# Why do you do it?



## tom83

Why do you do it???

I get asked this alot from various family and friends, regarding Urban Exploration, especially now Ive had a brush with the local plod.

My answer is simple, I have a great interest in the 1st and 2nd World Wars and am a collector of Militaria from that period. Ive done my family tree and found out a great deal about my ancestors actions during the wars. 

Now I want to visit the remaining Military Sites and photograph them in their current states for my own experience before they are demolished and forgotten underneath future Building developments.

Although I must admit, since joining this site I find myself getting interested in Hospitals and Industrial Sites for future explores, never say never so to speak.

The reason for this post is because Im curious as to how and why everyone else on here got into Urbexing, and I for one would love to hear how your first steps into this odd recreation came about.

Tom


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## littledasypus

*Interesting...*

Thats really interesting because it is almost completely different from why I do it. I get fed up with being trapped in the grid of ordinary life. If most people look at a map of their area and mark the routes they usually travel through it, all the paths and roads and places you are supposed to go, they cover such a tiny area of available space. We've built a world where our movements are largely dictated by lines and grids, and everywhere is owned by someone. So I like to go on adventures. I didn't even bother to document my explores until I joined sf0 (zero on the end, not 'o'), which is my other favorite hobby (website sf0.org), which if you take a look you will either get, or you won't. Now I have changed my perspective enough that I don't see a flat landscape that dictates my path, if I'm out and about, I see possibilities in many directions and everything is a lot less mundane.

I don't know if I'm explaining it right, maybe sounds a bit pretentious, but its hard to put it in words. I guess I just like fun more than I like real life! What can I say, I like to stray from the path. I've been doing it since I lived in Boston in the US as a kid, it jsut feels natural to poke your nose into the more interesting bits of your environment.


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## urbtography

I agree with Dasy, It is more interesting to wander off the beaten track, see what others may not ever see. I do it for some of the same reasons really, i get bored with always seeing what other people see and going where they go, i also love photography so combining the two is urbex really.


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## zimbob

Twas the glamour that attracted me


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## lost

Like *littledasypus* said - escapism


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## Pip

I'm not a 'hardcore' urbexer or anything , I'm just really fed-up seeing places from 'my' past slowly being eroded away. I'm getting more into my local history, enjoying books about local life from years past. 
At the moment, a local hospital appears to be losing space/buildings to modern revampment/housing and I've got to say that it really pisses me off:icon_evil
Since joining this forum I have discovered so much (not directly) about my area that I probably would never have known about, and for that I thank you all for giving me ideas 


Pip


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## Black Shuck

I enjoy being different and going to places other people would not dream of. A lot of my family think I am totally mad with what I do but I just say I have an interest in History and architcture and to me its totally normal! Its good to be different to the rest of society because if they are not interested then they will never see what I have seen, so in a way I find myself lucky.


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## shatters

I'm a nosey bast**d

Phil


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## Black Shuck

shatters said:


> I'm a nosey bast**d
> 
> Phil



Short and to the point Shatters! But very funny!


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## natevansate

It was down to getting the train past battersea and it always called out for me to explore it, so i started to search. I still need to do battersea but at least im doing what i love now, and that it has pretty much sorted my photography degree out.


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## escortmad79

Mainly my love of old buildings, getting inside & seeing what treasures may lie inside.

Fantasically carved stonework, ornate plasterwork etc

The fact that various Scottlish castles & mansions have been abandoned fascinates me.

Old industrial history, from a time when we did actually have an industry, recording all in photographic form for future generations to see.

That & I'm a nosey git too!


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## ricasso

zimbob said:


> Twas the glamour that attracted me



not the uniform then?


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## mcspringzy

I do it because I crave internet attention.


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## Evilgenius

Black Shuck said:


> I enjoy being different and going to places other people would not dream of. A lot of my family think I am totally mad with what I do but I just say I have an interest in History and architcture and to me its totally normal! Its good to be different to the rest of society because if they are not interested then they will never see what I have seen, so in a way I find myself lucky.



Il go with Black Shuck, plus the rush of knowing your not meant to be in certain places and you could get busted, gets the heart pumping!!


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## Andyj23uk

because i can


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## Dystopia

Andyj23uk-Love your signature! 

Well for me it is largely curiosity and I enjoy the sounds, smells and textures of things as well as sight. As weird as it sounds, it feels "natural" to me and brings a strange sense of peace when I'm in somewhere and the madness of society is outside and unaware that I'm there. I also like the thrill of knowing I shouldn't be there and could be discovered. Then there is the social side-I've explored with loads of great people and continue to meet fun folks through this hobby.


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## thirtyfootscrew

The pay's good, and at least we get dental .

The real reason is kind-of varied, I initially got (back) into urbex through photography but deep down it's something most of us did when we were kids - you just naturally explore everywhere around you. As an adult that will to encounter the unknown diminishes and most 'normal' people's idea of exploring their environment is going to a new shopping centre or eating at a new restaurant. 

