So after hitting up the Archcliffe Galleries (although not knowing that at the time), being denied at St Martin's, and going for a walk for a while in a dead end, new member Badger-Mole and I were going to call it quits for the day (he had some excuse about a revision for an exam or something? 
). Then I suggested that as we were in the area we may as well check out the security for another site, and literally within about 15-20 minutes we were inside the perimeter fence of Fort Burgoyne, looking down the 'Drop of Death'!
Some history from the ever-reliable Underground Kent:
The fort was used right up to the 1960s before it was abandoned in favour of the attached Connaught Barracks. Having fixed the tripod after finding it in pieces underground earlier, this time it got left in the car as we were 'just going for a scout and probably wont need it anyway'. Should really stop listening to people :crazy
Anyway, after finding ourselves scratching our heads as to how to approach getting down into the quite frankly huge ditch, we found our way down (thank you whoever left that rope there!) and started snapping.
There was a top half of another staircase up the ditch much further down the wall. If only they were together. We found a nice little way in, and then remembered that we didn't pick up new batteries, so flash photography warning!
The upper floor has been removed in the Caponiers.
Baby's first light-painting! Not bad for a first-timer, if I do say so myself :tumbleweed
I loved that tunnel. Making our way out into sheltered sunlight we decided to be a bit more wary as we headed into the fort proper.
Anyone from Kent will know that this bag is a nice bit of history, the Rotunda was Folkestone's Dreamland, and must have been gone now for well over ten years.
A lot of the rooms here were filled with utterly bizarre clutter, I wondered if it had ever spent time as a crack den? Anyway, having grown increasingly concerned about the frailty of the floor, and then seen where the floor had given way at one point, we made our way out into the sunshine.
I did put my Solid Snake attitude on again, and was constantly peeking my head out from behind the blast wall as we made our way along each of the rooms, until we got to the middle anyway. No need to be worried!
We found this lovely looking specimen in one room just before I was opening what was an oddly heavy door.
It was marked 'Brassery' (I think) and just as I was about to remark how heavy it was, the fucker dropped an inch! As the boom echoed around the fort and I recovered from my minor heart attack, Badger-Mole pointed out that it had probably just come off of a hinge. Fucking lucky it didn't fall over though.
We had a look down in the opposite Caponier to where we came, which muchly confused me initially due to the road block fence viewed from a distance. It was in a very similar condition, having had its floor removed. At this point time was getting on, so we started to make our way back out.
But of course we couldn't go without the inevitable....
CHAIR SHOT!!
All in all this was a great explore, great to see a site that hasn't been feasted on by vandals or graffiti artists. Going over a few other reports it looks like we missed the middle caponier and actually going on top of the fort. Will definitely be doing a revisit at some point and actually getting the blasted tripod out of the car!
SJP
). Then I suggested that as we were in the area we may as well check out the security for another site, and literally within about 15-20 minutes we were inside the perimeter fence of Fort Burgoyne, looking down the 'Drop of Death'!Some history from the ever-reliable Underground Kent:
The fort was used right up to the 1960s before it was abandoned in favour of the attached Connaught Barracks. Having fixed the tripod after finding it in pieces underground earlier, this time it got left in the car as we were 'just going for a scout and probably wont need it anyway'. Should really stop listening to people :crazy
Anyway, after finding ourselves scratching our heads as to how to approach getting down into the quite frankly huge ditch, we found our way down (thank you whoever left that rope there!) and started snapping.
There was a top half of another staircase up the ditch much further down the wall. If only they were together. We found a nice little way in, and then remembered that we didn't pick up new batteries, so flash photography warning!
The upper floor has been removed in the Caponiers.
Baby's first light-painting! Not bad for a first-timer, if I do say so myself :tumbleweed
I loved that tunnel. Making our way out into sheltered sunlight we decided to be a bit more wary as we headed into the fort proper.
Anyone from Kent will know that this bag is a nice bit of history, the Rotunda was Folkestone's Dreamland, and must have been gone now for well over ten years.
A lot of the rooms here were filled with utterly bizarre clutter, I wondered if it had ever spent time as a crack den? Anyway, having grown increasingly concerned about the frailty of the floor, and then seen where the floor had given way at one point, we made our way out into the sunshine.
I did put my Solid Snake attitude on again, and was constantly peeking my head out from behind the blast wall as we made our way along each of the rooms, until we got to the middle anyway. No need to be worried!
We found this lovely looking specimen in one room just before I was opening what was an oddly heavy door.
It was marked 'Brassery' (I think) and just as I was about to remark how heavy it was, the fucker dropped an inch! As the boom echoed around the fort and I recovered from my minor heart attack, Badger-Mole pointed out that it had probably just come off of a hinge. Fucking lucky it didn't fall over though.
We had a look down in the opposite Caponier to where we came, which muchly confused me initially due to the road block fence viewed from a distance. It was in a very similar condition, having had its floor removed. At this point time was getting on, so we started to make our way back out.
But of course we couldn't go without the inevitable....
CHAIR SHOT!!
All in all this was a great explore, great to see a site that hasn't been feasted on by vandals or graffiti artists. Going over a few other reports it looks like we missed the middle caponier and actually going on top of the fort. Will definitely be doing a revisit at some point and actually getting the blasted tripod out of the car!
SJP
