The end of March saw the next round of coal fired closures at Ferrybridge C and Longannet. Less than a week after the press releases went out i found myself with an invitation to explore both, how's a man to choose?! In the end it was Ferrybridge that got the green light. Our leisurely explore of Ironbridge was on roughly the same time scale as this so as we bombed up the A1 we were slightly surprised as a still billowing set of cooling towers came into view. We knew straight away it was going to be an interesting night, closed yet at the same time not really!
After a quick run round the perimeter in the car we hatched a plan.
We found ourselves skirting the cooling towers, that steam we has seen billowing earlier was now crashing down all around drowning out the noise of the approaching works truck! Spotting it at the last minute we again huddled under pipes barely 6 foot away from its path. This was quite a contrast to the rural silence of Ironbridge that's for sure!
We pressed on again and ended up squeezed up alongside the gushing towers this was a sight to behold in itself or at least an experience worth the trip! Just time for one long exposure before its time to hit the deck again.
Success! We popped into the lower floor where there was an epic row of fuel mills but alas no time for photographs it was a case of get in and get to cover. After a few flights of stairs we were sitting in the relative darkness of Unit 1&2's gantry crane for the money shot.
Unit 1 & 2 had been out of use for a while so we decided it was best to stick to that end of the building. The turbine floor was a no go really, at least not in the nicely lit section. The control room windows look straight out onto it so we called it a day for the turbines and headed back into the relative safety of the boilerhouse
The boiler house was cramped, dark and dirty, very typical of a coal fired power station! We scouted the various floors but there was little in the way of epic photos to be had. I settled for a few nice signs and gazing at a lot of cool red enamel shades dotted around. The station definitely shows its age!
Lastly one for Clebby's instagram and a rather crude video that i suggest you watch. I should definitely like to revisit this one once thing have slowed down a little. Its got potential to be one of the best we see.
The password is 'Steam'
After a quick run round the perimeter in the car we hatched a plan.
The boiler house was cramped, dark and dirty, very typical of a coal fired power station! We scouted the various floors but there was little in the way of epic photos to be had. I settled for a few nice signs and gazing at a lot of cool red enamel shades dotted around. The station definitely shows its age!
Lastly one for Clebby's instagram and a rather crude video that i suggest you watch. I should definitely like to revisit this one once thing have slowed down a little. Its got potential to be one of the best we see.
The password is 'Steam'
