# Biggest Regrets



## Lhiannan Shee

Just wondering if you guys have any regrets? You know, like buildings you always wanted/intended to do, and now they're gone and it's too late. With a lot of places that are now gone, other people have gone before, took and posted pictures, so it's not so bad. Obviously not close to seeing it for yourself, but better than nothing. But there's some places that nobody seems to have been in, and you can only imagine how they were inside. Do you guys have any of these?

The main one for me would be Atholl Street Courthouse, the old courts on the Isle of Man. I'd planned to do it for so long, and when I finally did get round to it, it was too late and they'd begun demolishing it. They've kept the front wall, and the rest was knocked down. It's now a posh restaurant/nightclub.

Very old picture I took before the demolition in 2006:


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## Priority 7

Potters Manor for me I put off a trip two weeks earlier and ended up seeing it after the little scrotes had destroyed the staircase and banister railing


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## mookster

Cane Hill

Got into this lark about 6 months too late to see Cane Hill properly or at least when it was worth doing during demo, saw the outside of it from the fence in mid-2009 but that was it


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## jjandellis

missed the boat to hellingly ............... gutted ..... still need to do a big asylum before they are all gone


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## mookster

jjandellis said:


> missed the boat to hellingly ............... gutted ..... still need to do a big asylum before they are all gone



I'm so glad I saw Hellingly albeit only twice, everybody loved it and now it's almost all gone, pretty soon there will be not a trace left of it


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## krela

My biggest regret is not being old enough to do this in the 70s and 80s when all the really good stuff was around...


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## ricasso

GCHQ in Cheltenham before they ripped out all the wartime buildings to build the 'Doughnut' (although security was still watertight even when empty!)


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## dangerous dave

krela said:


> My biggest regret is not being old enough to do this in the 70s and 80s when all the really good stuff was around...


same id love to have been about then i can remember soo much growing up that was just abandoned kinda start of the 90es to mid 2000 time before all the clean ups n renovations and that jazz


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## Goldie87

Got way too many to list. One of the main ones I think was the ABC cinema in Leicester, don't even know why some of us never got round to getting in there


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## ricasso

krela said:


> My biggest regret is not being old enough to do this in the 70s and 80s when all the really good stuff was around...



i remember living in woolwich, london in 1980/81 and the old arsenal was still there,(just) also the docks were completley empty of ships and people, before the developers moved in, you could go anywhere!


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## krela

ricasso said:


> i remember living in woolwich, london in 1980/81 and the old arsenal was still there,(just) also the docks were completley empty of ships and people, before the developers moved in, you could go anywhere!



Oh I know, so much of our industrial heritage laying empty, and no health and safety laws or security to worry about! I'm only really interested in heavy industry and there's so little of it left now.


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## Derelict-UK

Not exactly an explore, but I wish I had photographed more of the regeneration of Birmingham's City Centre/Bullring and the surrounding roads when I first got here in 2002.


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## kathyms

*age*

i was born in the 40s not long after the war. i lived in a village befor the new box shape houses were built by the hundred. i wish as i grew up i could have taken pics of the cottages and old shops that have long gone. they are in my head but now all that is left is car sales large shops and new err modern houses. those old cottages that were every were , in every town in the uk. large families lived in one or two up and one or two down. but they were happy. families were closer and you knew your neighboughs. all gone. 


krela said:


> My biggest regret is not being old enough to do this in the 70s and 80s when all the really good stuff was around...


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## ricasso

krela said:


> Oh I know, so much of our industrial heritage laying empty, and no health and safety laws or security to worry about! I'm only really interested in heavy industry and there's so little of it left now.



now thats not entirely true is it young fella! if I remember correctly you have a soft spot,( and comprehensive knowledge) of military,airfields and HAA site's spring to mind!


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## krela

ricasso said:


> now thats not entirely true is it young fella! if I remember correctly you have a soft spot,( and comprehensive knowledge) of military,airfields and HAA site's spring to mind!



