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Your Top Worst Explores

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mookster

grumpy sod
Regular User
A lot of the time we like to go on about our favourite locations, the ones we've enjoyed the most or had the best experiences of or were most rewarding one way or another. This is especially true during this time of enforced inability to explore we are all experiencing and a lot of reminiscing is going on about the good old days of exploring past.

But now lets take an opportunity to discuss the opposite end of the spectrum for a change. The locations that you tried so hard to get into which turned into massive disappointments. The explores that ended badly in one way or another, the worst things you've found or situations that lead to a terrible experience on an explore be it through unforeseen incidents or other factors - with photographic proof if possible!

The only logical place I can start is Maison Boon in Belgium. It was the end of the long first day of a weeks trip I took over there in 2013 and after checking into our lodgings we realised we had a bit more daylight to play with and headed out to Maison Boon a short drive away from the hotel. At this point, it's important to note, that it was just another derelict Belgian house to me and my friend and neither of us had heard any of the horror stories associated with it. We arrived at the house and this place was about as rural as it could get. I remember the house was on a crossroads with fields on all sides and as we pulled up we immediately noticed a farmer on a tractor in the field opposite the house and he, at the same time, clocked us. I remember I said to my friend that we'd been seen and that perhaps we shouldn't carry on but against my better judgement he turned left and put the car on the road down the side of the house and assured me it'd be fine (famous last words). We got into the house and headed upstairs and after maybe ten minutes we were separated - I was in the bedroom that faced the top of the stairs and my friend was in a room off to the side. I heard, from downstairs, the faintest 'click' sound and stopped what I was doing and the next thing I remember was being confronted by a big burly Belgian farmer wielding a long wooden pole stood in the doorway of the room. He was shouting and swearing and waving the pole around smashing it off stuff in the room and I remember him smashing the bed so hard the pole broke into two pieces. At this point my friend stuck his head around the door and the next bit is a blur but somehow I got around the guy and we walked down the steep stairs and out the house, at this point he had disappeared and I still don't know where he went. As we got out intending to leave we noticed a female figure crouched beside our car and it turned out she was in the middle of cutting the valves off the tyres - my friend chased her off and luckily she only managed to get one completely cut, if she'd got two we would have been absolutely stuffed. At this point my friend actually phoned the Belgian police and whilst we were waiting for them we heard the distinct crack of a shotgun fire over the house.

The police arrived and the two officers kind of played a good cop bad cop thing with us as my friend decided to argue about something with one of them whilst I was sat calmly talking with the other officer. They stayed with us whilst we changed the wheel and I distinctly remember one of them saying to me just before we left 'you were lucky, there are no laws in rural Belgium'. When we got back to the hotel I went online and looked up the house and there was a veritable catalogue of other explorers saying they had encountered severe hostility from the farmer who lives next to the house and warning people off exploring it.

This was the photo I took seconds before things kicked off.

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That experience was the single most scared I have ever been for my personal safety. It also majorly put me off exploring remote farmhouses for a good few years after that, it's something I simply couldn't bring myself to do.

Honourable mention in the 'most scared I have ever been' is when I was almost arrested in the USA. We had finished exploring a shitty old factory after a day of abject misery and fails and were making tracks to leave when the local railroad police pulled into the street as we were almost at the car. We left but knew we'd immediately get pulled over and like that we did. The guy was a real jobsworth as apparently we had illegally parked on the railroad property which apparently is something they take too seriously over there, but he did the usual thing of claiming he could smell weed in the car and so escalated it further. I was sat in the front passenger seat with the driver and two others in the car and as he went to run the drivers details I'll never forget my friend in the back seat reaching past me and pulling a huge bag of weed out the glovebox after they had assured the police we didn't have any drugs in the car. He came back and said he couldn't find the drivers details on their database but after a while eventually found it as she had a weird surname. He was still questioning us over the drugs and we were convinced it was going to end badly but he said out of nowhere 'I could get the police down here and search your car and you all but I'll let you off with a warning this time' - we think, because it was almost 6pm, he was right at the end of his shift and he simply didn't want to deal with organising searches for four people and a vehicle and all the paperwork it would involve. Had it been earlier in the day we may not have gotten so lucky - fair to say that was a squeaky bum moment for sure. That experience is the closest I've ever come to being arrested although the experience I had in Derbyshire last year is a close second, the one stroke of luck we had was that we exited the building seconds before the cop turned into the road - had he seen us exit we definitely would have been arrested!