Even in the time I've not been doing 'real' urbex I've always been a wanderer, I spent months trying to find different ways to walk to work across London so I could see more alleyways and back streets and got photos if memorable people, places and events like these...



 

 




 



... just by putting myself in different places and taking in the world around me (and there's a good few cool things I didn't get photos of either). I'm not saying they're great photos but they represent different and varied slices of life that I'd never have seen if I just got the tube or just walked around ignoring the world around me like so many people do. 

This has turned into a bit of an "I have a dream..." post but to answer your question really - I do it because it gives me a different view of the world and I do it because it makes me feel the freedom that most people let slip away.


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## mexico75

It's the buzz of being somewhere your not supposed to be, closest I can find to regressing to my childhood Plus you get some great shots and meet some top people along the way Oh and it's a lot cheaper than going to the pub on weekends.


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## apoo..

i like being a kid again


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## Foxylady

Wow...all of the above really. How long have you got?  
From a very early age I would contrive to get lost so that I could discover new places by myself, then later exploring farmhouse remains... finding bits of broken crockery and other treasures in the fields to put in my 'museum'.
I have an insatiable curiosity about the world around me. I love the countryside, photography, walking and making connections with the land by discovering where a lane ends up and where the gate across the field leads to...it never fails to make me happy...and researching the local history and tying it all up together. 
I love going into an abandoned building or forbidden site and feeling as if I've crossed a doorway into another world where no-one else goes...and the adrenalin rush of taking loads of pics and getting away with it unseen. 
And then there's the aesthetics...architecture, gorgeous and interesting details, peeling paint...lol...and finding something that I didn't know was there...and being where ordinary people had become extraordinary during WW2...
...and coming home soaked to the skin and covered in mud and scratches from brambles, just like I did as a kid. The only difference is, I don't get my legs slapped now!


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## Sabtr

More or less what Foxylady said - and I still have a museum.


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## BigLoada

Why?

Love of old industrial artefacts and associated history
Also for the photography
And because I just crave being underground


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## Keep out!

For the chicks.

I also love the tributes they always put up in my name on the sites. "keep out" lol


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## krela

I'm a nosey bastard and I get bored easily.


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## Pip

Foxylady said:


> The only difference is, I don't get my legs slapped now!



I'm sure I can oblige............ You foxy Foxy you



Pip


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## Foxylady

Pip said:


> I'm sure I can oblige............ You foxy Foxy you
> 
> 
> 
> Pip


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## Canonite

I've always explored in some way or form ever since i was a child. "ee lad, wi dint a toys in them days"
As i grew older i developed a strong interest in industry, hard working labour mills, foundries and generally big chunky lumps of metal! 
I come from a mining town. As children we used to play in what used to be an old pit, we were always finding old remnants of the dying industry. Older still i took more of an interest in local history, only recently did i bother to mix my photography with it.


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## Alir147

Foxylady said:


> Wow...all of the above really. How long have you got?
> From a very early age I would contrive to get lost so that I could discover new places by myself, then later exploring farmhouse remains... finding bits of broken crockery and other treasures in the fields to put in my 'museum'.
> I have an insatiable curiosity about the world around me. I love the countryside, photography, walking and making connections with the land by discovering where a lane ends up and where the gate across the field leads to...it never fails to make me happy...and researching the local history and tying it all up together.
> I love going into an abandoned building or forbidden site and feeling as if I've crossed a doorway into another world where no-one else goes...and the adrenalin rush of taking loads of pics and getting away with it unseen.
> And then there's the aesthetics...architecture, gorgeous and interesting details, peeling paint...lol...and finding something that I didn't know was there...and being where ordinary people had become extraordinary during WW2...
> ...and coming home soaked to the skin and covered in mud and scratches from brambles, just like I did as a kid. The only difference is, I don't get my legs slapped now!



this is practically identical to me 

basically - hillwalking all my life which from about 6 or 7 years old led to me collecting old things from ruined crofts / hill farms. Gradually started going in to more and more remote farmhouses as well as 1 or 2 derelict houses near where I live. 

At 11 years old, my dad lifted me in to my first big place - a derelict orphanage near me. We explored that as he knew I was obsessed. Gradually grew from there until i was 16 and discovered UE forums. Here I am now at 19 and have come quite a long way since then!

preserving places that were important to communities like asylums, indurstrial sites etc. so that once they are gone, there is a FULL record of what was there. i've found with many big abandoned places near me that the most you'll find on the net is a paragraph or 2 and maybe 1 photo if you're lucky. Also for the thrills and pretty much everything else folk have said. 

Photography has become more of an interest now from this rather than the other way round. For me, it's very much the buildings first - then photography.


