Tag Archive for history

Atlantic Sea Wall, Surrey

Black and white photo of a tank with some kind of frame strapped to the front

Funny what you find on Google Maps when you’re looking for a pond that you may or may not have visited years ago. Long story. Today I found a section of Atlantic sea wall, sitting there all blown to bits and looking sorry for itself, which is somewhat unreasonable considering the important role it played in D-Day.

Kaserne Krampnitz, Germany

Detail view of ceiling mosaic showing swastika and reichsadler

Hidden behind the sleepy village of the same name, Krampnitz was originally built for the German cavalry and later used the Soviet army for pretty much the same thing. Today it’s a vast complex of trashed barracks, overgrown parade grounds, and rusting machinery, but it also presents some photogenic secrets for those inclined to keep digging.

Beelitz Heilstätten, Germany

A person lies strapped to a light table while doctors and nurses prepare for a procedure

Located just 30 minutes south of Berlin, Beelitz Heilstätten is an urban explorer’s paradise. The former tuberculosis therapy centre features 64 architecturally fascinating buildings in various states of decay / vandalism, and has a long history speckled with famous patients such as Hitler and Honecker. What a lovely destination for a day in the snow …

Half Moon Bay, Antigua

View looking up a beach, a derelict structure sits beneath palms on a moody horizon

I can’t walk past an abandoned building, even on holiday, even if it’s raining and I know the pictures will be rubbish. This was very much the case with Antigua and the Half Moon Bay Hotel, though something I couldn’t guess as we walked up the beach in a storm was how much filth we’d uncover once we started poking around the history behind this place. A tale of corruption, scandal, and global fraud; this rabbit hole goes deep…

Tour Day 2: Pripyat and Kiev

A stark black and white image showing a neo-brutalist concrete building

Our third day in the exclusion zone starts with the now familiar breakfast, blue skies, and bright sunshine. Conditions aren’t ideal for the brooding images I had hoped for as we planned this trip, only Darren is happy since the weather couldn’t…

Our arrival in the Exclusion Zone

Detail photo of research base in Chernobyl showing 4 windows and part of a street light

Day One sees our intrepid adventurers travel to Kiev via London, pass security checkpoints manned by armed guards, and enter the officially designated “Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation” for our most ambitious UrbEx photography project to date. We’ll be spending two and a half days in Chornobyl, mostly visiting the countryside around the power plant and in particular Pripyat, an “atomograd” city for 50,000 inhabitants abandoned since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April 1986.

Laverstoke Mill, Hampshire

A narrow footway across a stream

Started by a determined young French aristocrat smuggled to British shores, Laverstoke Mill went on to manufacture paper for England’s bank notes. Today it’s the home of Bombay Sapphire gin. Join our intrepid photographer on a cold May morning in 2010 for a tour with a difference.