ROF Bishopton..Scotland 2024/2025

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Mikeymutt

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This is a place I have known about for a long time, and a place I should have got to earlier. But my visits to Scotland don’t really involve much exploring. But the better half had to work, so I decided to give this place a look with my free time to see what’s left. Looking at various maps it looked like the housing estates were taking over the whole site. The weather was crap for my visit, very dark and grey with a steady drizzle. I took along walk along the fence line until I finally found a tiny gap to squeeze into. Making my way into the site I was wary of the fact that security use to be on it here., but wondered if maybe they did not bother with what little remains now. I started in the middle of what was left and decided to do one half first, then make my way back to the start and do the other half what gets nearer the live site, if it’s still even live. But as I was walking down the road, in the distance a dog ran around the corner barking. Luckily I was next to a building, so quickly dartedin the building, quickly having a wee whilst waiting. I went out back and peered around the corner. I see some guy walking down in hi viz with two females. I could hear him chatting to them, and what I could hear, they should not have been in either. I let them go past and around the corner and then quickly went up the road. I had decided to carry on regardless, and got to another building and did a few photos. As I then come out I crossed a road and see a JCB fast track parked up with a guy in. So quickly had to dart in the trees and bog land. I could hear the JCB moving around so then I thought best call it a day and somehow make my way out. I thought
it was all to relaxed haha. Anyway the place is nothing like what it was, all the good stuff has long gone. And I mainly did the World War Two buildings. But it was still nice to finally do even a small bit of this classic UK explore. And since surprisingly there has not been a report since 2014, despite a fair bit being there still up to a few years ago. I have managed enough to do a report. The lighting was terrible this day, it felt like night most of the day. I did mange to make it back in which I will continue. I won’t pretend that I know the whole procedure on how these places work. They are very complex and something I don’t have much knowledge on, I just find these places fascinating.

ROF Bishopton began life just before the Second World War when the need for these facilities were desperately needed. Two other sites were designated at Wrexham and Ranskill. The factory contained three self contained factories inside it and was used to produce propellant cordite for the army and airforce. And later on it produced cordite for the Royal Navy. There was also a bit called 0 factory, were the main explosive factories were numbered 1 to 3. O site was were most of the services were like the workshops, canteen, machine shops, fire brigade and so on. The site even had its own mortuary, grim indeed. Each factory had its own coal fired power station. The ministry of defence looked after the site and its own housing for the ministry of defence police. With two streets built just for the married officers. Bishopton was the biggest factory in the uk and some twenty thousand workers worked there at its height, many were women with the area suffering high unemployment. During the years the workforce number was dropped significantly with about three thousand working there in the seventies. This reduced to tow thousand when it was privatised in 1984 with the takeover by British Aerospace. In 1998 it was announced the factory would close due to a massive loss of a government contract. Most of the remaining four hundred and fifty workers would lose there jobs in 2002 when it finally closed. BAE Systems which own the site still had a small bit that houses a small environmental test facility and gas propulsion laboratory. The rest of the site was earmarked for four thousand houses with many now being built.

The first building is quite large with a few bits remaining.

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The next building was my favourite with the old switch gear and control panel. But even this is in a sorry state since the early reports

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This was the biggest building but was empty, dark and very wet and slippy.

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Next up down a long road is a couple more buildings, these looked a bit more modern. This was where I had to hide coming back when I met the dog.

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Lots of these old railway tunnels for the narrow gauge engines to pull supplies around the site.

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I was originally going to give this small block a miss as it was in fairly wet ground. But decided to look as hate missing things. Glad I did as it turned out to be an old toilet block.

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Getting near the housing development was a few more blocks. Empty of anything though.

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And the final block before I see JCB man.

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I hate leaving things unfinished, I had a feeling there was so much to see. It was bugging me that I had not seen as much as I wanted to see. Then since my initial report I started seeing a few images come out from here and I knew it was true. So I managed to get permission from the other half to go back and complete what I started. I am glad I did not try it in one day as I spent hours here and covered so much more than my last visit. Even though I covered as much area last visit as this one, the buildings were so much more concentrated in this section. I can imagine at its peak of exploring here, most of these buildings would have gone unexplored for bigger and better stuff on site. But you have to go with what’s left, and to be honest what I saw was pretty great really. The other good thing was the weather, on my first visit it was grey and dark, the drizzle was constant. But this day their had been a heavy frost and the light was gorgeous. It is amazing how the light can make a difference. Was solo again on this one, like the previous time, I approached the site from a different way, blatantly hurling myself over a chain link fence in front of houses. I did not see a soul this time, which makes me think that maybe the guys I nearly stumbled upon last time were not security but site workers as this visit was a weekend morning. I got ridiculously close to what I can confirm is still a very active part, I thought I hope they have no cameras about, but nothing happened. Well anyway I hope this part compliments the first part and gives a bit more justice to one of the best sites the uk ever had.



The first building I came across was this big building, it is being used for storage by construction workers.

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Several building clustered together on the road, many of these are very far gone.

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Heading up hill I come across more buildings on the slopes. One had a nice tunnel going to an underground section. I came across a lot of tunnels in the end.