I do, but they're still around and I've seen almost everything I want to see.


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## smiler

i was born in the 40s not long after the war. i lived in a village befor the new box shape houses were built by the hundred. i wish as i grew up i could have taken pics of the cottages and old shops that have long gone. they are in my head but now all that is left is car sales large shops and new err modern houses. those old cottages that were every were , in every town in the uk. large families lived in one or two up and one or two down. but they were happy. families were closer and you knew your neighboughs. all gone.

I echo your sentiments entirely, but our kids and Grandkids seem to be managing this modern age of instant everything ok, and fair play now, we aren’t doing so bad ourselves.


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## kathyms

*HI,*



smiler said:


> i was born in the 40s not long after the war. i lived in a village befor the new box shape houses were built by the hundred. i wish as i grew up i could have taken pics of the cottages and old shops that have long gone. they are in my head but now all that is left is car sales large shops and new err modern houses. those old cottages that were every were , in every town in the uk. large families lived in one or two up and one or two down. but they were happy. families were closer and you knew your neighboughs. all gone.
> 
> I echo your sentiments entirely, but our kids and Grandkids seem to be managing this modern age of instant everything ok, and fair play now, we aren’t doing so bad ourselves.



HI SMILER, yes i agree with you. our kids enjoy the modern life, my son builds the huge buildings in industrial sights. we wouldnt be on here be it not for internet. and id rather have my washing matchine than the single tub with a wringer i first had lol. but the buildings that we had and took for granted have gone, as is the history and comunity. but life moves on. my grandkids as yours enjoy the modern times and one wonders what there children and grand kids lives will be like. my so the builder is into urbex, he goes with me tho im not aloud in now due to as he says my age. but he remembers the being taken around buildings when they grew up.


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## Scaramanger

Goldie87 said:


> Got way too many to list. One of the main ones I think was the ABC cinema in Leicester, don't even know why some of us never got round to getting in there



I managed to get in the ABC cinema but it was to watch ET when it was still open


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## Badoosh

I'm just disappointed that I didn't document the explores in my teen years. Especially RAF Binbrook & RAF North Cotes when they were under care & maintenance, also Grimsby & Hull docks in the late 80's & numerous other sites. Suppose i'll just have to wait for the technology to be available to download the vivid memories from inside my head!


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## Lhiannan Shee

mookster said:


> Cane Hill
> 
> Got into this lark about 6 months too late to see Cane Hill properly or at least when it was worth doing during demo, saw the outside of it from the fence in mid-2009 but that was it



Have to agree with that one. I remember before I knew these forums existed, many years ago now, sitting in my school library looking at pictures on Google, I always thought one day I'd get there. But living where I do, it just never happened


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## night crawler

Biggest regret is not taking the opportunity to photograph Fairmile when it first closed and I knew the guy's working security.


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## Seahorse

The Ace High site up my way on Mormond Hill. Not only do I regret there not being digital photography back then, but I also regret my batteries dying in my torch when I was deep in the middle. A random coffee table at the top of a stairway in pitch darkness is not conducive to good Health and Safety.


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## hydealfred

Losing my 35mm shots of Worthy Down Torpedo Store - unique building demolished shortly after


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## Foxylady

hydealfred said:


> Losing my 35mm shots of Worthy Down Torpedo Store - unique building demolished shortly after


Ouch! Not good, Alf. 

Mine is not doing a proper interior explore of Racal Electronics when I had the opportunity. It was one of those odd chances that provided an opening when I went for my first reccee...never to be repeated. I was too excited and too nervous so it was a case of quick in, take a couple of shots, and out again. Demolished now. 
Mind, if I hadn't have been so nippy I could have got locked in!


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## bonecollector

I would had loved to see the inside of poole power station before it was demolished in the early 90s.





I used to walk along the quay with my grandparents every weekend and the huge chimneys just looked stunning.
Too damn young at the time though.