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## Dystopia

I was denied these sorts of experiences as a kid due to over protective parents but I also had an imaginary world where all was deserted by humans and I lived wild with a pack of dogs. Don't know where it all came from but I suspect it was being told that dangerous people were the danger of going out to play so therefore a world without them would be freedom. That and let's face it...other than the other urbexers for the most part, people suck.  There were other animals too like friendly cats that sat in windowsills of the derelict towns and cities. I just waited until I was an adult and had freedom before playing in the wastelands.


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## TheLondoners

mcspringzy said:


> I do it because I crave internet attention.



Funny...lol


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## Seahorse

Because I feel it's important to preserve for future generations the magnificence of our heritage. To capture in pictorial form the wonder of Britain, from the humble beginnings of our early industral birth, to the sadness of families crammed like battery chickens into post war ghettos. This, my friend, is the spark which burns within my soul. To express to others the pride I feel whenever I enter an architectural wonder that is, brick by brick, returning to nature. Or to demonstrate the futility of all human endeavour as all to dust returns, confirming our miniscule impact on the reality that is the endless infinity of time.




Oh, bollox. I can't keep a straight face. It's because I'm a nosy fecker. Always have been, always will be.


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## The_Revolution

[Cut and paste my usual answer]

I do it because I get a kick out of being where I shouldn't be.


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## Urban-Warrior

I have a love for old and unique places.. I hate seeing history destroyed by todays society.. also it gives me a kick knowing i'm sometimes somewhere where I shouldn't be


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## burb147

littledasypus said:


> Thats really interesting because it is almost completely different from why I do it. I get fed up with being trapped in the grid of ordinary life. If most people look at a map of their area and mark the routes they usually travel through it, all the paths and roads and places you are supposed to go, they cover such a tiny area of available space. We've built a world where our movements are largely dictated by lines and grids, and everywhere is owned by someone. So I like to go on adventures. I didn't even bother to document my explores until I joined sf0 (zero on the end, not 'o'), which is my other favorite hobby (website sf0.org), which if you take a look you will either get, or you won't. Now I have changed my perspective enough that I don't see a flat landscape that dictates my path, if I'm out and about, I see possibilities in many directions and everything is a lot less mundane.
> 
> I don't know if I'm explaining it right, maybe sounds a bit pretentious, but its hard to put it in words. I guess I just like fun more than I like real life! What can I say, I like to stray from the path. I've been doing it since I lived in Boston in the US as a kid, it jsut feels natural to poke your nose into the more interesting bits of your environment.



just checked out the sf0 website im loving te concept behind this and reminds me of my student days studying invisible theatre signed up for some easy tasks to break me in. thanks for this gonna spend some time involving m life into this,.


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## thompski

For my army of adoring female fans.


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## godzilla73

krela said:


> I'm a nosey bastard and I get bored easily.



Same here - I still have the boredom threshold of a seven year old!!! And of course, you can lose yourself in exploration in such a way that it makes you completely forget work s**t, family s**t , and life s**t in general!!!


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## Dystopia

I too am easily bored and restless. Thankfully I can normally find *something* to keep me entertained but I can get aggressive if I'm deprived of stuff to do for too long. When I was unemployed and sent to the useless centres they force you into, I basically turned into a hate-filled bitch for the duration simply due to lack of stimulation.


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## Bryag

I am a somewhat overweight thrillseeker who still thinks he is 20, 12 stone and invincible (at least when I have a drink in me) and I like to express this in exploration. Unfortunately, most of the good stuff is done extremely inebriated, and sans camera. At the end of the day, even if I can't record it, or show it to you guys, it is the personal achievement that matters. I'm not into willy-waving, I like to share what I can, but much of what I do I cannot share. That being said, often drunken shenannigans are followed up with sober (or semi-sober) camera trips


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## BenCooper

As Mallory said - because it's there.


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## sheep21

Why do I do it?

Short answer:
Im a curious little sod!

Long anwer:
Im just really interested in seeing whats inside that boarded up building or why im not allowed in this place. Must be something interesting there, also, sometimes you get some really good photos too.

The adrenaline is quite funl was that noise an old door banging in the wind or is it a drugged up Pikey with a broken bottle\security coming to boot me out!


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## Dystopia

sheep21 said:


> Why do I do it?
> 
> Short answer:
> Im a curious little sod!
> 
> Long anwer:
> Im just really interested in seeing whats inside that boarded up building or why im not allowed in this place. !


It all goes back to forbidden fruit...if it's somehow naughty/banned, it just makes it more tempting.


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## wolfism

Bryag said:


> I am a somewhat overweight thrillseeker who still thinks he is 20, 12 stone and invincible (at least when I have a drink in me) and I like to express this in exploration.


This sounds like an opening gambit for _Explorers Anonymous_. 

There are probably as many reasons to explore as there are people wandering around on the face of the earth - for me it's a mix of escapism, history and challenging yourself.


