Why do you do it?

[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??

 

[MD]

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

iz you a timelord?

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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!

 

[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.

 

[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!

 

[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 ***** is another reason - E S C A P E !!!!!!!

 

[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!

 

[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.

 

[mookster]

that post made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

 

[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!

 

[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.

 

[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!

 

[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 **** 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

 

[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...

 

[Tomhowe]

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

 

[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.

 

[Horus]

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

 

[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