This is my first UE post.
Not to suggest any lack of exploration experience!
REPORT:
Having toyed with the idea of this explore for a long time, I went off to CWM Coke Colliery in Wales with my lady friend. CWM Coke is a popular destination for us explorers, but its so vast that there is always more to document.
Our explore was on a brilliantly sunny day. Much of the structure is unbelievably rusted, so if you plan a visit, be careful to check what your standing on. There is a lot to see, and some great opportunities for photos (see mine below).
Comically, we got caught by security while I was crouching in an open area to tack a snap. We didn't try to run. The guy was very friendly, saying "you weren't the first, and you definitely wont be the last" with some good Welsh humor. He even recommended some spots from outside where we might get some good shots!
HISTORY:
Cwm Coke (or 'Valley Coke' - 'cwm' means 'valley' in Welsh) is an abandoned coke processing facility in the town of Beddau in South Wales. It was built and opened in 1958 to process coal mined from the nearby cwm colliery, which had been a functioning coal mine since 1914. Coke is a solid fuel made by heating coal in an airless environment. It is used in iron foundries, metal smelting furnaces, sugar beet refineries, brickworks, and heating boilers. In 1948, the National Coal Board (NCB) was established to manage the nationalized coal industry in the UK. The NCB updated the colliery in a £9 million redevelopment, which included the building of the Cokeworks.
In the 1970s, the cokeworks employed over 1,500 men and produced some 1,500 tons of coke each year. It continued as a functioning facility until 1986, when the NCB was privatized and the coillery was closed. However, CPL Industries, a large solid fuel manufacturing and distributions company, bought the cokeworks, and kept production running until 2002. It would have remained open, but was in desperate need of modernization. CPL was unwilling to invest in the facility, and it has been abandoned ever since.
IMAGES :
Not to suggest any lack of exploration experience!
REPORT:
Having toyed with the idea of this explore for a long time, I went off to CWM Coke Colliery in Wales with my lady friend. CWM Coke is a popular destination for us explorers, but its so vast that there is always more to document.
Our explore was on a brilliantly sunny day. Much of the structure is unbelievably rusted, so if you plan a visit, be careful to check what your standing on. There is a lot to see, and some great opportunities for photos (see mine below).
Comically, we got caught by security while I was crouching in an open area to tack a snap. We didn't try to run. The guy was very friendly, saying "you weren't the first, and you definitely wont be the last" with some good Welsh humor. He even recommended some spots from outside where we might get some good shots!
HISTORY:
Cwm Coke (or 'Valley Coke' - 'cwm' means 'valley' in Welsh) is an abandoned coke processing facility in the town of Beddau in South Wales. It was built and opened in 1958 to process coal mined from the nearby cwm colliery, which had been a functioning coal mine since 1914. Coke is a solid fuel made by heating coal in an airless environment. It is used in iron foundries, metal smelting furnaces, sugar beet refineries, brickworks, and heating boilers. In 1948, the National Coal Board (NCB) was established to manage the nationalized coal industry in the UK. The NCB updated the colliery in a £9 million redevelopment, which included the building of the Cokeworks.
In the 1970s, the cokeworks employed over 1,500 men and produced some 1,500 tons of coke each year. It continued as a functioning facility until 1986, when the NCB was privatized and the coillery was closed. However, CPL Industries, a large solid fuel manufacturing and distributions company, bought the cokeworks, and kept production running until 2002. It would have remained open, but was in desperate need of modernization. CPL was unwilling to invest in the facility, and it has been abandoned ever since.
IMAGES :
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