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## nantyffin

*worthwhile*

Follow the road less traveled..................
Sounds very much like a book, but in this context it means just that.
The rest of the sheep will follow the crowd ( & probably find themselves at Tesco's ) and are so wrapped up in the artificial world that is being created in the new buildings. Sanitised, pasteurised & sterilised & without a soul
The interest of this visitation, photographing & appreciation of derelict places & the recording of these places is not only fascinating & engaging, but will serve as a reference point for the future population to see how proper buildings have been built along the path of life. These buildings have character & remind us of how great Great Britain used to be before the dreaded greedy property developers moved in.
Besides all that, it really is a totally absorbing pastime/hobby that can connect you with your childhood/ earlier life when things were a little less complicated & unaffected by new age crap & uncertain standards.
I don't make any photographic posts or make many comments on this site as my personal involvement is quite difficult as I live on the other side of the planet, but I have come to really appreciate the skill & dedication of all the contributors thus far.
I hope you can all continue to submit your photos & comments as, quite frankly, I get a huge buzz out of seeing your talents that are being displayed here.Long may they continue


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## Foxylady

nantyffin said:


> The rest of the sheep will follow the crowd ( & probably find themselves at Tesco's )





Nantiffin, I loved your reply. The uncertain standards...how true that is!


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## cogito

I guess I do it for a number of reasons.

I've been a photographer for a few years, and you always get times when you're bored of your niche subject or looking to try something different and creative out. So I gave urbex a go.

Since starting it I became more and more interested on what was left behind on sites and why different sites were left in different states... It says a lot about a place, and the entities that owned them. It's a like little set of social footprints that say alot about a places past from a personal persective. I became more interested in places history.

Also, some places just make fcuking cool locations/backdrops for shoots... And some are just cool to go sit and chill away from the world while a city bustles around you, it's a freedom that is rarely found in this increasingly restrictive country.


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## Bryag

wolfism said:


> This sounds like an opening gambit for _Explorers Anonymous_.



Is there such a thing? Perhaps I should join. Although I will probably discover that I am in denial


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## wolfism

Well in a funny sense most of us already are Explorers Anonymous … or at the least we're _explorers pseudonymous_. And yes, if asked, we deny EVERYTHING.


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## evo_mad

littledasypus said:


> So I like to go on adventures. I didn't even bother to document my explores until I joined sf0 (zero on the end, not 'o'), which is my other favorite hobby (website sf0.org), which if you take a look you will either get, or you won't.



Awesome site, just joined up, same username.


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## Pincheck

wolfism said:


> This sounds like an opening gambit for _Explorers Anonymous_.
> 
> There are probably as many reasons to explore as there are people wandering around on the face of the earth - for me it's a mix of escapism, history and challenging yourself.



you also missed out its a fun way to spend a day rather than sitting watching tv


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## night crawler

I've been takeing photo's for years then noticed I had quite a few pillboxes so started recording more then some one pointed me in this direction so I thought why should you lot have all the fun. Seriously most of what has been said above plus I like looking at old places so why not record them for others to see.


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## spacepunk

It's like, giving it to the man.
Rebellion, punk rock, a finger to the nation.
It's relaxing, in a tense sort of way, to be somewhere you shouldn't be.


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## Dystopia

wolfism said:


> This sounds like an opening gambit for _Explorers Anonymous_.


*Sits in the circle of plastic chairs before standing up.* I am Dystopia and I am an urban explorer.


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## Cuban B.

cos a like it


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## Mimble

For the art opportunites, I've always loved photography and strange things.
For the chance to see something that most young people just don't notice (factory in North Walsham. Was at college down the road for 3 years and none of my friends ever even noticed it existed. Having said that I had the same attitude to college...)
But mostly for the chance to be somewhere forbidden and unusual.
I guess I like the rush from "oh my god I can hear junkies"


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## magmo

I was doing a lot of location shooting at derelict places so then realised I was already doing it.

The places I like best are the ones where everything has just been left, if you look carefully you can almost read the story of the last day of the site, if you know what I mean.

mo


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## tbkscott

Well i guess most things have already been said and i have to agree with many of I got in to doing this many years ago prob mid 1994 i used to live next door to an abandoned detention centre where my dad used to work as a prison officer, in 94 it had been shut for 4 years and myself and some friends decided it would be a good idea to explore it and that was the start of it really, it has only been in the last few months/weeks i have found this site and a couple of others where with my love of photography i can share my explorations with others. My main reasons would have to be i am very nosey when it comes to closed doors or high walls i want to know why they are there and what they are consealing from view, the pictures are just a by product.

Wow i feel mush better getting that of my chest - next - and whats your name and where do you come from. i can see us all now in this big country sized circle of blue plastic chairs at UEA - Urban Explorers Anonymous, this way to existential for a hot saturday afternoon. lol I would say we all need to get out more but some how i dont think it applies here, mind you neither does staying in, unless its stay in your own homes lol. Wow we could really make some good progress here - but if someone says its because of their mother im out of here lol.


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## Runner

Some great replies on here!

