Portavadie June '09

[Fraz13]

Ok, so masel n Laura went today

Its not what I expected basically as I expected houses, there dorms and not actual houses.

Every "house" had between 8 and 10 dorms, all with single bunk, a dressingroom table type thing with a drawer, a heater on the wall and a ring for your toothbrush cup.

There was also a comunal toilet, sink and shower.

The main building which looks like it was where the workers were going to spend all their spare time as it was the kitchens, dining room and probably games or pool rooms.

Resident rams look quite manacing but none of them took a fancy to us, thank ****.

Anyhoo, the drive up was amazing, totally empy roads after I turned off the 83 towards Dunoon, The view over the water was stunning at points but the single track roads were a bit annoying.

On with the pics (sorry a got a bit carried away)

First few about the bats....

 

[klempner69]

I like this a lot...you got some nice scenery up there for sure.The camp sure is derelict...any idea when it closed?

 

[RichardB]

It never opened. It was built in 1970 and never used.

 

[klempner69]

Thanx for that Richard,how strange..all the washing machines and dryers look newer than that.

 

[RichardB]

Ah, it was 1970s not 1970.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8113213.stm

 

[zimbob]

Nice one Fraz, good to see you made it

 

[escortmad79]

Nice one Fraz

 

[Skin ubx]

That last pic is great - I preferred the beach walk and couldnt be arsed climbing the hill - nice one!!

 

[Dieter_Schmidt]

How long did it take you get around the place?

I could try to squeeze it in before a shift at work.

 

[Misstee]

Hi Fraz - thanks so much for the report - it's certainly deteriorated a lot over the years. It was fairly intact in the 90s when I was last down there but I wasn't brave enough to go very far in - just a sneaky peak before the ferry.

Like you I had expected it to be houses or flats as it looked so much like a small 70s estate. Your pictures are very good though and I'm so p'd that I probably won't be able to get down before it's pulled down.

The views in that area are stunning too - is that a submarine in pic2?

Interesting about the bats too - I wonder what they'll do about them when it comes to demolition.

Thanks again for the report.

 

[Fraz13]

Its not a big site, mibees a couple of hours max if you wandered through every building.

I want to go back again to see bits I know I missed.

From the dining area Laura said theres a balcony..... Ok it was only a flat roof but only on the way home I thought... What was under that roof?

Misstee, a mate told me about this place years ago but I was under the impression it was East coast, he asked if it still had the big windows looking out over the water, well the holes are there but no glass lol

I also found it totally weird that some parts are vandalised but others arent, i.e windows and there are still some locked doors where some have been kicked in....

A thought it was a Sub

All in all, great day weather wise, great drive great scenery and an interesting place to visit.

 

[Foxylady]

That was worth it for the bat poster alone! £5,000 fine for taking a bat!
Interesting site too...gorgeous location. Nice one, Fraz.

 

[lost]

I'd find it hard to be intimidated by warning notices printed in the Comic Sans MS font.

 

[Skin ubx]

Another large rectangular empty room with large windows. Three inches thick with sheep droppings leading back toward dark storage rooms that had fkn sheep wandering about in em.

if this be the "balcony" ure talking about

 

[Seahorse]

This does rather beg the question.... what are they going to do with the bats if they demo the place?

Or is it one law for us, and another law for the developers?

 

[RichardB]

I was speaking to a guy who lives across the road, he says he's heard it all before and there's no way it'll happen.

 

[escortmad79]

Beware of stealthy hide & seek playing rams!!

Good to catch up again today Richard

 

[RichardB]

I thought you liked Rams, Fraz.

It's not a village by any stretch of the imagination, it's more like a student hall of residence. As Fraz says all the dorms are all identical, only the level of decay varies.

It was interesting enough but you'd have to enjoy the drive there and have other stuff to do.

 

[Fraz13]

So lets see yer pics anyhoo lol

 

[RichardB]

I hope you don't mind me sticking them on your thread.

Trying to get there before the demolition people.

My son worrying a ram

Aluminium wiring

I've seen new buildings with wood like that, it must be fashionable.

A dorm. I think they would have looked very scabby very quickly if anybody had lived there.

The fridge. It was absolutely minging in there.

Best before 1989

My son and Escortmad trying to work the machines. Obviously they won't work because they're made for the bigger coins.

Some more here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30854514@N08/sets/72157620507690503/