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Most disappointing for me would have to be The Springs Hotel, which was a massive let down compared to other old manor houses in the area. It had two or three nice rooms and the rest of it was bog standard boring modernised hotel and I don't understand why it attracted so much interest. That and Minffordd Hospital near Bangor which is probably the single worst hospital I have ever explored, it's somewhere that has no redeeming features at all and should be put out of it's misery.

Accidentally stumbling into a 'trap house' in Wales whilst trying to find a way into an abandoned chapel next door wasn't good either, there was some very fast exiting through the window I'd just climbed through involved in that one. Frustratingly we never got into the chapel either!

I'm sure I've got more, and hopefully there are some good tales of misadventures from other people they can add into this.
 

Shaun

28DL Regular User
28DL Full Member
Weston pow, angry farmer with dogs as i lost a shoe in the mud, it geuniely was like quicksand and it literally swallowed it up in seconds, i managed to get it out while he stands next to me telling me 'if his old man was here he'd give me a bettering' I awkwardly leave with a pit of embarrassment and disappointed especially since the place is complete shit.
Mookster mentions Minffordd and i totally agree there's literally zero features left and I wouldn't bat a eye if it caught alight especially with how easy access was back in 2018.

As far as arrest experiences the only note able one I remember was on Liverpool docks when exploring that dredger near the clock tower. As we where drove off the docks in cars and questioned etc, first and only time I'd had to be put in a car over urbex but saved the walk.

Most disappointing was Octel, don't know what i was suspecting in all honesty had a friendly chat with a metal fairy and explored it as it started heavily raining, it was enjoyable in parts but its far beyond its peak.
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Other shorter things would be the time I was locked in Liverpool zoology, got clothes and arms covered in anti vandal paint and being in a house while vandals came in and started smashing it up (left ASAP)
I would show more pics but most are lost on a corrupted SD or saved into my pc (typing on phone) interested to see what are others could be a very interesting thread!:thumb
 

Monkey

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
I'd probably say the time I flew all the way to China to attempt 2 mega tall buildings that were under construction. I figured Chinese new year would be the perfect time as everyone is celebrating and not much works on. The site was huge, covered in cameras and security guards knocking about. I found a way in round the back but it required such a long mission to get to the base of the tower. As I was slowly making my way around the site fireworks were exploding above my head signalling that the Chinese new year celebrations had begun. Along the way there were 2 or 3 security huts that I had to crawl underneath to avoid being spotted. As I crawled through the dirt and rubble I got all the way around the site and had one road to cross to get to the base. Unfortunately there were too many patrols and I got unlucky and as I tried to make a dash for it got spotted. The following night I met up with @drhowser and we tried again but unfortunately no luck, too many patrols. The next day we took a bullet train out to the next city to attempt the 2nd building. Unfortunately there was a security guard with a dog sat at the base of the tower. Every fence we poked our heads over we were met by the sound of barking dogs...

That's probably the most money I've spent, furthest I've travelled, and ended up failing. Still had some banging food like.
 
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Andrew32

See a sticker, remove a sticker
28DL Full Member
That was an amazing read, I hope I can continue to say I've never experienced anything like this
 

mookster

grumpy sod
Regular User
Couple more memorable shit moments that I remembered after posting.

First explore on my second trip to the States, I arrived during the tail end of that horrifically freezing cold winter they had at the start of 2015 and when I say cold it was absolutely the coldest I have ever been. Two days after landing I was up in Buffalo at the northern, coldest end of NY with my friends and we had arranged a visit to an enormous car graveyard across the border in Canada for the next day. It's worth noting that the snow in Buffalo in areas including my friends front lawn was almost chest height by this point but where we were going in Canada wasn't that bad as it was away from the lakes. Well the night before we were supposed to go up a huge snow storm dumped two feet of snow over where we were supposed to be going and like soldiers we carried on anyway as we thought 'how bad can it be'.

