Day 352: The Derelict Chicken Farm

“Roads are no place for naive chickens dreaming of nirvana.”
― Shalom Auslander

After watching The Chernobyl Diaries last weekend, it seemed fitting to visit an abandoned place full of lots of rotting bits and pieces, just to carry on with the theme of eery things! We decided to just randomly drive today and see what we found to Photograph. (For those that don’t like derelict places, alternative photos are at the bottom of the blog!)

It’s something I’ve not done for a long time, probably because of the increase in petrol prices…anyway, we passed a place almost straight away on the journey, but I felt compelled to drive about another twenty miles and then come back, before we settled for Photographing it!

Nevertheless, it was worth it. This particular derelict place is for sale but doesn’t seem to be overly popular amongst urban explorers, as it’s a bit off the usual track. So it felt like we were the first people there exploring it in all of its glory and decay.

It looked to have once been a chicken farm of sorts, the buildings with their ventilation roofs, or what was left of them, indicated that anyway. There wasn’t much there, but the sunlight streaming in meant that a few lucky shots were able to be captured.

And for those that aren’t into the decaying and derelict places, an opportunity presented itself that’s proof that you should never put the camera down! I caught a rainbow outside the window, coupled with the rain on the window and a Christmas tree that lights up – the final result was pretty nice…

 

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Day One Hundred & Fourteen: The Derelict Hospital – Final Chapter

“Take Only Pictures – Leave only Footprints”

My more adventurous Photography side delves into the world of Urban Exploration, and whilst I can by no means call myself a ‘proper’ Urban Explorer, I have acquired a nice portfolio of shots over the past year or so of various dead and decaying places. Why? Somebody, somewhere, needs to document the fall of what could have been a hub of society and that, in a nutshell, is why I occasionally flit into the area.

Sometime last year I got the chance to explore a derelict hospital within the local area. It was a small hospital which focused mainly on rehab for elderly patients but had some other outpatient departments too. It’s a beautiful place, whilst it houses your typical ‘hut’ type buildings that are quick to fall down and decay – in the middle of the grounds is the most amazing Victorian Mansion with a beautiful tower. There’s no online documentation of when it actually closed – but it wasn’t that long ago. Despite this however, it fell rapidly into a state of decay and was soon trashed by local youths.

The only reason I found out it existed was because during my first week at a new job last August I was sent right to it for an important meeting. It was pouring with rain, windy, stormy and the roads were narrow and completely covered in mud. It was a joyful journey. My Satnav took me right down to the entrance for the hospital and I mentally swore at it for being so wrong. However it was quite correct. Tucked away behind the derelict building was the place that housed my meeting. I was itching to come back with the camera.

So on a bright but chilly Autumny day last year I did. There were Deer, noises, funny slogans and sayings such as a phrase written across a cupboard door saying I couldn’t sleep last night and various other exciting bits. There were also security guards. All the shots you see so far in the blog aside from the first one – were taken in Autumn last year. I wanted to give a sense of the place, something I only captured slightly today. Everything else now is from today!

Today I had another meeting in the same place and I arrived with eager glances at the derelict hospital to see how it was faring. Fences bordered it, blocking all form of entry onto the grounds and inside, contractors were hastily pulling down everything. When I walked into the meeting staff were complaining about the loss of their phone lines due to something being hit on the hospital site and last week they were without electricity for the same reason. Looking at the building we were in it was quite clear that it would one day be the next to go.

Nevertheless I got some shots today, the last shots of the grounds of the Hospital intact, I would imagine. Unless anyone sneaks their way in after hours, which, given the heightened security, is unlikely. Soon, the whole site will be a modern housing estate with absolutely no trace of what lay there before.

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