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Hidden in an unsurprising building was this old control room. I had been tipped off about this being here. So had lights with me as it’s pitch black inside.

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Now we are heading nearer the live site and can be seen from down below.

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Thought this building had been hit by an arson attack. But someone told me it was flash burnt to get rid of trace glycerine.

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This side office was gorgeous.

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Another building next to the Glycerine building. Just a bath inside and a tank upstairs.

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Looking at the glycerine building, sorry I don’t know much about the whole process at Bishopton.
I see a lot of these little toilet blocks dotted around the whole site.

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Heading to a series of tunnels with underground rooms, each one had a hut like this.

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After finishing on that section, I headed back to the main road. Another cluster of buildings what was like lab buildings. I really liked this cluster with the colours and decay.

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A fair way down we have a big stretch of buildings over a bridge. These narrow gauge rails ran right through with spurs going off everywhere. At the far end of this section is the press houses. A couple of presses still sit inside two of them which was nice to see.

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I think some sort of pumping room.

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A beast of a press in darkness.

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This contained a smaller one than the first, but much nicer.

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Heading to my furthest point and as near to the live site as I got, literally next to the fence. This building contained a lot of ammo boxes.

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Then making my way back mopping up the remains buildings heading back.

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Former sewage works. The main plant room was sealed up really tight.

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And finally what the whole site was built around, the large Dargavel house. The place is well sealed up and alarm signs up. Not sure if they are still active, they use to be apparently. It is meant to be bland inside as well.

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Cracking thats gotta be one of the best ROF sites around still (unless royal gunpowder counts as one?)
Nowadays it feels like there’s a lot more derelict stuff at Waltham Abbey compared to Bishopton.

Good thread BTW, you could easily have spent several whole days at Bishopton pre-Covid, and still miss interesting buildings.
 
Cracking thats gotta be one of the best ROF sites around still (unless royal gunpowder counts as one?)
Yeah even though loads have gone, it's still really good. I would imagine royal gunpowder is, they did the same sort of thing.
 
Nowadays it feels like there’s a lot more derelict stuff at Waltham Abbey compared to Bishopton.

Good thread BTW, you could easily have spent several whole days at Bishopton pre-Covid, and still miss interesting buildings.
Thank you. Waltham Abbey looks great and one we failed at a few years back. I still think a lot to see at Bishopton and was pleased with what I did see. But I know it had so much more. I even have a few friends tips on were to get in and head too in 2018. I was just daft and never made it. Was so much good stuff left then. It now all level ground half covered in houses.
 
She's a fine place is owd Bishy. Looks like there's still loads to see here. The mansion's alright but probably not worth the effort.
 
Thank you. Waltham Abbey looks great and one we failed at a few years back. I still think a lot to see at Bishopton and was pleased with what I did see. But I know it had so much more. I even have a few friends tips on were to get in and head too in 2018. I was just daft and never made it. Was so much good stuff left then. It now all level ground half covered in houses.
Bishopton was a case of timing, getting in after security started to get lax but before too much was flattened. I only saw it thanks to a dedicated mate who went time and time again so he was able to act as tour guide and devoted a couple of days to showing me the interesting stuff. Had tried it years before but only saw a far corner and got spooked by activity.

I won’t say on open forum how we got into RGPM but it’s better done off season.
 
She's a fine place is owd Bishy. Looks like there's still loads to see here. The mansion's alright but probably not worth the effort.
I still enjoyed it a lot. I left the mansion till last as that my least place to bother with. I had run out of time then so glad I left it.
 
Bishopton was a case of timing, getting in after security started to get lax but before too much was flattened. I only saw it thanks to a dedicated mate who went time and time again so he was able to act as tour guide and devoted a couple of days to showing me the interesting stuff. Had tried it years before but only saw a far corner and got spooked by activity.

I won’t say on open forum how we got into RGPM but it’s better done off season.
Yeah they were well on it around 14. Ben cooper did a fine job of the place like he always did. I can see why you could get spooked by activity here.

No understandable why not. We did try off season, but mate could not do the fence.
 
Although narrow gauge, the works railway looks to be around three foot gauge. Quite wide, when two foot gauge would be more common.
I don't really know what narrow gauge equates too. But they are wider than the small ones you see. I just call everything under standard rail size narrow gauge ha ha.
 
I don't really know what narrow gauge equates too. But they are wider than the small ones you see. I just call everything under standard rail size narrow gauge ha ha.
That is correct. Anything less than four feet eight and a half inches is narrow gauge. In fact George Stephenson - said to have been responsible for what is known as the standard gauge - started off with four feet eight inches before adding the half inch to give clearance to prevent the wheels binding. So the wheel gauge would have been four feet eight inches, and the track gauge four feet eight and a half inches.
 
I visited the site about a year ago. There was still a triple press building at the back of the main site with asbestos removal about to start. Rows of presses and boilers in the nearby buildings.

There were still interesting things in the buildings nearest the active site. Presses and extruders still present in many of them. No sign of security when I was there, but vehicles were parked up next to the entrance to the active site and it was a weekend.
 
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