I loved this place.
The wonderful lighting. The amazing stalactites and mites. The weird room of stuff.
Was an interesting visit. We were just finishing up and had got into the main farmhouse. I looked out of the window to see a car pull up. 2 dodgy men got out and were rummaging in their boot. One was wearing a cowboy hat. We watched from the top floor and heard them come in and out of the house a few times. At this point I thought they were metal thieves. We kept still.
Had the usual dilemma, do I hide my camera to stop it being nicked, or wear it like a badge to show im not trouble.
Then 2 women got out of the car. They set up a chair in front of the house and lay a piece of equipment on it and stood right back. Then they stared contstantly at the house. WTF was going on? Were they gonna blow the place up? Darkness was coming. We stood still. An hour passed - they kept still watching the house.
Lots of in and out from the group.
We snuck downstairs...looking at one of the girls about 10 feet away via a reflection in a piece of broken glass. She was staring straight at me but obvioulsy couldnt see.
Then listened to their conversation. They were talking about some bats they had seen before.
Then it clicked. The machine was an ultrasound detector. They were looking for bats.
Relief.
Then the decision about how to exit without freaking everyone out. They were here to stay. Getting dark. Only one way out.
Then the doors were being unlocked behind us so we jumped out. Said hi to the girl and walked on. She looked extremely rattled.
Met the other girl in the grounds. She said they were doing a bat survey. Were gonna spend the night (thank god we didnt wait for hours). She said get out, before her boss came back.
Fun times.
Wikipedia says of Buckston Browne Farm: “Built in 1931 as a surgical research centre by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS). In the 1980s, the farm caused controversy because of its use of vivisection techniques, and in August 1984 it was raided by anti-vivisection activists.” It’s been a wreck for some years, and there’s now a planning application to turn this into housing. Down House, Charles Darwin’s former home, is around the corner.
Cheers Guys
I accidentally missed a whole bunch of the photos in the upload!!!
The wonderful lighting. The amazing stalactites and mites. The weird room of stuff.
Was an interesting visit. We were just finishing up and had got into the main farmhouse. I looked out of the window to see a car pull up. 2 dodgy men got out and were rummaging in their boot. One was wearing a cowboy hat. We watched from the top floor and heard them come in and out of the house a few times. At this point I thought they were metal thieves. We kept still.
Had the usual dilemma, do I hide my camera to stop it being nicked, or wear it like a badge to show im not trouble.
Then 2 women got out of the car. They set up a chair in front of the house and lay a piece of equipment on it and stood right back. Then they stared contstantly at the house. WTF was going on? Were they gonna blow the place up? Darkness was coming. We stood still. An hour passed - they kept still watching the house.
Lots of in and out from the group.
We snuck downstairs...looking at one of the girls about 10 feet away via a reflection in a piece of broken glass. She was staring straight at me but obvioulsy couldnt see.
Then listened to their conversation. They were talking about some bats they had seen before.
Then it clicked. The machine was an ultrasound detector. They were looking for bats.
Relief.
Then the decision about how to exit without freaking everyone out. They were here to stay. Getting dark. Only one way out.
Then the doors were being unlocked behind us so we jumped out. Said hi to the girl and walked on. She looked extremely rattled.
Met the other girl in the grounds. She said they were doing a bat survey. Were gonna spend the night (thank god we didnt wait for hours). She said get out, before her boss came back.
Fun times.
Wikipedia says of Buckston Browne Farm: “Built in 1931 as a surgical research centre by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS). In the 1980s, the farm caused controversy because of its use of vivisection techniques, and in August 1984 it was raided by anti-vivisection activists.” It’s been a wreck for some years, and there’s now a planning application to turn this into housing. Down House, Charles Darwin’s former home, is around the corner.
Cheers Guys
I accidentally missed a whole bunch of the photos in the upload!!!
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