# Nobel explosives,the dynamite works..Scotland



## Mikeymutt (Aug 17, 2018)

I have wanted to visit nobel explosives for ages now,its only a short drive from the girlfriends and I have never been.so whilst up there she had to work so I decided to have a day there myself as she had been to the power station.so I was up early,made some sandwiches and I was off.it was the power station I wanted to see originally,but as I delved further in I started realising there is so much to see here other than the station.everyone who goes makes a beeline for the power station.and its understandable,but I wanted to see more.so I got the power station doe first then headed off in search.this place had got a bit of a hold on me.well it actually become an obsession for me.i had spent hours looking at maps pinpointing all the bits in the woods looking at old photos.looking at videos and old reports.inspired by Ben Cooper who done lots of work about ten years ago documenting the site.lots have been dem0lished since his early reports but still lots to see.so I found the woods were I was going to find stuff.well no amount of studying can prepare you for the scale of the place,it spreads all over the place.having to fight through bushes and trees and gorse,sand dunes and loads of barren paths I started to find things.nine hours later with aching feet and cut to shreds by all the overgrowth I was back in my car happy with what I had seen.there is still more to see here and I will go back.i have no idea what a lot of the stuff here was used for but it was so interesting..Nobel works was set up in Ayrshire in Ardeer in 1870 by the founder Alfred Nobel,it was not actually him who raised the funds for the works but two local men.who raised the 24,000 pounds needed.it specialised in dynamite for quarry and mining work.later for military and civilian use.it later merged with the newly formed ICI.the company offered good terms and conditions compared to many other companies.but it was dangerous work,with many accidents over the year and lots of fatalities.the site at its peak employed 13,000 people and had a dentist and bank and travel agent.also its own train station and buses.with a massive change in work and production being moved elsewhere lots of the site became derelict,ICI Nobel still exist there as a company but on a smaller scale.it was said that the Ardeer works was the bane of the German airforce and when yo wander around you can see why.massive sand dunes and hills and woods hiding everything and large buildings with gorse and and other plants grown on top to disguise them.there is so much history online if people want to divulge more like I did.


First up is the safety fuse testing building.






















Lots of the original lights still hang in the buildings which is nice to see.i do like the old lights in buildings







A block a short way from the fuse testing building













he fertiliser works.i ca only guess fertiliser was heavily used in explosives.as we all know people have made crude fertiliser bombs.



















The testing labs.there was several buildings here used for the development and testing of dynamite.with rooms with viewing slits for observation.And high speed cameras would be used in here to film the explosions in slow motion.




Test mortar pendulum 











































Away fro the labs is some small buildings this one has some old concrete plinths.maybe to hold a generator or something
















fighting through some bushes I found this interesting room at the back of a building













A toilet bloc with some nice tiles










Now we start getting off the beaten track.and when you get in the woodland there is loads of these old tunnels with tracks in them.Obviously to transport goods around the site.i found these interesting and looked in loads of them
















Deeper in I come across these giant concrete walls.with some interesting bits in













After coming out I spotted a shed in the trees and thought I would go to look.expecting just an empty shed I was surprised to see it was an old rail shed to store the carts or mini locos for the lines.the tracks still in there.










here was some underground room surrounded by blast walls







Some random trashed building







Another tunnel.this had a concrete room with little platforms







Heading into another bit of the woods was this big structure.in the front was lots of cogs and wheels and sticking out the back was the spindles from the cogs.there was a water pool at the end.maybe to cool something down.an interesting building.
















The black powder mills.a massive concrete construction with room up and down.













SO next I head across an old quarry down a long road to this bridge which basically takes yo to a seperat part of the site.almost feels like an island on there




there was lots of these drying houses on there







Then we have the bunkers there was loads on here everywhere you look.but they are all the same in side.most are so overgrown you cant get to them.its basically a corrugated iron cover with lots of rooms coming of them for some sort of testing.










Coming back across the bridge is another large area full of more buildings.here is another tunnel.yet loads more of these







And here we have the cordite press houses.similar to the bunkers in the fact that they are similar but deffo more interesting.




These things were just to long.



















Back in the woods again I find another tiny building which looked a bit newer







A bit of old signage




There was lots old pipes running through the woods but these have all been capped off now during the clean up in the ninties.




So that's it from ardeer.i will deffo go back as there is more to see in the woods and it was so overgrown.and lots on the south costal bit.i still have the power station to post at some point.i find it ironic that Alfred Nobel was the founder of the Nobel peace prize when he created such destructive things capable of killing lots of people.he said himself though in a quoute,his explanation
'MY dynamite will sooner lead to peace than a thousand world conventions,as soon as men will find that in one instant,whole armies can be utterly destroyed,they shall abide by golden peace'


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## UrbandonedTeam (Aug 17, 2018)

I didn't realise the power station and the explosives were different things, thought the power station was to power the explosives factory buildings.


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## Mikeymutt (Aug 17, 2018)

No you are right the power station was to provide power for the buildings with pipes running all over the place.just most people visit the station.this is just a report on the works.the station is a report on its own


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## KPUrban_ (Aug 17, 2018)

The place looks stunning. The peeling paint definitely gives it an unusual character.


