My first attempt at exploring a construction site did not go fully as planned. Myself and two other friends initially wanted to get to the top of the South Bank Tower, first through the actual building and then finish the journey using the crane in hope of finding ourselves 400ft above ground.
Sadly this did not happen as after wondering around to find an intrusion spot, none were to be found.
It would have been too good to be true...
We therefore walked around to find another site, and we did.
The Tate modern has an extension building next to it in construction. We analysed the surroundings as per the tips found here and there was one security guard located on the east side of the site which prompted us to go the other way.
Once inside we all felt like it was the beginning of a fun night.
Unfortunately though again, we encountered a few obstacles. The main one was a latch (and a fence around it) that stopped us from climbing the main crane which in my opinion would have been great thrills.
Finally, the only possible way up was inside the actual building.
It was great fun, there were construction equipment everywhere. The scaffoldings resonating inside the building made us think someone was still there which got us hold our breath a few times. Haha.
Ladders and a few hops along with stairs were all we encountered our way to the top.
After walking up 10 floors roughly we felt a gust of wind and rushed to it, it was a sort of terrace. It felt so good, the sense of having reached a high altitude. We first thought this was the top, but luckily no.
The view was stunning... Dark but a full-of-lights-lit-London is something to appreciate.
We took a few pictures, enjoyed the view and went around until we noticed the neighbouring building was so close, it was probably best to get back inside and stay out of their sight as I could see people at the windows.
The picture below shows the white crane we wanted to climb at the beginning.
Anyway, we walked a further two or three floors to reach the bottom of a ladder. Having a curious mind and not knowing where it went, we obviously went for it.
Safety was always a priority throughout the exploration, so three contact points and a sense of carefulness was paramount. Nothing to be concerned by here.
The ladder was a way to the roof of the building.
Here, the sense of achievement was great.
The feeling of being 225 feet above London is incredible.
The following paragraph will sum up what was my ultimate goal was when I decided to go on this exploration.
Personally, I feel like the world beneath me is so small that my issues and problems in life are even smaller, therefore meaningless.
This is why I enjoy high environment so much because they tell you to enjoy every moment of life. Life is wonderful, and the negativity that surrounds our society should not impact our mindsets.
At that particular time of the exploration, on the roof, that negativity that holds us back is below us, and the sense of freedom is so big my friends and I had a massive smile on our faces.
It was epic.
We could see the Shard, St Paul, the City and many more!
The photos cannot do justice, but it was stunning up top.
Anyway, we stayed over there for some time. Looking around, we noticed the crane we wanted to climb at the very beginning and it was higher than the roof. At that point, we felt like going to the top of a crane isn't that straight forward.
On the way back down, we went a different way (no particular reason to why) and it was stairs down for 13 stories. Nothing exciting here.
At the bottom however, we found ourselves in a huge room shaped in a circle.
Stupid of me I didn't take any pictures but here is how it should look when the construction is finished.
After that, we went back the same way we came in from and exited the premises.
Finally, because it was only 11pm, we really wanted to go back to the South Bank tower. However once there, a guard spotted us and came up to us saying he had seen us from 7pm onwards when we first came here. So we just buggered off as he asked us to do so.
This was probably our biggest rookie mistake, wandering around far too long in late evening when the sun is still a bit up.
Here's a picture of the South Bank tower from where we were.
I hope this was not too boring to read, please feel free to comment, criticise and tell me what to improve because at the end of the day, I just want to get better doing UrbEx.
If you enjoyed the read, again, comment and share your feeling on this great forums.
Until then, see you next time.
Sadly this did not happen as after wondering around to find an intrusion spot, none were to be found.
It would have been too good to be true...
We therefore walked around to find another site, and we did.
The Tate modern has an extension building next to it in construction. We analysed the surroundings as per the tips found here and there was one security guard located on the east side of the site which prompted us to go the other way.
Once inside we all felt like it was the beginning of a fun night.
Unfortunately though again, we encountered a few obstacles. The main one was a latch (and a fence around it) that stopped us from climbing the main crane which in my opinion would have been great thrills.
Finally, the only possible way up was inside the actual building.
It was great fun, there were construction equipment everywhere. The scaffoldings resonating inside the building made us think someone was still there which got us hold our breath a few times. Haha.
Ladders and a few hops along with stairs were all we encountered our way to the top.
After walking up 10 floors roughly we felt a gust of wind and rushed to it, it was a sort of terrace. It felt so good, the sense of having reached a high altitude. We first thought this was the top, but luckily no.
The view was stunning... Dark but a full-of-lights-lit-London is something to appreciate.
We took a few pictures, enjoyed the view and went around until we noticed the neighbouring building was so close, it was probably best to get back inside and stay out of their sight as I could see people at the windows.
The picture below shows the white crane we wanted to climb at the beginning.
Anyway, we walked a further two or three floors to reach the bottom of a ladder. Having a curious mind and not knowing where it went, we obviously went for it.
Safety was always a priority throughout the exploration, so three contact points and a sense of carefulness was paramount. Nothing to be concerned by here.
The ladder was a way to the roof of the building.
Here, the sense of achievement was great.
The feeling of being 225 feet above London is incredible.
The following paragraph will sum up what was my ultimate goal was when I decided to go on this exploration.
Personally, I feel like the world beneath me is so small that my issues and problems in life are even smaller, therefore meaningless.
This is why I enjoy high environment so much because they tell you to enjoy every moment of life. Life is wonderful, and the negativity that surrounds our society should not impact our mindsets.
At that particular time of the exploration, on the roof, that negativity that holds us back is below us, and the sense of freedom is so big my friends and I had a massive smile on our faces.
It was epic.
We could see the Shard, St Paul, the City and many more!
The photos cannot do justice, but it was stunning up top.
Anyway, we stayed over there for some time. Looking around, we noticed the crane we wanted to climb at the very beginning and it was higher than the roof. At that point, we felt like going to the top of a crane isn't that straight forward.
On the way back down, we went a different way (no particular reason to why) and it was stairs down for 13 stories. Nothing exciting here.
At the bottom however, we found ourselves in a huge room shaped in a circle.
Stupid of me I didn't take any pictures but here is how it should look when the construction is finished.
After that, we went back the same way we came in from and exited the premises.
Finally, because it was only 11pm, we really wanted to go back to the South Bank tower. However once there, a guard spotted us and came up to us saying he had seen us from 7pm onwards when we first came here. So we just buggered off as he asked us to do so.
This was probably our biggest rookie mistake, wandering around far too long in late evening when the sun is still a bit up.
Here's a picture of the South Bank tower from where we were.
I hope this was not too boring to read, please feel free to comment, criticise and tell me what to improve because at the end of the day, I just want to get better doing UrbEx.
If you enjoyed the read, again, comment and share your feeling on this great forums.
Until then, see you next time.
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