Turns out very bad for me with no snow shoes. The snow had fallen and then the top had frozen into a thin sheet of ice so every step I took would break the ice on the surface, sink my foot to the bottom of the snow and the edge of the ice layer would hit my shins. We spent something like four and a half hours trudging around this place where you could barely see anything because of the snow cover anyway, after about that long we stopped for a breather in an old school bus and it was at that point I realised how absolutely sodden my shoes, socks and feet were and my jeans had frozen solid from the knee down. It was only the constant movement that was keeping me above freezing, after that we decided to make tracks and leave before frostbite set in.

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Getting into the hospital boiler house/incinerator at RAF Upper Heyford trying to find a way into the hospital through this service tunnel we'd heard about when all other avenues were bricked or welded shut was one of the worst experiences as well as the closest I've come to serious injury. The door at the top of the external fire escape looked as if it was open so a plan was hatched to get in and try and find a way across to the adjacent hospital. The building had an external fire escape composed of a caged ladder which went up around three storeys, a metal walkway across the front of the building and then from memory a short set of stairs to the fire door at the top. The bottom of the ladder, as well as being planked off on both sides had the cage opening covered by a round road sign which fit perfectly into the opening and whoever had fixed it there had cut the sign post off at an angle about two feet from the sign leaving a sharp point sticking out. Then the whole bottom of the ladder was covered in anti-climb paint. The only way to get around it short of taking our own ladder which we didn't have, was to scale the side of the ladder and then go through the side of the cage onto the sign and up the ladder. So I went first and began the spiderman climb up the side of the ladder and at some point my foot slipped on the anti climb paint. The balance shift swung me round hard by my arms and straight into the sharpened end of the pole which hit the middle of my thigh. Thankfully I managed to re-establish my grip and got up and into the building where I inspected the damage - luckily it didn't quite pierce the skin but I had a stonker of a bruise there for the next week or so.

After that incident we got into the wellies we had brought with us just in case the tunnel was flooded and headed down into it. It was indeed flooded and full of water and sand, after walking for a little bit it got deeper, and deeper, and eventually breached the top of the wellies. This in itself wouldn't have been enough to make us turn around but the dirty great big brick wall in the middle of the flooded tunnel definitely did which added insult to injury. I'd have to wait another two years to get back into the hospital, right before they demolished it but I believe me and my friend were among very few people who ever got into the hospital boiler house/incinerator.

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The Explorer Returns

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
I don’t have photo proof but I was exploring a factory around the corner from my house in 2013. One of the neighbours called the police after spotting me enter, they told the police I was carrying a massive tub of petrol, when inside taking a few iPhone pics, I backed up to the door to get a shot of the main factory area, moments later the police kicked the door in while I was right on it, sent me flying and knocked me out almost, completely cut my face open (still have the scars now)..I was very young then as well so I was very confused, after the police realised I was no threat, they let me go with a massive apology about their manor of entering. That’s the worst I’ve had, had nothing like that since apart from a German Shepard chasing me lol.
 

Olkka

Chillin at the structure
Regular User
Probably a 5 hour stakeout and escape from Redcar blast furnace after setting off one of the million PIRs on it from about 5am-10am. Tired, hungry, covered in coal, squeezing through tight gaps (one of which caused the group to split up), rained on, soiled my shoes in some sludge, enough walking through conveyors to put me off industrial settings for a few weeks, etc. Took 4 showers to get clean and had to pull of the A1 to a Morrison's car park to catch up on sleep. General 'why do I do this' inducing outing
 