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## Badoosh

bonecollector said:


> I would had loved to see the inside of poole power station before it was demolished in the early 90s.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I used to walk along the quay with my grandparents every weekend and the huge chimneys just looked stunning.
> Too damn young at the time though.



Now that does look rather awesome!


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## Incognito

I would have loved to have explored yelland power station but it was demolished not long after I was born lol. Seen some internal pics and it would have been the best explore in this area by a longshot


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## TK421

1. not exploring the coke works at Wingerworth
2. not exploring the Classic cinema in my part of Gateshead before demo (although I did get to see Star Wars when first released)
3. not doing any asylums as yet
4. not doing Derby loco works when I had plenty of chances, 'because you think it will be there forever'


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## BahrainPete

Back in the 70's there used to be an empty period house in Vale Road, Ramsgate that drew me in like a magnet and this was probably the start of my passion for empty & derelict places. For several years, while I was staying with my grandparents in the nearby Vale Square during the school summer holidays, I would go past and venture into the gardens in awe of what was an impressive property. Being young at the time and perhaps a little nervous of the unknown, I never had the courage to enter but instead enjoyed looking through the windows. In particular, I remember being fascinated with the worn front steps, trying to imagine how many people has used them over the years.

I've not been back to Ramsgate for many years and I'm sure the place is now a delightful home for somebody. If only I had been a little older, more brave and had a camera............


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## ThenewMendoza

TK421 said:


> 1. not exploring the coke works at Wingerworth



You and me both. Only realised it was there as the demo team were finishing the job. 

M


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## TK421

Hi there mendo, tis true! I passed it nearly everyday on the train, but always noticed that security was tight. It is supposed to be one of the most polluted bits of land in the country!


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## Pincheck

krela said:


> My biggest regret is not being old enough to do this in the 70s and 80s when all the really good stuff was around...



I did but didn't have a camera and think it would have been called something else by my peers


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## ThenewMendoza

TK421 said:


> It is supposed to be one of the most polluted bits of land in the country!



Derbyshire delivers. 

M


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## amarisfionn

Hmm .. anywhere I regret not getting to explore? 
There was a pub locally that I should have explored but when I finally got round to it .. it had disappeared! They knocked it down rather quickly to make way for flats! 
Oh I do regret not doing Colindale when we had the opportunity even though it wasnt going to be easy I wish we had tried! 
But hey ho I'm not one to regret things for long!
I'm lucky to have got to Cane Hill (even though it wasn't at its best when I got there it was still amazing) and I also got to Potters Manor House before it got dismantled and changed .. that was one of my most loved explores!  I am grateful for the endless hours I have spent wandering in West Park as well as Cane Hill!


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## mookster

I remember our unsuccessful jaunt to Colindale, looking back on it now we really should have given it a go even with the demolition stuff going on


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## amarisfionn

mookster said:


> I remember our unsuccessful jaunt to Colindale, looking back on it now we really should have given it a go even with the demolition stuff going on



Yeah I really wish we had now but it would have been really difficult and it led us to Cane Hill .. where we failed but then we did get to wander round the wonder that was the R J Grimes Garage!


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## Winchester

Heron Tower.

Not doing Aldwych.


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## B7TMW

My biggest regret is that I've not got into this sooner. Explored an abandoned hotel / resort in Antigua last year but lost my damn camera complete with memory card on the last day. I have a few from my wifes snappy which I'll post later. 

looking forward to getting more adventurous in the near future. Burnt out derilict house is on the cards real soon!


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## scottyg100

My biggest regret is only being 4 year old when Wooburn grange country club burned down and was demolished, it would of been so cool to explore fawlty towers


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## MD

Aylestone Boat House was a years old building before it got turned into the riverside bingo 
twas a stunning building with a massive staircase that led to billiard tables 
i could have only been about 10 years old at the time 
it was what we did in them days go out for the day exploring with mates 
not sit at home playing xbox and turning pale from lack of sunlight !! lol 
here is a link to the boathouse 
http://hungouttodry.co.uk/page22.htm


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## Speed

I can think of a couple.. I guess there's loads more if i think about it..

