www.beardchops.com
Pretty much zero planning got us to this place, I’d had it in mind to visit here for a long while after Dawn told me about it. Next up I’ll give a little history about the place courtesy of Wikipedia (thus rendering it most likely false);
Firstly, a little background, lifted directly from Wikipedia as I am not ashamed to admit that I know very little about this place that isn’t already documented elsewhere…
After attempting 2 other places today and being presented with a building site and a large expanse of rubble we decided to head to this wonderful building. The odd sign here and there showed us what some of the rooms had previously been used for and the odd part was damaged by the infamous fire (which didn’t actually seem to have destroyed much in my eyes).
Lungs full of asbestos but happy as pigs in shit, goes to show that there actually is something worth seeing in Belper besides awesome deals on tasty meat!
A few weeks back, on a random drive out (let’s see what’s down here) we happened to see a bunch of old cooling towers appearing over the horizon. Upon closer inspection we noticed that what would have once been buildings next to the towers were now rubble so we decided to have a nosey.
A little bit of history about the place (stolen from Wikipedia)…
In the 1950s, two coal-fired power stations were built on a site off Twyford Road, between Willington and Findern. The stations were privatised and sold to National Power in the early 1990s and eventually closed in the mid-1990s. Although most of the stations were demolished at the turn of the millennium, the five cooling towers continue to dominate the skyline of the local area. The site[9] is earmarked for a large residential development, pending the results of a public inquiry. The construction plans have been met with local opposition, perhaps due to the site’s proximity to the River Trent’s flood plain.
In the mid-1990s a pair of peregrine falcons nested in one of the site’s huge cooling towers. Unlike many bird of prey breeding sites, this was widely publicised because of its impregnable location.
All in all, a very nice afternoon’s exploration, the resulting pictures are here…
So the Central Beardsmen had their first meet, here’s the photographic results that I’ve collated so far. Top bunch, had a really good laugh.
Don’t think Ripley knew what had hit it.
Beard on Mofos!
=|:)>
No, not the car manufacturer, an actual ford. I’m so glad that I finally found someone who has a similar sense of adventure as me. One minute you’re driving through a ford, the next minute you realise that you have wellies in the boot of the car! We had fun!
Just a quick one, called by on our way to the Hartington Cheese Shop to stock up on Stinking Bishop amongst other things. Beautiful and interesting place, wish I’d seen it before they sold the interior off to the yanks.
only having 30 minutes for my dinner break each day it’s difficult to fit much in besides eating and vaping. Today however I decided to throw caution to the wind and nip down to one of my favourite spots. Not much water (probably due to the recent heat wave) but a gorgeous place none the less.
So yesterday I woke up really early having not slept well. I headed over to Tansley car boot for 8am, bought some stuff and headed home to find my landlord tarting up my back yard, a nice job done too. The next thing I know I’ve got a bunch of friends in my back yard drinking cider and getting on with our usual barmy behaviour. It has been a rather gorgeous weekend indeed.