Urban Exploration And The Industrial Landscape

This gallery is an exploration of the changing urban environment of Lancashire, the North West and beyond. In some respects my explorations are too late – the past 15 years has seen massive redevelopment of the urban landscape, but there again, so had the previous 15 years. The urban environment is constantly changing and evolving, so like all photography, this is just a snapshot in time.

What has become noticeable is the increasing number of empty factories – manufacturing is now a peripheral activity in the north west and Britain as a whole, as it’s simply cheaper to make things in China, and ship them over here. Consequently, many long established businesses have either gone out of business, been taken over and shut down, or just become importers. I’ve tried to capture a few of these, where I’ve been able to gain access, before their inevitable demolition and redevelopment as housing or retail parks.

Urban Exploration (UE)
Urban Exploration is a wide ranging tag attached to the exploration of derelict sites (factories, airfields, hospitals, mines, asylums, docks, etc), high stuff (cranes, buildings etc) and also man made underground stuff (bunkers, drains, mines, tunnels, etc). I regard myself more as an Urban Photographer, documenting what is here now, but may not be for much longer. As an engineer by profession, I've spent my working life on industrial sites, and I'm fascinated by the structures and processes of industry and engineering.

When photographing a site I try to take photos that record what was there, but also a different angle on things. I look for the details, the evidence of how people have interacted with their surroundings. Consequently, these pictures are best viewed as a collection, as I feel the sum is greater than the parts!

Of course not all my urban photography is internal - I have photographed a number of areas as part of the Black & White Module for my City & Guilds in Photography. For these I loaded my camera with Black and White film and just went for a walk.


NOTE 1: Urban Exploration involves entering properties that are derelict and disused, and therefore quite often unsafe. 'Don't try this at home', as they used to say!

NOTE 2: Trespass is a civil (not criminal offence). I never break into sites, I find access where others have gone before, or just ask permission - if you don't ask you don't get. If there is no access, I don't create it, there's plenty more places to go.

NOTE 3: It has been suggested that the motto of Urban Exploration should be "Take only pictures, leave only footprints". What you see, you leave behind.

Accrington Conservative Club	Ainscough Flour Mill, Burscough	Albion Mill, Meltham	Astley Green Colliery, Manchester	Backbarrow Ironworks, Cumbria	Bailey Mill, Delph, Oldham
Bank Hall, Bretherton, Chorley	Bradshaw Works, Bolton	Brierley Brothers	Brook Dyeing, Meltham	Brymbo Steelworks	Buxton Lime Firms
Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, Stoke	Cheadle Bleachworks, Manchester	Clipstone Colliery	Criggion VLF Station	Darwen	Dinorwic Slate Quarry
Ditherington Flax Mill	Docks and Ports	Dunaskin Brickworks	Edenwood Mill	Fernhurst Mill, Oldham	Grane Mill, Haslingden
Griffe Mill, Stanbury	Griffe Mill Re-Visit	Grove Rake Fluorspar Mine	Gwrych Castle	Hoffman Kiln, Langcliffe	Horwich Area Mines
Horwich Loco Works	Huncoat Power Station	Huncoat Power Station Re-Visit	Ivy Bank Mill, Haworth	Ivy Bank Mill Revisit	Jumbles Quarry
Knoll Mill, Oldham	Leyland Motors Test Track	Loch Long Torpedo Testing Station, Arrochar	Millbrook Railway Warehouse	Multipart, Chorley	NGTE Pyestock
Old Lane Mill, Halifax	Pickle Factory, Blackburn	Pleasley Colliery	Prestolite (Butec), Leyland	RAF Spadeadam	Roach Bridge Paper Mill, Preston
Robert Fletchers, Oldham	ROF Wrexham	ROF Chorley	Saunders Roe, Beaumaris	Steel Industry	The Duke Of Lancaster
Thorpe Marsh Power Station	Vernon Carus, Preston	Victoria Baths, Manchester	Weavers Triangle, Burnley	West Yorkshire Textile Mills	Westwood Mill, Linthwaite
William Blythe, Hapton	Withnell Fold Paper Mill, Chorley	Xelflex, Chorley	The Industrial Landscape