Basically I'm a nosy sod too!

I'm into photography and history, love looking at things that were made in a time when men cared about their work and took pride it. Love mooching around thinking about the stories these places could tell and thinking "what was that for? why did they do that?" etc.

I live near a town where the council consider anything old needs ripping down and replaceing with crap with a life span of 10-15 years, so I got into taking pics for posterity. Found a few places locally and then a place that I'd passed hundreds of times and always thought "I need to be in there with a camera" got ripped down. I resolved that I'd get more serious about it and that's how I got really started.

Since then I've been in a few places I shouldn't - got chased out of one a few months back and found myself laughing like a kid again. And as others have said - there's a great buzz from it!


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## RichardB

I'm sure I've answered this before. In the 1970s exploring derelict buildings, as well as every other inch of the local area, was just what kids did. I never grew out of it.


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## Urban Terrorist

For inspiration for my stories on a post apocalypse world.


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## marc

For the scrap metal loots...


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## zimbob

pipopo said:


> For the scrap metal loots...



Pikeying Sites for the win


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## Landsker

for the photography, for the history and for the FUN!


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## smileysal

Because I'm nosey and want to know what something is, or what's behind that gate that they want to keep you out. (if that makes sense?).

Used to go out to airfields to airshows with my parents when I was tiny, and we'd accidentally, on purpose, wander about the airfield to parts where we weren't supposed to go as dad was nosey too.  And as he worked on the railway, I got to spend hours in the engine shed at the rail depot he worked at, and he'd take me under the brand new engines and show me what bits and pieces of the engine were for. So now I;m interested in Railway stuff, and old airfields etc.

Mum used to take me out walking (again from being a baby lol), and she's as nosey as hell. Always wondering what was the other side of a gate that had keep out on, or a derelict building, farm, anything, and we'd go wandering around looking at the dereliction until someone would come and move us along. 

Then when Butlin's FIley closed, spent hours over the years, noseying around there, parts of the place you couldn't look at when it was open, all the backstage and staff areas. 

I've always been nosey, and I'm even worse now, wandering in and having a look at stuff. Just now that I take my camera with me, I've lost count of the places I've looked at when I was younger, but we didn't take a camera with us, and those places are now gone. 

(hope I haven't gone off track, I'm good at that lmao).


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## v-w-chick

because it reminds my of when i was younger and i use to run away to get peace, go exploring with my mates, chill out in old buildings. use to spend hours searchin places and finding out what was there,why its derelict etc.

As i was explain my childhood to a mate which i type in then found this website. and really brang back memories and i knew i wanted to visit more place.
i know have my new canon and love photography, so thought why not put the two together 
i like meeting new people and exploring what was once in our world.


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## Winchester

I like dead hospitals.


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## JosephSpartan

i'm not interested in the history of the places, neither am i interested in their futures, they are spaces between spaces, like dark matter, half forgotten but always there, always taking up space, always on a collective conscious.

Plus they look bloody cool!


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## ImmortalShadow

Through a friend, who I think is planning to join this forum. I saw her photo's of inside Derby Friargate station pre-fire and thought to myself "I really want to go!" A few months later, I was walking past the now demolished buildings on Kings Street with KingofDerby and we saw someone poking around. Soon, we were poking around ourselves. After, he mentioned two forums, one being being this one, for us to check out.

I've been addicted ever since and I keep infecting others


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## J35 Draken

Found a link to an urbex forum through an aviation forum and was really interested by what I saw. Found out an easy location fairly local to me in the shape of North Weald redoubt, made a trip there and was hooked.


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## FieldyM

This thread is filled with a romanticism of exploring..

Or mentions of an infection or an affliction....

Seriously... thts a bit weird you should seek some advice from a qualified member of the medical community.


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## Gangeox

Mimble said:


> For the art opportunites, I've always loved photography and strange things.
> For the chance to see something that most young people just don't notice (factory in North Walsham. Was at college down the road for 3 years and none of my friends ever even noticed it existed. Having said that I had the same attitude to college...)
> But mostly for the chance to be somewhere forbidden and unusual.
> I guess I like the rush from "oh my god I can hear junkies"



And you get the chance to get your stars out!


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## Pyroninja

I like it simply to get away from the cotton wooled, health and safety saturated world in which we live where we aren't allowed to make our own decisions, roads and paths directing you, signs and markingd dictating what you can and can't do...When I get fed up with the clean, polished and presentable world then I like nothing more than to retreat to my own little world where there's nobody telling me what to do or where to go. In there you can do as you please, climb things, pick up, feel, smell whatever you want and decide where you want to go all at your own risk and judgement with nobody to stop you. I also just enjoy getting to see what's usually hidden from the public eye like the inside of dirty old factories, mills and power stations which are almost kept secret for god knows what reason....


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## digitalman

I explore derelict buildings to let them know they are not forgotten


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## KingofDerby

I have an interest in history (most of my summer is spent in the 18th century) and in the way buildings and societies develop and interact.