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## smiler (Aug 17, 2018)

Oh man that's good, bloody epic explore Mikey, when did ya say your goin back? I'll chip in with a bottle of iodine if it helps, Loved It, Thanks


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## oldscrote (Aug 17, 2018)

Brilliant,loved it,thank you........


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## krela (Aug 18, 2018)

Excellent as always Mikey!


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## mookster (Aug 18, 2018)

Best set of photos I've seen from here, can't wait to see it myself.


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## Dirus_Strictus (Aug 18, 2018)

Sadly; brilliant though he was in blending one of the most unstable, basic explosives with a simple, naturally occurring solid to produce stable and handleable dynamite sticks, Nobel was a very bad judge of human foibles and character - give man a weapon that he can use on his neighbour, without harming himself and he will use it. The harnessing of the atom as the ultimate weapon, and the horrors produced by the first uses in war of the properties of this fundamental part of the structure of our world, has meant that mankind has needed to 'own' this dreadful destructive power, but also has continually tried to push the devil back into the box and shut the lid.


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## Pincheck (Aug 18, 2018)

still lots to see but the mortars and lab damage i believe was the owners trying to deter the number of people visiting the site as the live site was probably being tripped as it has a motion monitored fence as well as the Dome cameras. They have also had usual idiots in the way of pikeys and vandals visit the site. which is why the power station has its entrances back-filled with sand was a nice place to see and still is. Spent a lot of time back here in 2008. If visited during the change of seasons it can still throw up unseen before items. Nice report mate


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## Pincheck (Aug 18, 2018)

was 2 of your high speed camera's (note plate still in place ) Mikey 2009 



The ballistic mortar that has been cur off by owners 



Smaller and heavier one removed sometime after 2012 which was last time i visited here to show someone around


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## Mikeymutt (Aug 18, 2018)

smiler said:


> Oh man that's good, bloody epic explore Mikey, when did ya say your goin back? I'll chip in with a bottle of iodine if it helps, Loved It, Thanks



Thank you smiler.you do try to look after me ha ha


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## Mikeymutt (Aug 18, 2018)

Dirus_Strictus said:


> Sadly; brilliant though he was in blending one of the most unstable, basic explosives with a simple, naturally occurring solid to produce stable and handleable dynamite sticks, Nobel was a very bad judge of human foibles and character - give man a weapon that he can use on his neighbour, without harming himself and he will use it. The harnessing of the atom as the ultimate weapon, and the horrors produced by the first uses in war of the properties of this fundamental part of the structure of our world, has meant that mankind has needed to 'own' this dreadful destructive power, but also has continually tried to push the devil back into the box and shut the lid.



I never realised this place had anything to do with the development of the atomic bomb.prob the most horrific invention man has created


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## Mikeymutt (Aug 18, 2018)

Pincheck said:


> was 2 of your high speed camera's (note plate still in place ) Mikey 2009
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thank you pincheck.i never realised that the labs had been trashed by the owners.thats quite sad.always nice to see the cameras.no longer there now sadly.srill plenty too see though.i need to go back in winter.i did see the same piles at the power station


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## Sabtr (Aug 20, 2018)

Superb photography. What an amazing place.


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## HughieD (Aug 20, 2018)

Fantastic. This is what exploring is all about. Massive site that. You must have been there hours Mikey. Really enjoyed that report.


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## Dirus_Strictus (Aug 21, 2018)

Mikeymutt said:


> I never realised this place had anything to do with the development of the atomic bomb.prob the most horrific invention man has created



It didn't. However; no matter how good the intentions were of the original inventor of a process or finder of new properties of matter, other members of mankind are sure to cock it up. Once Nobel opened the box - well people of my age have seen first hand the consequences! Yet; thank heavens it was not some of the present day heads of state who opened the box first - the world would be a much more dangerous place.


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## Mikeymutt (Aug 21, 2018)

Thank you all.i was here ages.spent about nine hours in total..so basically nobel was the catalyst really for modern day bombs.although I swear explosives were around before him.


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## krela (Aug 21, 2018)

Mikeymutt said:


> Thank you all.i was here ages.spent about nine hours in total..so basically nobel was the catalyst really for modern day bombs.although I swear explosives were around before him.



The Chinese have been using gunpowder since the 9th century, and first used it in warfare a century or so later. So yeah, 800 years or so before Nobel came along and cooked up some dynamite.


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## J_a_t_33 (Aug 24, 2018)

Fascinating place, love the tunnels and the tracks!


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## Mikeymutt (Aug 24, 2018)

J_a_t_33 said:


> Fascinating place, love the tunnels and the tracks!



Thank you very much.the little tunnels were great


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## Pincheck (Aug 26, 2018)

There was a extensive tunnel and bunker system on the west side of the site but believe that's now gone


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## Mikeymutt (Aug 31, 2018)

Pincheck said:


> There was a extensive tunnel and bunker system on the west side of the site but believe that's now gone



It seems a lot had gone now sadly but still plenty to keep you going for a few days


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## prettyvacant71 (Aug 31, 2018)

Wow thats some explore you did there mikey Ive never seen pics from this part before, we saw what a nightmare it was over that side of the site with all the gorse bush defences and sand dunes haha but was on a mission to see the power station so Brewtal and myself never made it that far, wud of taken me at least another 2 days there to fit that in lol. I admire your determination and getting to see the lesser touristy spots, def worth the while mikey and puts the site in perspective with the power station


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