Five ways tower used to be an old office block in central Birmingham, by the five ways round about. The 23 storey building was completed in 1979 however it was abandoned when a large amount of the workers kept on falling ill. Known as sick building syndrome this is caused by poor ventilation and recycling air but needless to say the place is haunted.
My first attempt at getting in was unsuccessful, being chased off by police dogs (the building is sometimes used to train them so be aware) however i returned again a few months later and managed to find an entrance. For those thinking if trying this run I would strongly advise against it as it was by far the most difficult and most dangerous building to get into, leaving me with some very bad injuries on the way out. but if you are thinking of giving it a shot you have to be quite small, good with heights, not be claustrophobic, and have a very good upper body strength.
There are one or two main stairways that head up through the building, each floor is basically the same mess of broken plasterboard and glass but there are a few bathrooms and cupboards. It gets much more interesting moving up towards the roof.
My first attempt at getting in was unsuccessful, being chased off by police dogs (the building is sometimes used to train them so be aware) however i returned again a few months later and managed to find an entrance. For those thinking if trying this run I would strongly advise against it as it was by far the most difficult and most dangerous building to get into, leaving me with some very bad injuries on the way out. but if you are thinking of giving it a shot you have to be quite small, good with heights, not be claustrophobic, and have a very good upper body strength.
There are one or two main stairways that head up through the building, each floor is basically the same mess of broken plasterboard and glass but there are a few bathrooms and cupboards. It gets much more interesting moving up towards the roof.
On the upper floors the lift shaft becomes visible (watch out) as well as a bunch of old machinery
The ventilation system is exposed right at the top, it was completely flooded when we visited as parts of this floor are exposed to the elements.
The ventilation system is exposed right at the top, it was completely flooded when we visited as parts of this floor are exposed to the elements.
The best part of this building though is definitely the views from the top:
Definitely an extremely difficult visit, on our way out we noticed a police car outside and so had to take a dodgy exit which lead to me falling on a spiked fence. We eventually left by sneaking through a private office building with a badger friend we found, just as the building was waking up to the early morning. either way definitely worthwhile.