Five Days, Four Countries & Many Many Explores

[Derelict-UK]

Me and my mate went down to Dover to start 5 days of explores.

We were kindly guided by 'Godzila73' from this forum who knew exactly what he was talking about. It was good to meet up and it started a great trip.

In Dover we visited many of the old WWII placements and some of the even older forts.

We then set to sea and crossed the channel before quickly entering Belgium and making our first foreign stop at the SNCB Train Graveyard.

After this we continue to drive to North-East of France arriving at about 2am.

The next morning we drove to the biggest bunker I have ever been in (Thanks go out to OT from 28days for the help), it was built as part of the Maginot Line which was to stop the Germans from entering the country (however the Germans just went around it lol). The bunker held 601 soldiers in the 2 years before it was captured by the Germans.

The Maginot line took 10 years to build (1930-1940) and cost around 3 Billion French Francs to build!!

After the war the bunker was renovated for use during the Cold War but soon became abandoned.

Dover (A mixture of many places)

Citadel Battery:

St Martins Battery:

Western Out Works (Fort Burgoyne) / Western Casemates, Built in the 1860's.

About 250m from the edge of the White Cliffs of Dover (below) are The Plotting Rooms (WWII) which are connected by a warren of underground tunnels.

The White cliffs on a VERY foggy day...

Down to the tunnels...

Fort Redoubt with one of the biggest dry moats I have seen...

As we made our way to our next destination, a Spitfire & Lancaster Bomber flew overhead...

(cropped)...

Our next stop was the Grand Shaft, this was built in 3 years (1806-1809) and was designed to allow the maximum number of troops down to the city below in the quickest possible time. The shaft is divided into 3 stairwells.

After we had finished taking pictures, I noticed 2 men come though the main gate that leads off the shaft, this then turned into probably the quickest accent of the shaft in recent history!!

For the complete Dover series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624394888519/


SNCB Train Graveyard, Belgium

For the complete SNCB series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624519638178/


Ouvrage Latiremont Bunker (North-East France)

Bloody shopping trolleys get everywhere!!

For the complete Bunker series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624394995219/



Continued in the next post...
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[Derelict-UK]

Continued...

We finished at the bunker and left for the SMTR Train Repair Workshop which is just meters from the France/Luxembourg border.

After the SMTR workshops we continued the stones throw distance to the Terra Rouge Steel factory and then we moved on to Central Thermique Power Station which again is in the immediate vicinity.

The Power Station used to make electricity from the gasses from local furnaces but when the last furnace shut down, the plant closed in 1997.

To complete the day we drove to a village just inside Belgium, this is home to hundreds of abandoned vintage cars, all in a stretch tall trees. I could have spent a whole day in here but we didn't want to push our luck.


SMTR Train Repair Workshop

For the complete SMTR series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624395102535/


Terra Rouge Steel Factory

For the complete Terra Rouge series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624395118399/


Central Thermique Power Station

For the complete Central Thermique series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624519912156/


Car Graveyard

For the complete Car Graveyard series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624395232249/


Continued in next post...
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[Derelict-UK]

Continued...

The next day we went to an abandoned train station with a few trains and wagons scattered about. According to my mate, there was a working diesel engine parked on the mainline just outside which used to be in use by us in the UK but after we thrashed them, we sold 30 or so off and here they are, a new lick of paint and back in use hundreds of miles away.

After the station we drove to Le Crypt, a catacomb of graves in Brussels. A small section is open to the public but if you venture further you get to see the cream of the crop.

Then we drove north to t' Spookhuys, a closed gothic themed restaurant.

To finish the day off we drove to Doel, a village near the port of Antwerp and Rotterdam. Doel has been mostly bought by the harbour as they want to expand, demolishing the entire village. Not many villagers remain and usually on a weekday this place is deserted.

Well we got there and it was like the village had a new lease of life, cars were everywhere, it was like a car park! On the dockside hundreds of people were looking out to the water, then a massive tall ship went past and we realised that the Tall Ship Race was going on.


Abandoned Train Station

The British Loco sold off...

For the complete Abandoned Train Station series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624520003110/


Le Crypt

For the complete Le Crypt series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624520808910/


t' Spookhuys

For the complete t' Spookhuys series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624395791911/


Doel

For the complete Doel series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624520938978/


Continued in the next post...
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[Derelict-UK]

Continued...

Fort 7 is the next port of call. A Napoleonic fort in Antwerp. This fort rarely opens to the public and takes a bit of research to get in. But when you do it certainly pays for it!

And to finish the tour off is Dadipark, a theme park that first opened in 1950 and closed in the year 2000 after a series of accidents that eventually ended when a man lost his arm when on the water slide!!


Fort 7

For the complete Fort 7 series please visit the Flickr page...


http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624520996426/


Dadipark

The end of the ride that claimed the parks last victim...

For the complete Dadipark series please visit the Flickr page...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39746360@N06/sets/72157624396345509/


D-UK​

 

[the silence]

Now thats a big report! Great photos and looks like it was a great trip.
I think the next time I plan a trip abroad it will involve some urbexing, whether the missus likes it or not!

 

[Foxylady]

Wow, some really excellent explores there. Superb photos too. Cheers, Derelict...great tour.

 

[ugly77]

simply stunning bro i wish i was there, what a trip!

 

[professor frink]

Nice work fella, looks like there are some damn fine explores over there.

 

[TK421]

Blinkin flip, just when you thought you had come to the end of the report, more kept coming, and its all good stuff, well done fella!

 

[King Al]

Great pics and locations D-uk, looks like a great trip

 

[Jaff_fox]

Crikey its like a carbon copy of our trip only without the off radar sites

 

[smileysal]

Excellent work D UK, you've found in this report everything I love. Trains, military, cemetaries, and fun fairs. excellent work mate, love it.

 

[J_a_t_33]

Incredible photo's, great report!! Looks like an awesome trip.

Do you mind me asking what camera you use?

 

[tom46]

What can I say, fantastic, all of it. Especially the Dover stuff - Western Casemates are a great explore and you have no idea how much I've wanted to do the Grand Shaft for ages! Worth going to the Drop Redoubt on one of its open days too

I love your photos, the colour is simply gorgeous. Keep this up, this is the sort of stuff I joined this forum for.

 

[godzilla73]

Aha! A trip of epic-ness! I am very proud to have been involved in one small part of it. We had a great day out and was good to be able to do some bits of Dover that not many people do.Smashing Europe pics mate. I love the Fort 7 stuff and the trains. Looks like the Fort 7 was the same sort of era as Dover's Napoleonic remains too. I'm fairly sure we'll all be back looking at some of this in the very near future!
GDZ

 

[godzilla73]

Just to prove I was there - a couple of phots from me. Nowhere near the quality of D-UKs but some details people might be interested in:

First of all some original signage, peely paintwork and blast doors from the Farthingloe AA battery:

And some shots from the South Foreland Battery Magazines

A grand day out, as the man said!
GDZ