explorations | 2008


This is a handy log of my explorations, ranging of one-off visits to small installations, through to multiple visits to large sprawling areas (the later which forms the basis of the project section of this website). It breaks it all down into handy "Day Trip" activities, a dossier of what can be seen in one day, and fun for all the family.

My diary of urban exploration if you like.

Which brings me onto another point. Some of these sojourns were simply recces, designed to scout potential targets out before attempting infiltration with a team (Severalls and Warley are high on the list to visit). Some were interesting in themselves (such as setting the scene at Cane Hill or discovering what was at Rauceby) but it you wanted the excitement, musty interiors and broken toilets, then you’d be disappointed.

Others were complete and utter disasters. The first return trip to Rauceby was an excellent example of things going completely wrong. I included it here to point out that urban exploration can be a frustrating exercise at times.

So, I’ve implement a handy scale so if you want the get to the fun stuff quickly then you can just select and click:

Recce. Scene setting stuff. No internal explorations.
Limited access but mostly walking around in the rain outside.
Full infiltration. Access all areas.



RAF Wyton Photographic Factory 14|03|08 (With Major Tom)
A second revisit and a brand new write-up after this cold war relic assumes new importance.



Nocton Hall 11|05|08 (With Marlon)
Old country house mysteriously burns down after RAF/USAF wartime requisition. However, this isn't the 1950s, it's the 2000s.



RAF Nocton Hall Hospital 11|05|08 (With Marlon)
Thrown up in the Second World War, this massive hopsital was put on standby for casualties from the Gulf War. However, the complex has become a casualty itself.



Cane Hill Lunatic Asylum 08|08 (With Major Tom, Marlon, Laura and Will) Mostly demolished between 2008-2009
It was time to do something at Cane Hill which I should've done five years previously. Instead of simply visiting the same old parts of the complex with different people, it was time for a methodical tour of the wards, to compile a photographic record of Howell's specialisations. But with demolition in full swing, and the central corridor network decimated, it proved difficult to move around the complex.



Cane Hill Lunatic Asylum 08|08 (With Major Tom, Marlon, Laura and Will) Mostly demolished between 2008-2009
The demolition had started and the hospital was starting to come down at a frightening rate. Many of the key features of the former asylum had been consigned to history. It was going to be our last chance to see some of these buildings.

Whilst the day was spent mostly concentrating on the wards, a subset of the photographs stood out and formed a mini-tour of their own. Following in the footsteps of a similar exploration at Rauceby, here's A Pictorial Record Of The Interior Organisation Of The Watertower.



Cane Hill Lunatic Asylum 08|08 (With Major Tom, Marlon, Laura and Will) Mostly demolished between 2008-2009
Back in 2006, I'd been sent pictures of a mysterious basement at Cane Hill. The picture showed a balcony over which was a drop in which two windows looked. Pouring over the maps didn't reveal any stairs which could lead to this area. Now I was back in 2008, this was one we could finally solve.



Hellingly Lunatic Asylum 11|10|08 (With Chris, Marlon and Peter.)
It was time for a return trip to Hellingly to start to formally document the buildings. Plus it was our first explore with Peter (asylum-expert) and Chris (the great-grandson of one of the architects).



Denbigh Lunatic Asylum 16|10|08 (With Most Haunted Live!.)
I was invited to Denbigh by the Most Haunted Live! team to give an urban exploration twist to their week long ghost hunt.