host

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
I'd probably say the time I flew all the way to China to attempt 2 mega tall buildings that were under construction. I figured Chinese new year would be the perfect time as everyone is celebrating and not much works on. The site was huge, covered in cameras and security guards knocking about. I found a way in round the back but it required such a long mission to get to the base of the tower. As I was slowly making my way around the site fireworks were exploding above my head signalling that the Chinese new year celebrations had begun. Along the way there were 2 or 3 security huts that I had to crawl underneath to avoid being spotted. As I crawled through the dirt and rubble I got all the way around the site and had one road to cross to get to the base. Unfortunately there were too many patrols and I got unlucky and as I tried to make a dash for it got spotted. The following night I met up with @drhowser and we tried again but unfortunately no luck, too many patrols. The next day we took a bullet train out to the next city to attempt the 2nd building. Unfortunately there was a security guard with a dog sat at the base of the tower. Every fence we poked our heads over we were met by the sound of barking dogs...

That's probably the most money I've spent, furthest I've travelled, and ended up failing. Still had some banging food like.

That’s a great read, when I was in Beijing I remember the same security on every site even the really crap ones I never would have tried it they can get very aggressive.
 

Speed

Got Epic?
Regular User
Ive been to some overrated place in my time. Silverlands sticks in my head for some reason. Quite why people kept visiting that shit hole for so long i dont know. Driving all the way down to Cork for St Kevins asylum was a massive fail too. Someone had been and posted some arty pictures online and everyone had got it in their heads it was amazing. Got there and it was utter shite. Was expecting a West Park but got a St Crispin without the clock tower! Theres probably been many more. Beelitz? Driving alll the way to Berlin for that was a disappointment, again sold as the best place ever and it was actually half converted, mostly empty and thoroughly average. Thats what you get for tourbussing i guess.

I cant think of that many fails other than getting the ferry over to Ventnor, getting all the way into the bunker only to find someone had pushed the blast door closed and it had somehow jammed shut. Was a long trip back empty handed..
 

albino-jay

g00n Buster
Staff member
Moderator
Winging redcar with hugo was probably the most fun with regards to cat and mouse. With a million secca patrols circling the blast furnace. Managed to walk out in the end. Proper adrenaline rush that one though face down in some slag (wheyooo) after triggering an alarm with seccas boot about 2ft infront of my face. Epic fun.

Fawley was a fuck up, We ended up getting there late and just missed darkness we should have fucked it off tbh but we cracked on, got in to the site no mither all straight forward right up to the turbine hall, Saw an opening, got way to keen and went for it. Should have waited for a patrol but sometimes i dunno you just act a knob and get too giddy. Anyway walked a corner then just purely down to shit timing secca drove around on his patrol. Spotted us, we legged it to some heras and all ended up botte becked into a corner like in some comedy sketch, got the dogs out, called the old bill. Sat there for hours waiting. He was a proper jobsworth saying we’d cut this and that stood over us militant as fuck trying to tell us not to talk etc lol Coppers were sound though took us back to our cars and told us to fuck off back to manchester.

i was solo exploring octel, got into the water tower and whilst i was in there i saw a torch approach. Then heard secca below shouting we know you’re in there etc. Then pretending to walk off. Anyway a few stealth cigs, a long wait later (about 2/3 hours) i hear drilling and hammering. They’d only boarded me in. So yeah i had to cause a bit of carnage to get out. Back home to manchester for a couple of hours kip then back to bangor for work. Ball ache.

quite a lot of sites are disappointing but each to their own and all that i guess.
 

monk

mature
28DL Full Member
@albino-jay Fawley is definitely up there for me as well, that security gaurd was a right bellend, the look on the old Bills faces was funny when they found out where we'd all driven from though.

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Also that river in Birmingham we did (can't remember the name) with Rob, the exolore was ok but I took a dunk and spent the rest of the day soaked haha.

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Also Raf Upwood, dunno what we expected but loads had gone before us so we decided to have a mooch, a rubbish site and caused grief a week later when cid turned up at the house, deffinitley not worth the effort.
 

mookster

grumpy sod
Regular User
Also Raf Upwood, dunno what we expected but loads had gone before us so we decided to have a mooch, a rubbish site and caused grief a week later when cid turned up at the house, deffinitley not worth the effort.

How the hell did that happen after Upwood of all places.
 

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