Bunker 10-Z, Brno, Czech Republic - November 2016

A nuclear bunker, under a castle in a country previously occupied by the Nazis, also formally a Communist state.

Now a museum, oh I should mention you can sleep over and we did.

Sitting under under Spilberk Castle in the Czech city of Brnu is possibly the best hotel I have every stayed in, dimly lit corridors littered with gas masks is always going to make my day.

Your room will be a little dusty, in the period of the Soviet era with bits and pieces of the time hanging around. The showers are basic and period, but lovely and hot. The bunker has a constant temperature of 14c, but your room for the night does have additional heating. Enjoy.

A full tour of the site is given to anyone staying at the bunker, which is a must. Breakfast was a little basic for my liking but the inbunker bar the night before more than made up for it.

9/10 - not to be missed.


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Prudential Building, Oldham - October 2016

We had a cunning plan and a cunning plan was executed.

Visited with Blacksnake and Tbolt, early(ish one chilly morning.

Four floors of an old office building, with a nightclub in the basement housed in a Grade II Listed building built in 1889. The property is brick built with a lovely terracotta dressing and described as needing "renovation".

;

We left as we entered, as sometimes people see what they simply think they see and nothing more  - in the style of  Ninjalicious.

7/10 from me.


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Williamson’s Tunnels, Liverpool - September 2017

Mr Blacksnake invited us to take a look at his hole, so Tbolt and myself promptly got our helmets out and headed off to Liverpool.

We had been invited to visit the seldom seen tunnels at Paddington and under what remains of Williamson's house (not to be confused with the Williamson's Tunnels Heritage Centre).

Williamson was a business man in the 1800s and he paid his team of workers to dig vast tunnels and caverns under the city of Liverpool. Nobody knows why, theories range from loon to nothing more philanthropy in providing training and work to the unemployed in the local area.

No map has every been found of the labyrinth, many areas have been destroyed and surviving tunnels and caverns are filled with rubble over the years.

Our hosts for the afternoon are a gang of dedicated volunteers known as the Friends of Williamson's Tunnels, who have slowly by hand and bucket by bucket excavated the tunnels. Funded only by donations the work they have done is totally staggering, as are the size of the tunnels and chambers.

An excellent time was had by all at this ongoing and potentially vast excavation going on under Liverpool. Thank you to Blacksnake and

10/10

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HM Prison Shrewsbury

A nice distraction came along Sunday morning in the form of Tbolt and a drive to Shrewsbury.

The present prison was built in 1877, this Grade II listed Victorian prisons closed in March 2013, the building is currently open for access by the public pending building development work in 2017.

The prison has recently been used as a filming location for the television series The Lucky Man and the second series of Prey.

I rather liked this place, given we where simply allowed to wander around the place at our leisure.

8/10
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The Victorian Society Top 10 Most Endangered Buildings 2016

For the second year running I am proud to have lent my services to The Victorian Society with a number of photographs for their annual chart of shame which lists the top 10 most endangered building in England and Wales.

Following on from my photographs of Kimnel Hall receiving attention in 2015 by the worldwide media, I couldn't really refuse the use again of my photographs by The Victorian Society particularly given all the hard work they do trying to conserve buildings.

Anyway, The Victorian Society Top 10 Most Endangered Buildings 2016, which once again lists neglected properties heading towards slow death before the often eventual demolition.


Victorian Society
Financial Times
Daily Mail
Culture 24
BBC
The Week

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Saville Mill, Bolton - August 2016

Blimey, 10 days of bloody hot foreign sun and I was bored senseless. Thankfully the return home found Bolton to be both rather cooler and a tad damp which was just to my liking with an easy local mooch shouting to be done.

A school night, myself and Tbolt jumped in the car following an earlier weekend visit by Judderman.

Having walked passed this old derelict mill pretty much every day for the last 14 years it was now at last open to visits without any form of gymnastics, so in we popped as you do.

In the 1970's this area was an industrial area, home to the local bus depot and the various traveling fairgrounds. By the 1990's the area was known only as the local red light district. Come 2016 the area is pretty much derelict or demolished with the red light area heavily under CCTV to stamp out any such activities.

But watch your back, your car etc, etc......

;

Simply box ticking, sadly 2/10

The Smith Lectures - Chernobyl - Bolton 25th August 2016

Just a heads up, my fellow adventurer to foreign parts is to have a friendly chat at Breightmet Library in Bolton about his foolhardy travels with myself and fellow fools. Tindog, AKA  Mick Smith is both funny and educating, entertaining you aided by his collection of personal photographs and a number of my snaps from our trip to Kiev and Chernobyl. This warm up gig will be the first of a coming number of his enthralling Eastern European travel tales that should not be missed.

No entrance fee is being charged.