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Report - - North Weald Redoubt, Essex, August 2020. | Military Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - North Weald Redoubt, Essex, August 2020.

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Claypole

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Not only is this my first report, it's also the first time I've ever done any 'proper' urban exploration. I have always liked the idea of snooping around derelict places, and whilst browsing the internet the other day I found the North Weald Redoubt, and it really piqued my interest.

It's one of 15 London mobilisation centres built in the lat 19th century, in response to a rapid build up of warships by France and Russia. They were designed to be used for either artillery deplor, like this one at North Weald, for ammunition and equipment storage. Early in the 20th century, our faith in the Royal Navy had been restored, and these sites were mainly repurposed, with North Weald being used as a radio station after the First World war.

I believe this ended up getting used as a storage facility by BT, before finally being completely disused and closed in the 1990's. There's plenty to read online about these mobilisation centres, yet nobody I've spoken to locally have any idea about this place.

I don't live far from North Weald, so managed to recce the place before the day of the visit. The whole site is fenced off, but also ringed by a public footpath which made for a very pleasant evening stroll
for the missus and myself.

When it came to the actual visit, I had to come alone, there was no way my missus was having anything to do with it. The weather was blazing hot, mid 30's, and very humid. Getting in was no problem, but once inside, the place was very overgrown. I had to pretty much get on all fours and crawl at one point, but then I saw the entrance to the main structures and was glad I had made the effort. Being my first visit to such a place, I wasn't going to be too adventurous and just wanted to have a quick look whilst being as safe as possible.

Now, I don't know whether this is normal for a noob like myself, but I have to confess to feeling just little bit nervy and on edge. With all the rubbish and the smell of bonfires still fresh, I suspected there would be other people there, but there wasn't. It felt a bit desolate and apocalyptic, which I'm guessing is a big part of the attraction of these places. Before I visited here I had looked at a lot of pictures of the place, so I thought I knew what to expect, but actually being there is a different matter.

With regards to pictures, I did consider taking my old DSLR and trying to get some nice artistic pictures but for my first time out, I decided some quick snaps on my phone would be a better idea.
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