But mostly, it's a two fingered salute to my upbringing, going outside the paths that other people demand.


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## Mimble

For opportunities like yesterday.
A totally unplanned explore, meeting new people, and seeing a different side to a building I know well.
Plus seeing a piece of grafitti saying "tits". It will have to be done


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## Sabtr

Pyroninja said:


> I like it simply to get away from the cotton wooled, health and safety saturated world in which we live where we aren't allowed to make our own decisions, roads and paths directing you, signs and markingd dictating what you can and can't do...When I get fed up with the clean, polished and presentable world then I like nothing more than to retreat to my own little world where there's nobody telling me what to do or where to go. In there you can do as you please, climb things, pick up, feel, smell whatever you want and decide where you want to go all at your own risk and judgement with nobody to stop you. I also just enjoy getting to see what's usually hidden from the public eye like the inside of dirty old factories, mills and power stations which are almost kept secret for god knows what reason....




You would love to see in my garage.


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## manof2worlds

I spent a lot of years doing serious ghost-hunting (not the crap shite Most Haunted stuff, I was doing it WAY before then) and there was always something missing (apart from the ghosts).

Urbex gives me that certain something. I'm still relatively new to the practical side of exploring, but for me it represents the challenge of getting into places you're not really supposed to be, seeing what's there and getting a picture or two. I love the rush of gaining access, I love the atmosphere and the smells of urban decay (apart from tramp piss and pidgeon shit of course, I'm not THAT weird) and above all, I love to feel the history of wherever I am.

And as a post early on said, I'm a nosy twat 

mo2w


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## Dystopia

Urban Terrorist said:


> For inspiration for my stories on a post apocalypse world.


Another apocalypse fan!


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## Trudger

I have a shiny new law degree and I like the way I can put some people right with my new found knowledge, usually some dog walker who tells me I shouldn't be 'there'.
I am always on the lookout for 'investment property' so this covers me for all other situations.

Confidence is the key.


T


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## foz101

I do it so I can post sarcastic comments on exploring forums.

And also for the lulz


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## Bunk3r

Philippe Petit "There is no why"


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## BMWM535

There are many reasons like to to see what others havnt, To remeber what was great. The main reason is to it as it was before the fools turn our beutiful country into more ssodding affordable housing for lazy scumbags!!! 
Sorry maybe to political??


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## MD

KingofDerby said:


> I have an interest in history (most of my summer is spent in the 18th century)



iz you a timelord?


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## Artypie

You know, I have no idea why I do this? All I know is, I have always done it since childhood. I still pick up bits of broken china I find on footpaths and the beach. In fact, I started mosaicing because of finding those bits of broken china. Now, I bust them up myself from plates i pick up at the charity shop. I am fascinated by rusty old metal, peeling paint, rotting wood. it just seems natural to wander in and capture it with a camera when I come across it. If you come into my garden you won't find some balding square of primped grass surrounded by block paving and neat little bedding plants. How I hate those gardens! You will find moss and long grass, broken terracotta, shells and brass and copper relics in the borders of my garden. I think a lot of it comes from when I was a kid, going out making dens in the fields and exploring derelict land. Kids don't do that nowadays.


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## mookster

I too can't pin down a reason 'why' I do it. For the rush? Yes, obviously. Usually I get odd looks, or weird responses when I talk to people not 'in the know' about it. I'll be the first to admit it took me a while to get to my first proper explore and even then that only really occurred because of a chance phonecall I had with a friend but the bug has well and truly bitten me, burrowed under my skin and left millions of eggs in my brain.


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## suziq

Hello! this is interesting because unlike most of you,I have never been an urban explorer(so far!) I am probably a bit long in the tooth for it now,but I wish I had known about it years ago! I overheard a friend's son talking about it and was intrigued,so I looked it up-and have become fascinated!Some of the places that people have explored are amazing!!!! It must feel like a real adventure-an experience I yearned for as a child and still have never fulfilled! Perhaps I read too many Famous Five books!!!
Anyway,the point is that after seeing the posts and photos,it just seems so obvious to me why people do it-it's exciting,it's an escape from the crappy world we are currently living in,each experience is a unique one which will give you wonderful memories-it's even educational!!!!! 
I for one am pretty envious of the people who engage in this pastime.They are seeing things which many haven't,and probably never will as these places -and the history that they contain, are being pulled down and built on etc. 
Keep it up and thanks for sharing your fascinating experiences!


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## RichardB

I think I might have been influenced by Famous Five books too. That's probably why I have a thing about tunnels and "secret passages".

There's no need to be envious, get out there and do some exploring.  You don't have to do the ninja stuff, start by searching Flickr and Geograph for interesting things in your area and go for a look.


