfoot, a little village in a nice bit of Lancashire countryside valleys with a dirty half demolished,  run down, tumble down mill - although it has to be said in talking to the locals they seemed upbeat that someone might one day start the long promised conversion into (you guessed it) apartments and housing.

We didn't want to be seen climbing over/under fences in full view of the locals - so the lovely people of Waterfoot directed us to a footpath so we could simply wander into the site for a gander.

Kearns of Waterfoot

Coming soon-ish

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"did you go in?" you ask, we popped our head in one building and to be honest nothing to see other that a light bulb and rather saggy wet floors with a big drop below. We spotted the way into the other building and couldn't be bothered by this time as the moment had gone (bit of a first - and it was just a sloppy effort by the contractor with a few stones and a bit of plyboard).

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So once again one to miss and save your petrol.

Tuesday 22 May 2012

The Holme, Cliviger

Visited this place with Urban Spaceman, posted to save you the effort and petrol - unless your into burnt out 17th century Grade II listed buildings.

Located in the village of Cliviger, just outside Burnley, Lancashire is a house with a view to die for.

The Holme sits burnt out, slowly falling down, slowly being filled with scrap tyres - like so many empty properties in the UK.

The current building was built in 1603 being the ancestral seat of the local Whitaker family.
Used as a country club in the 1970s, later it became an old peoples home which closed under the cloud of scandal in 1984. Vandals set fire to the place in 2004.
 
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 The property currently sits rotting and is as always awaiting development into apartments, if it ever comes...

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Didn't look that bad at first.

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Semi boarded up, but the developers seem to have given up on this one, a sign says your being filmed but no cameras of any form could be seen and the back of the property was wide open - the fly tippers had been round.

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bringing the house down

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Oh, the view I mentioned

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The Holme, Cliviger

All in all, very sad and if like me you have to copper up the penny jar these days for petrol in these hard times, save yourself the trip unless your a completist (like a lot of us are).

 Next stop Waterfoot ! oh the joys.....