1. Not spending more time at Longbridge - Moral: put the effort in when needed!! dont let money/time issues make you miss out on stuff, it wont be there tomorrow!

2. Not seeing the Newcastle Brown brewery - Moral: Dont ever assume other people have done a good job of exploring and photographing a place.. Even if it looks shit go anyway! So many people are useless at finding the good stuff..


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## The Archivist

Been exploring for close to 7 years - a lot of fond memories of places now gone and only a few regrets - I don't like to dwell on the past too much, but: 

1. Not having a proper tripod or camera until a couple of years ago - my photos suffered muchly
2. Not getting better pics of Beedingwood before it was razed
3. Still not having gotten round to doing Dinorwic Quarry
4. Missing out on most of Netherne and St. David's (Carmarthen) and all of Hellingly and Cane Hill
5. Not being old/brave enough to see the submarines, tanks &c at Pound's Yard in Portsmouth before they were all scrapped
6. Naïvely, not testing the floor on one memorable occasion in West Park a couple of years ago - I fell straight through, luckily only a 4' drop instead of the 12' ones in some wards, but it hurt for weeks - lesson learned.


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## scribble

I just love the positioning of Poole power station on that photo. It should be owned by Willy Wonka.


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## dobbo79

*My biggest regret is definately not taking pics of the derelict Filey Butlins Campsite. My dad worked for a contractors in Hunmanby who got hte contract to clear the roads ready for the demo lads going in. I went with him one afternoon and rode round on the tractor clearing debris (i was about 10 at the time). Really wished now we had taken a camera but i guess you don't think...

I remember sitting on one of the big blue fountain things waiting patiently for dad to come back round with the tractor as he had let me out so i could wander....see, i started exploring at an early age 

Also i haven't done any Asylum explores yet as we are limited up here - De La Pole at Hull was probably the closest but that was flattened over 10 years back*


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## Snips86x

jjandellis said:


> missed the boat to hellingly ............... gutted ..... still need to do a big asylum before they are all gone



Still wish I'd gotten a visit it there before it was demolished


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## Ubermutant

Not looking round the Tricorn center in Portsmouth. I was there not long before it closed for good, before it was all borded up and the carparks were closed. Would loved to have had a look round inside that place, there seems to be almost nothing in print or on the web about what was a great building.


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## themousepolice

*oh so many*

a long list of places i should of gone to.

for now the ones at the for front of my mind....

Landor Cartons. cardbord box manufactorers in Birmingham.
Supermarine. southampton.
Tinsley traction depot. south yorkshire
BTH/AEI/GEC.Rugby
The Vulcan Foundary. Newton -le- Willows
Bordesley bus depot & cinema (opposite each other ) Birmingham
Bass maltings. Burton on Trent.
British Libary stores/warehouse. Somerstown/St Pancras London
The Dick Kerr works. Preston


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## Richard Davies

Ubermutant said:


> Not looking round the Tricorn center in Portsmouth. I was there not long before it closed for good, before it was all borded up and the carparks were closed. Would loved to have had a look round inside that place, there seems to be almost nothing in print or on the web about what was a great building.



It was the Tricorn that got me into Uxbexing, that & the Gateshead car park.


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## ImmortalShadow

This is a general post...my regret (or one of) is not getting into urbex when I first came to Derby in 2005 - it would've been great to see the GNR Warehouse more intact than it is now, and seeing inside the Magistrate's Court amoungst other things. Apparently there was quite a lot of good stuff to urbex in Derby back then.


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## waley_bean

Not visiting Denbigh. I also wish I had got into Urbanx a long time ago so I could have seen many of the buildings which have since been demolished.


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## Snips86x

I would have to agree with Waley about getting into Urbex earlier, but also I wish I'd been able to visit Hellingly a few years ago. Before the entire place got trashed and demolished.


