I hadn't actually intended to go to Cottam at all, given how reportedly commited security were to repelling camera wielding visitors. However, this was also around the time that @Olkka had got into my head with talk of 'the zone', and as such there grew a Cottam-zone shaped hole in my life that I felt compelled to fill. In the end I made two attempts. The first was alone, and I barely made it on site, not because of security or lack of a plan, but due to my own clumsiness, which resulted in a minor head injury. By coincidence @Olkka and @slayaaaa had seperately planned a trip for later the same night, but in my state of self-loathing I couldn't be persuaded to accompany them, and I skulked off home vowing to retire from everything other than the soggiest of derps. Three days later, having pulled myself together again, I returned with @Esoteric Eric and @UrbanDoll (both of whom had already been inside, shortly after decommissioning) for a more successful visit. On this night we saw nothing of any security, on-site or off, other than a brief flash of torch from a routine patrol on our way out. This did not stop me jumping at shadows from beginning to end, but Cottam remains a very positive memory.
Construction of Cottam Power Station began in April 1964 and was completed in 1968. The station was decommissioned on 30th September 2019.
The turbine halls have now been cleared. Here's a couple of videos of the precipitators being demolished:
Here's a few photos dating from the 60s.
All photos in this first part are film. They're handheld, so apols for the shaky ones. This is definitely not a comprehensive record of a power station, more of a 'these are the things I snapped as a ran past' kind of deal.
The CTRL room
As others have noted, one of the work stations now resides at the Science Museum (Cottam power station control desk | Science Museum Group Collection)
This had already been removed at the time of our visit, but the others remained.
I'll drop some phone pics in the next thread...