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## Foxylady

Really enjoyed reading your post, Suziq.  I agree with Richard...plus also have a look on the Ordinance Survey maps (you can look for free online) and see what's in your area. There's all sorts of interesting stuff for starters, that doesn't entail going inside anywhere, such as disused viaducts, etc.
Enjoy and welcome to DP. Famous Five for the win!


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## cgull123

Only got into UE in the last 3 months but have already been around 30 places. I always go alone (with mobile), which I find is a great escape. I like really early starts, no traffic and no people around. I also like researching locations on the net beforehand. Although not a real high up or low down type person, it still gives me a rush exploring and certainly dodging security etc. Also like meeting other explorers in places as I go round. The photography offers me a bit of artistic license also.

Working in an overly heated office, with overweight, overpaid twats that spend their days talking about cooking with creme freche & sun dried tomatoes and what was on celebrity jungle x-factor shite is another reason - E S C A P E !!!!!!!


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## suziq

Ha haa!! Loved reading those replies,and thanks for making me feel so welcome! Maybe I will venture out and give it a go!


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## RichardH

I do it because the voices tell me to.

Oh... wait... this is the thread for people who like to put Branston pickle in their socks, isn't it? No? Never mind.

I don't go urbexing, for a number of reasons (some to do with health, others to do with my job, and so forth). However, whenever I see a derelict building I am put in mind of Tolkien's lament in his last Foreword to Lord of the Rings; "...the country in which I lived was being shabbily destroyed before I was ten...". Things haven't changed all that much. We, as a society, are so enamoured with "new and improved", that we have a tendency to assume that everything else is "old and inferior". 

The people who explore these remnants of our past are in the privileged position of seeing where we have come from, not just where we are going to. They can also see that "new" does not always equate to "better". Particularly when it comes to architecture. (No, I assure you, I am not Prince Charles.) There are whole swathes of our social history being lost to progress, and I am grateful that the real urbexers take the trouble to put up a few photographs of their explorations so that I can at least enjoy them vicariously.

You rock.


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## mookster

that post made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside


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## DaveyGTI

For me UE just brought together a whole load of things I already enjoied like photography, dabbling in history, getting out and about for a nice walk and of course the thrill of getting into somewhere I'm not supposed to be, dodging security or the sites owners, hopping fences, climbing gates or walls, squeezing around grates and clambering through windows, in the hope of discovering some small treasure, a piece of ornate plasterwork, industrial machinary still intact but silent, a room full of medical equipment collecting dust, I wouldn't say I'm only interested in one type of site, but I prefer larger sites with lots of nooks and cranies to explore!


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## Home Guard

I do it becuase i have always had an interest in ww1/ww2 and i love the area and countryside where i live.

The effort that was put into this country to stop "Gerry" from stepping foot on our soil was imense. Thats why i have documented anything to do with ww1 or ww1 and/or visited. Becuase i know that in years to come all that effort will be lost.


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## trailblazer

As a secondary school teacher, life is hectic and if it carries on this way...... i won't reach 40! As a result i feel the need to go and do as i wish, looking at old buildings and places of our past (and enjoying being in the quiet!)

there is so much to see, so little time to see it all!


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## Bryag

I do it because I can, and also because the carers in my home say it will offer me spiritual and intellectual fulfillment. Personally , I think it is so they can go and smoke fags and inject illegal barbituates, instead of wiping my arse Still, I have the last laugh, at the end of the day, they still have to wipe my arse


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## Timmy

well i had to do something to get me out the misses way of when i cant go to the beach and do kiting

na ive always had an interest in fort bovisands when i was younger as my dad always used to say you can go on there and look at this that and the other... so one day when i was riding around on my bike... i did! and i really havnt looked back ive made friends with a few people sorting trips out for some of them "big" trips  and doing the simple places for noobies and them oo are they watching us moments

even just upgraded my camera point and shoot to a Canon 350D im not suppose to play with it until xmas day but when do you ever listen with a new toy in your hands?

tis a shame now after i took a serious knock to the head yesterday... and my bike has died on me i have 5 days off to do something...


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## Tomhowe

I dunno really....fetish for old bricks??  Not really, its because i love old arcitecture


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## Dexter24

Because I'm curios andI need to know whats around the corner and whats behind that door and the one behind that.
I also have a love of photography and a need to record what I have seen, and as they say a pictures worth a thousand words.


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## Horus

Well My brother was really into UE and when he died i took over his legacy, been doing it ever since


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## blueyedwolfe

ever since i was young ive had a great interest in architecture, how the building was made, the story of it, etc & the amount of times ive passed somewhere thats made me stop & wonder, it sticks in my mind. that & the thrill of the unknown, walking into a building steeped in history, seeing only darkness, not knowing what i'm going to find. it makes my heart race


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## The Archivist

*Many reasons*

Because I'm chronically nosey, I suppose. I like to see what's being hidden and peer into things which aren't my business. I had (almost) free run of a huge brickworks estate as a child - massive hoffman kilns to play in, noisy machines, friendly workers, unhealthy amounts of brickdust and asbestos, derelict cottages in the woods and another, derelict brickworks not far away. Probably pretty ill-advised looking back, but I thought it was great at the time. This inspired me to go looking for other places and it took off from there. 