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## ChrisR

Richard Davies said:


> It was the Tricorn that got me into Uxbexing, that & the Gateshead car park.



In that case, got any photos?


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## mookster

waley_bean said:


> Not visiting Denbigh.



Luckily it's not too late to visit Denbigh!


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## lost

Shitehole.


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## waley_bean

mookster said:


> Luckily it's not too late to visit Denbigh!



It's in chaos though isn't it? I wanted to see it as it was before it got totally trashed. I like natural degradation but not vandalism and demolition.


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## Cuban B.

All the asylums that were gone before my time.


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## John_D

Not having a camera (or the inclination to document such stuff) when I explored RAF Trelever about 50 years ago, only a year or two after it was shut down, there were still security posters on the walls of the bunker and odds and ends on and in the desks that were still there. Also a similar regret for THIS PLACE first explored in the late 1960's when it was totally complete and you could wander all over it, upstairs and down


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## krela

My biggest regret is that they haven't knocked down or converted all the asylums yet.

:icon_evil

:jimlad:


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## imyimyimy

The Superbowl in my local area i guess and Drakelow Powerstation, always been meaning to check that powerstation out


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## 32nd_Degree

My biggest regrets? Taking things for granted. Thinking that just because a building's been around for 50 years it will still be there. Thinking that all human nature is inherently bad...including myself. Believing that post modernist Bauhaus fake buildings were the wave of the future. Not speaking against huge Stalinist style concrete government buildings...those monstrosities take FOREVER to go away, and there's nothing to photograph except...concrete.


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## oldbloke

Short sweet and to the point....................Being to old and having bad legs.


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## Anthillmob74

i regret when i lived in purley many many years ago not enquiring what the "castle on the hill" was. cane hill. it wasnt until around 5 years later that i enquired and discovered that it was an abandoned asylum right on my then doorstep. by the time i managed to find someone who would be willing to come with me it was too late & just saw the mere shell as it was torn down. but i had spent many days/nights reading about her and felt like i knew her inside out, this got me into urbex.

also regret our epic fail @ hellingly. driving for almost 2 hours only to be nabbed by security on the bloody driveway leading up. and also for not having the time to delve further into west park the time we first managed entry as i had to go collect the kids. 

but i have appreciated every moment and it has given me an absolute love of photography.


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## Anthillmob74

krela said:


> My biggest regret is not being old enough to do this in the 70s and 80s when all the really good stuff was around...



amen to that


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## Ramsgatonian

BahrainPete said:


> Back in the 70's there used to be an empty period house in Vale Road, Ramsgate that drew me in like a magnet and this was probably the start of my passion for empty & derelict places. For several years, while I was staying with my grandparents in the nearby Vale Square during the school summer holidays, I would go past and venture into the gardens in awe of what was an impressive property. Being young at the time and perhaps a little nervous of the unknown, I never had the courage to enter but instead enjoyed looking through the windows. In particular, I remember being fascinated with the worn front steps, trying to imagine how many people has used them over the years.
> 
> I've not been back to Ramsgate for many years and I'm sure the place is now a delightful home for somebody. If only I had been a little older, more brave and had a camera............



I live a 5 minute walk away from Vale Square and a friend of mine lives there. Beautiful houses!


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## kathyms

*old*



oldbloke said:


> Short sweet and to the point....................Being to old and having bad legs.



this is my problem exactly. being to old and unable to go into the expore, but at least when i drive there with them i watch the boys go in and feel part off it.


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## Janey68

I remember being about 12 when I found this beautiful derelict house down by the river, there was just one way in through a tiny gap in a downstairs window. It was owned by a very wealthy man who died and had no one to leave it to (apparently) I remember the staircase winding up round to a balcony and it was all wood panelled. This got me into loving old buildings. I have a few regrets about places round Huntingdon, they knocked down a lovely old school and built a hideous building there. At the moment they are knocking down one of our gaol/workhouses, no doubt to put some more ugly homes on.


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