One from the vaults, this one. I'm not sure why I've sat on it so long and not got around to posting but sadly it means I'm mostly relying on memory and a lot of details regarding the previous owners of this site have faded. However, from what I can tell, this isn't a well known or especially well-visited site so hopefully it should prove an interesting read.
HISTORY: Regrettably, a diverse Google search has come back with nothing on this place. I don't even know its true name or purpose, only the location and the sheer amount of greenhouses on site leading me to believe this was once a large plant nursery complex, with the owners living in a small house adjacent. From the information I could glean from around the property the last owner was (if my memory can be relied on) a David Brown and the property and business closed and were abandoned some time around 2010 or 2011. A Google street view dating from March 2011 shows the main gate still open and the area not yet looking overgrown or derelict at this time - whether or not the place was still functional, I can't say. Once again, I regret not getting this report up sooner as there's every chance that post and documents around the place may have given its name but if so I've since forgotten it... sorry! :s
If there are any locals who remember this place when it was still in business, please do comment.
THE EXPLORE: This was a fantastic, thoroughly enjoyable summer's day explore. Following a tip-off from a very well-travelled fellow explorer and fancying making a real adventure out of an otherwise aimless Saturday I grabbed my BMX and a backpack full of supplies at dawn and cycled (yes, cycled on a BMX) the 40 or so miles from Norwich to the location of the explore. This was an idea that seemed brillia
imnt at set-off, slightly foolish by the halfway point, very daunting when about to start the 40 mile return home and outright suicidal by the time I collapsed back through my front door. Ah well, cardiovascular and all that.
The site itself lived up to expectations and is the perfect find for all enthusiasts of the "reclaimed by nature" explore. The greenhouses are literally bursting with overgrowth and filled with nesting birds whilst the house has been so largely obscured by bushes and trees that I genuinely couldn't find it for a long time into the explore!
Inside the greenhouses lies an eerie calm occasionally shattered by a startled bird taking flight or the dry creak of windows or other apparatus in the breeze. You'll constantly feel that something is watching you or lurking behind vegetation; because it most likely is. All of the outbuildings and greenhouses are surrounded by and filled with vegetation and shrubs, however some have reached the point where they are totally inaccessible. Fans of "life after humans" - this is one for you.
The house, located between the trees and bushes, is split into two parts. The main residential half and a sizeable storage shed/warehouse/toolshed/workshop. There's all sorts of interesting goodies, artefacts, tools and equipment lurking within along with paraphernalia hearkening back to its life as a working nursery, plus additionally... piles of random stuff and junk that I just couldn't tell you the purpose of alongside the usual garage finds of boxes of VHS tapes, old TVs etc.
On the residential side of things I was struck with generally how decent the overall condition of the house and the items inside were. Backing up my claim that I don't believe this is a well known or visited site, a lot of the remaining ornaments and furniture seemed to be left exactly as they were the last time the doors were closed - either that or someone with an eye for creative photography had got there before me, I suppose. Certain rooms seemed to have been tossed a little, but nothing too vindictive that suggested malicious intent. If anything the disarray could have been caused by relatives clearing out items from the house or looking to find long-lost bits and pieces. There was a skip at the back of the property filled with broken furniture and general rubbish, so there's a good chance that someone started a house clearance at some point but never finished, leaving the place in a weird limbo of semi-disarray.
Once again, certain rooms had a very eerie quality to them with chairs neatly positioned by windows and tables containing neatly stacked books and ornaments. Despite how overgrown the house is, light still somehow manages to find its way through windows and softly plays across surfaces or creates strange shadows on walls. Family photos, cards and letters could be found on table tops, dressers and windowsills. Obvious disrepair and decay aside, there was still a sense the owner could be found behind the next door or return at any time. Personally, I love the strange atmosphere this brings.
This isn't a big site however, and before long it was time to retrieve the hedge-stashed BMX and start that terrifyingly long ride home. Although perhaps not the most varied or unusual explore out there, it has buckets of atmosphere and charm and I thoroughly enjoyed the time there. You can still easily lose a good couple of hours to investigating all the forgotten remnants of another person's life.
I can only hope that in the time that's passed since my visit no one with malicious intent has got to this property and it's remained a mostly undiscovered little rural gem.
PHOTOS:
This is your way in. The Indiana Jones-es among us can go for a sweet-ass roll under the gate, the rest of us can just do a little bushwhacking around the side.
This is about as much you'll see of the house until you find a way around the back where it's a bit less swamped.
The most easily accessible greenhouse, and the one that contains a lot of old furniture and goods from the main house.
Certain furniture from the house seems to have been moved here, for some reason. Possibly as part of the house clearance work.
There's a very "Chernobyl" vibe to these greenhouses.
Inside the workshop/storage shed.
Inside the house now. The kitchen is your only way in - the front door is completely out of commission.
Ornaments suspiciously still intact? I'd like to think it's more a case of lack of interference rather than other explorers attempting to "pose" things.
This creepy little find was completely at odds with all the other decor in the house. A grandchild's art project? A demonic shrine? (It really resembles a Deathclaw from the Fallout series of games, quite aptly!)
Obligatory bathroom-shot.
The bedroom was the only room in a real sense of disarray - maybe this was caused by a relative doing some treasure hunting?
Faded, nature-encroached family photo.
-----------
Hope you enjoyed this very belated report and found it interesting - these kinds of explores are my favourite for a variety of reasons so it was a real joy to encounter. I hope it remains in as good a condition for as long as it can.
