Met John and Sheila for walk around Dam flask.
Peter Bargh
Sights & SoundsArchive for the ‘Out and about’ Category
I’ve neglected my blog here so though I’d update with a recent photography excursion – yesterday in fact. I ventured out to Manchester Victoria Baths – a fascinating restoration project taken on by locals when the baths closed in 1993.
The Baths has a small entrance charge (£2 at the time of writing) and offers free guided tours around the premises. Unlike most NT and English Heritage buildings you’re free to wander around with a camera, even tripod, and take photos. The Victorian fixtures are brilliant subjects to photograph. Wandering around is almost like urban exploration, but without the trespass element. Derelict areas, partly restored, old glazed tiles vivid green and fabulous coloured stain glass windows, rusty metal works, broken showers, taps, buzzers, victorian electrics, old flaky doors – it’s almost an urbex dream.
The volunteers are really helpful and there’s a cafe serving baked potatoes with Chilli, Beans or Cheese and sandwiches, along with some great home made cakes.
Allow a couple of hours and be prepared to shoot loads of tripod mounted HDR brackets.
Used voucher Karen had bought me for my birthday for an hour in a floatation tank in Lincolnshire
Photo shoot with up and coming model Chloe Bleackley at the Turbine
Went to a Buddhism taster session at the Loyal Trooper in South Anston with Stephen Rodgers
Today is a beautiful sunny day, so why am I in a dingy corridor in the depths of ruin? Simple, I am stepping totally out of my comfort zone following the footsteps of the Urban Explorers with Tom(?), William Cheung and Tony Dudley.
I’m in a Victorian Asylum, the air is acrid, the floor below my feet precarious and the light spilling from holes in the roof is creating huge contrast problems for photography.
The building, Denbigh’s lunatic asylum, was closed in 1995, and when we visited it was in a bad shape but still worth photographing. Since our visit it’s been vandalised much more, looted and set on fire and is now beyond renovation.
I climb the clock tower on a very iffy circular stair case seemingly held together with pigeon poo and wandered around many areas of the site, at the time guarded but he must have been asleep!
The potential health risk from the pigeon poo, asbestos and flaking lead paint compete with the risk of being arrested for being in a building I’m not supposed to be in, but the thrill to explore and, in my case, the last chance to see and record some amazing architecture in its sad final state of dilapidation, tips the balance.
A fabulous experience and I can see why so many people enjoy the hobby of urban exploration.
Here’s a selection of photographs documenting the visit.
I went to Derwent Dam in Derbyshire to witness the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s (BBMF) Avro Lancaster fly over the reservoir to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the Dambuster raids.
I didnt get the best viewpoint and my best pics are ones with the plane flying away from me from north to south over the reservoirs. I wish I’d been on Derwent edge like those you can see in the photo. I’d have used a long lens and got it flying over the dam wall.
The Lancaster was followed by a Spitfire XIX (PS915) and Hurricane IIc (LF363 YB-W) for three fly-pasts.
I was over at Saltwick Bay on the North Coast last weekend photographing the wreck near the Black Nab Rock. It made me wonder if there was any history surrounding the boat. Sadly little information seems to be around the web on the subject. A couple of people have mentioned patchy details about it on the ePHOTOzine site. And there’s even a shot taken just three years after the boat capsized here.
The most information I could find was on the Whitby Lifeboat Station History page which states that a
Silver Medal awarded to Coxswain Robert Allen and the Bronze Medal awarded to Helmsman Richard Robinson for rescuing a survivor of the fishing vessel Admiral Van Tromp, which was wrecked after grounding on the Black Nab Rock in thick fog, an easterly wind, and a heavy breaking sea on 30 September 1976. When a survivor was seen on a rock Helmsman Robinson drove the D class lifeboat in at full speed, onto a ledge, and the man was grabbed just as a large sea broke over the rock and washed the boat back into the sea.Â
Black Nab at Saltwick Bay is well worth a visit, but watch for the tide. It comes in fast and you can easily get trapped!
A tale of Urban Un-exploration
There’s a guy on our ePHOTOzine called Tom who’s an urban explorer and posted up some great shots of the lunatic asylum at High Royds. There are some superb arches, eerie corridors, fabulous windows and great staircases. It’s a photographer’s paridise. So rather than risk the security guards I thought I’d write to ask permission to take a few legal shots.
The reply was “Unfortunately we cannot allow anyone on site now because of our ongoing building works and health and safety considerations.”
I suggested I’d waiver all legal claims should anything happen and said I’d just need a couple of hours and act responsibly.
But the answer was still no. Sadly I won’t be able to capture the images, so have to thank the guys on sites like 28Days Later for their bold efforts.