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Tuesday 31 July 2012

Urbex Tours

Interesting article from DW on a Berlin based company that offers urban exploration trips out, all very enterprising - I'm sure the health and safety rules in good old Great Britain would kill any such entrepreneurial ideas dead in the water.

You might want to have a look at the Go2know - looks good, but having finally watched my dvd of Urban Explorers, my dreams of exploring the derp of Europe with camera in hand are possibly on hold.....



Joking aside, I think a European Tour of Derp is well overdue and on the cards next for next spring.

Monday 30 July 2012

Manor H and the Jaguar Graveyard

Another rather wet bimble with Urban Spaceman on a not so summer's afternoon.

I'd seen photos of this place, Grade II listed, a hotel sitting in the Lancashire countryside.

It would seem the location was on a need to know basis, you had to somehow locate it yourself or be pre-vetted and be vouched for - and bugger all was coming up on the internet other than reports labelled as Manor H, the anti-vandal/metal thief information lock down was kind of working.

I asked a contact, he said he didn't have a problem telling me the location but first he would have to ok it with his contact, who would have to ask for an ok from his contact - a few days later a "yes" came back.

I hadn't really thought about any of this until the "yes" came back, it was all a circle of trust and it would seem I'm not a tosser after all - which is nice !
 
 Manor H

Loved these gates - all a bit Sally Sparrow (Google it).

Manor H

It was raining as only it can do in Lancashire, so after sitting around in the car waiting for a break in the weather I opened the boot of the car and removed the blindfold and gimpmask from Urban Spaceman - perhaps the gagball was a little over the top. We just made a mad dash for it in the lashing rain without hanging about on the external shots.

Manor H

 Manor H

 Manor H

 Manor H

Things looked a bit grand, with a spooky staircase, all had seen better days and the fireplaces had been ripped out by the local thieves.

 Manor H

Manor H

Manor H

Manor H

Manor H

Then it got a bit special.....;

Manor H

Manor H

Manor H

Manor H

Manor H

 Manor H

Moving on to the function room, not that much of interest to see to be honest, it looked like the last few winters had caused a bit of burst pipe in the ceiling.

 Manor H

A wander further round the back brought us to the Jaguar Graveyard and I must confess I'm not one of these chaps that gets all excited and wobbly at the knees about cars to be honest - a car simply gets me from A to B when I'm not in a plane or on a train.

I should add at this point that I don't think my choice of footwear helped in proceedings as heavy rain had turned the area around the cars into a quagmire and on a number of occasions I found myself ankle deep in orange mud (bit smelly as well).

Manor H

Jaguar Graveyard

 Please don't ask me the location - coz I'd have to ask him, who needs to ask him, who needs to ask him.
 

 URBEXERS AGAINST 
VANDALISM

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Underground London and New York

I understand why, I just don't know how "drainers" manage the with smell or perhaps I just have a very weak stomach ??

Anyway without dwelling on such things a very cool set of pictures from The Telegraph which for me is a "rather you than me" but none the less a fine set of pictures.

- Same story and pictures from the Huffington Post

Sunday 22 July 2012

Keeping the nipper happy

Arrrrr, my daughter chip off the old block, with 4 or 5 cameras sitting around the house, phones with cameras, a DS with a camera she has a growing interest in all things camera. Given my interests, it does tend to rub off and to be honest I wanted to post some the pics we have done over the last few weekends.

So, she flies and is currently badgering me for more trips with her hero, the pilot Jon.

My daughter the co-pilot, sometimes you need to open a childs mind to the wonders that surround us

She has had now had a brief little bimble, once or twice, in carefully planned minor urbex explore - still nerve racking stuff.

The Future of Industry

But, her main thing is planning shots, thinking "what if we"

_IGP0164

do this....

Huncoat

Doctor Who mad, a little like myself, "are you my mummy?"

 Are you my mummy ?

 Child of the Cloud

Sometimes you just have to spark the mind....

 Huncoat

Church of Amendment - Red Rose County

Arriving at this now long closed church a week late I pottered about for half an hour waiting for the legend that is Mr Judderman.

As I came back down the stairs the door opened and I think I gave Mr Judders a minor heart attack as I was behind the entrance door. I can safely say if he had brought his picnic hamper he would have promptly dropped it.

On with my pics




























I'm vague on this report as, well 1st its a church and deserves respect and 2nd it is pretty much intact (a broken window some idiot has done and a bit of wiring theft).

 URBEXERS AGAINST 
VANDALISM


Thank you and good night from Rev F. Hunter (I kid you not - think Joey from Friends), further pics can be found on my Flickr

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Photography is not a crime ?

Stumbled across this in a post from a fellow explorer, this poor chap was at Farnborough Airshow this year and as a result of muppets employed by the quality security company G4S (you know the bespoke security company employed to run the security for the 2012 Olympics) he was arrested by the police.

Well watch, listen and imagine it was you !!!!




To quote

"I was stopped and subsequently Jumped on by two police officers at this years airshow at Farnborough, my crime?, Taking photographs, please be aware I was not doing anything else but taking photographs and images in a place deemed public and open to the public.
I was thrown to the ground cuffed and all the usual police behaviour then ensued, I know my rights with regards to filming in public, and as a result of G4S security and their untrained operatives not understanding what technology I had about my person they assumed I was 'lasering' the pilots during the display, I only swore at the police once I was away from the public so this is not for those with sensitive ears that are easily offended, I was dragged into a porta-cabin and jumped on by all of the officers you see on the clip, at one point they accused me of carrying an explosive device and being a terrorist, this clip is raw unedited footage and the section of it that has no images was when I was being frogmarched through a crowd of thousands whilst my 'explosive laser device' was in the officers pocket. I was truly humiliated, all charges have since been dropped. I present this footage for you to make up your own minds as to what went on."

Saturday 14 July 2012

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

Given I'm getting ready for a trip later this year back to the wonderful Abu Dhabi,  a little set from off one of my 2010 trips out to the United Arab Emirates, I'd just at this point started getting into photography and for the first time taken a dslr on a trip.

We had been staying at our friends home, just round the corner from the Shangri La Hotel, every time we left the house we could see this stunning view.

 The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

This place is massive, built to hold 41,000 worshippers, when you see gold on the photographs it is gold, 24 carat gold.

I popped round early afternoon to avoid crowds and bake myself alive in the sun, fortunately the long perfectly white corridors in the mosque provided a hiding place from the unrelenting sun.

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

Shade !!!!

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

I'm not an overly religious person, but this place just blew me away, how spotless it was, the sheer size of the place and its style and beauty.

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

 The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you're my only hope

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque

The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi, Zayed Mosque


IMGP9007

So if your in the area, well worth a bimble in a modern building with total wow factor - I just need to get a new passport now and I'm off for a return trip with my improved camera practice.