Also:

- Lifelong interest in industrial, architectural and domestic history. I also have a degree in history and archaeology, which I suspect helps. 

- The excitement of discovering new places is both indescribable and incomparable. 

- I like scaring myself - the risks of heights, dodgy floors and unfriendly squatters all add to the excitement. 

- I like the stillness and solitude. Oddly, derelict buildings seem to be where I put my thoughts in order and try to make sense of the world. 

- I enjoy the challenge of researching buildings' histories and bringing them to light. 

There are doubtless many more, but I'll leave it at that for now.


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## bunski

Pip said:


> I'm not a 'hardcore' urbexer or anything , I'm just really fed-up seeing places from 'my' past slowly being eroded away. I'm getting more into my local history, enjoying books about local life from years past.
> At the moment, a local hospital appears to be losing space/buildings to modern revampment/housing and I've got to say that it really pisses me off:icon_evil
> Since joining this forum I have discovered so much (not directly) about my area that I probably would never have known about, and for that I thank you all for giving me ideas
> 
> 
> Pip




I echo this post really, for me its about preserving history in stills, and reading a story from it.
Me no hardcore urbexer either, I'm too scared too go anywhere that looks dangerous or out of bounds oliceman: kudos to those who get those wicked shots which we would otherwise not see :notworthy:


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## Coal Cutter

Because I am obsessed with mining history and I love getting dirty and wet and muddy, and being underground is a buzz that I cannot begin to put into words


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## gushysfella

Well this is going to sound daft but in my last job, I spent 16 years going into all the types of government buildings, bunkers closed camps, MOD sites and so on that you guys find so interesting, and I never really “got it”. You see I’d ether be working on a rota caretaker post in a place millions of miles away from anywhere and find some chap with a camera taking a photo of a falling down wall from a ww2 thing, when under he’s feet was a bunker built to save the really important people when Ivon had too much Vodka for breakfast and he never even know it was there or I’d end up organising the repair of something trashed by chaves. I thought EU was all about photos of crap or smashing crap up! It wasn’t until I found DP and started to follow the threads and really started to look at the photos that I realised there’s some really interesting things out there, and the way some of you guys take photos, its art no other name for it. I find the history side of the reports really interesting to. Now I’ve moved to the Isle of wight I’ve started to do just what years ago I thought was strange! Look at maps, explore and try and take photos. Look at the history and one day I’ll post my first report promise, but I think it’s the achievement of being able to almost archive what around you, and in most cases what’s been around you for years yet no one knows it’s there, and in a number of cases before it’s lost. 

Just wish I’d of started a few years back, some of the places I’ve worked some of you guys would have loved, but back then I didn’t “get it”


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## Scootz

I've only recently joined this site and have been glued to it for days! I always found abandoned buildings and places fascinating. I think of the people that have passed through these places and what their lives were like, what are they doing now, if they're alive etc. I do also feel irked when I see a marvellous bit of architecture that has been around for centuries flattened and turned into some money grubbing supermarket, or housing estate, and feel very grateful to the members here who have photographed them before their ultimate demise.

I have a particular interest in Victorian lunatic asylums, probably because if I were born a century or two earlier I would no doubt have been placed in one, purely for the fact that I'm female, have an opinion and swear like a sailor! Cheeky sods those Victorians.

I grew up in Kent, very near to the Stone House Hospital in Dartford and didn't even realise it had been closed down until I saw a thread or two about it here. I'd love to go there and see it. Many a time I've walked or driven past it and wondered what it was like inside.

I'm just chuffed to have found so many like minded people who hold the same fascination with these places.


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## kathyms

*history*

i love old houses, they take me back to when i was a kid. you feel the life of the people that lived there the wall paper and things left behind. i like to get to know whos home it was like jimmy blanche and the way he lived in the deralict home he had shared with mum and dad. he was loved by everyone but everyone saw the place he lived, not even a warm bed to sleep in and he was over 80.


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## Living_Doll

I'm very interested in history, particularly architecture and old buildings. I often find derelict buildings very aesthetically pleasing. I just find myself attracted to such places, I love exploring and being places I shouldn't be, I frequently find old/derelict buildings quite spooky and I love anything like that.
I oftemn find myself wishing I was born earlier, I'd love to have seen so many things as they were years ago. Hopefully one day I will make a time machine. =)
I'm nosey, I ask questions about everything and I'm curious about pretty much everything.


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## spacemutt

I was stood in the master bedroom of a £2,000,000 mansion house, looking out over the 11 acres of land the other day. When else am I going to get to do that?

Also, I like 'near' history. Stuff that's old enough to be abandoned and forgotten, but not old enough for anyone to care about.


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