Please do let me know your thoughts and opinions and once more... good hunting, Stalkers! :3
HISTORY: Regrettably, a diverse Google search has come back with nothing on this place. I don't even know its true name or purpose, only the location and the sheer amount of greenhouses on site leading me to believe this was once a large plant nursery complex, with the owners living in a small house adjacent. From the information I could glean from around the property the last owner was (if my memory can be relied on) a David Brown and the property and business closed and were abandoned some time around 2010 or 2011. A Google street view dating from March 2011 shows the main gate still open and the area not yet looking overgrown or derelict at this time - whether or not the place was still functional, I can't say. Once again, I regret not getting this report up sooner as there's every chance that post and documents around the place may have given its name but if so I've since forgotten it... sorry! :s
If there are any locals who remember this place when it was still in business, please do comment.
THE EXPLORE: This was a fantastic, thoroughly enjoyable summer's day explore. Following a tip-off from a very well-travelled fellow explorer and fancying making a real adventure out of an otherwise aimless Saturday I grabbed my BMX and a backpack full of supplies at dawn and cycled (yes, cycled on a BMX) the 40 or so miles from Norwich to the location of the explore. This was an idea that seemed brillia
imnt at set-off, slightly foolish by the halfway point, very daunting when about to start the 40 mile return home and outright suicidal by the time I collapsed back through my front door. Ah well, cardiovascular and all that.
The site itself lived up to expectations and is the perfect find for all enthusiasts of the "reclaimed by nature" explore. The greenhouses are literally bursting with overgrowth and filled with nesting birds whilst the house has been so largely obscured by bushes and trees that I genuinely couldn't find it for a long time into the explore!
Inside the greenhouses lies an eerie calm occasionally shattered by a startled bird taking flight or the dry creak of windows or other apparatus in the breeze. You'll constantly feel that something is watching you or lurking behind vegetation; because it most likely is. All of the outbuildings and greenhouses are surrounded by and filled with vegetation and shrubs, however some have reached the point where they are totally inaccessible. Fans of "life after humans" - this is one for you.
The house, located between the trees and bushes, is split into two parts. The main residential half and a sizeable storage shed/warehouse/toolshed/workshop. There's all sorts of interesting goodies, artefacts, tools and equipment lurking within along with paraphernalia hearkening back to its life as a working nursery, plus additionally... piles of random stuff and junk that I just couldn't tell you the purpose of alongside the usual garage finds of boxes of VHS tapes, old TVs etc.
On the residential side of things I was struck with generally how decent the overall condition of the house and the items inside were. Backing up my claim that I don't believe this is a well known or visited site, a lot of the remaining ornaments and furniture seemed to be left exactly as they were the last time the doors were closed - either that or someone with an eye for creative photography had got there before me, I suppose. Certain rooms seemed to have been tossed a little, but nothing too vindictive that suggested malicious intent. If anything the disarray could have been caused by relatives clearing out items from the house or looking to find long-lost bits and pieces. There was a skip at the back of the property filled with broken furniture and general rubbish, so there's a good chance that someone started a house clearance at some point but never finished, leaving the place in a weird limbo of semi-disarray.
Once again, certain rooms had a very eerie quality to them with chairs neatly positioned by windows and tables containing neatly stacked books and ornaments. Despite how overgrown the house is, light still somehow manages to find its way through windows and softly plays across surfaces or creates strange shadows on walls. Family photos, cards and letters could be found on table tops, dressers and windowsills. Obvious disrepair and decay aside, there was still a sense the owner could be found behind the next door or return at any time. Personally, I love the strange atmosphere this brings.
This isn't a big site however, and before long it was time to retrieve the hedge-stashed BMX and start that terrifyingly long ride home. Although perhaps not the most varied or unusual explore out there, it has buckets of atmosphere and charm and I thoroughly enjoyed the time there. You can still easily lose a good couple of hours to investigating all the forgotten remnants of another person's life.
I can only hope that in the time that's passed since my visit no one with malicious intent has got to this property and it's remained a mostly undiscovered little rural gem.
PHOTOS:
This is your way in. The Indiana Jones-es among us can go for a sweet-ass roll under the gate, the rest of us can just do a little bushwhacking around the side.
This is about as much you'll see of the house until you find a way around the back where it's a bit less swamped.
The most easily accessible greenhouse, and the one that contains a lot of old furniture and goods from the main house.
Certain furniture from the house seems to have been moved here, for some reason. Possibly as part of the house clearance work.
There's a very "Chernobyl" vibe to these greenhouses.
Inside the workshop/storage shed.
Inside the house now. The kitchen is your only way in - the front door is completely out of commission.
Ornaments suspiciously still intact? I'd like to think it's more a case of lack of interference rather than other explorers attempting to "pose" things.
This creepy little find was completely at odds with all the other decor in the house. A grandchild's art project? A demonic shrine? (It really resembles a Deathclaw from the Fallout series of games, quite aptly!)
Obligatory bathroom-shot.
The bedroom was the only room in a real sense of disarray - maybe this was caused by a relative doing some treasure hunting?
Faded, nature-encroached family photo.
-----------
Hope you enjoyed this very belated report and found it interesting - these kinds of explores are my favourite for a variety of reasons so it was a real joy to encounter. I hope it remains in as good a condition for as long as it can.
Please do let me know your thoughts and opinions and once more... good hunting, Stalkers! :3
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