D
Dragon_Urbex
Guest
Guest
I know this place has been done to buggery and back, but here's my take on it. Slightly different from the norm.
Potted History:
Grain Tower Battery is a sea fort out in the confluence of the estuaries of the River Medway and the River Thames, almost out in open seas. It was built between 1848 and 1855, and stands around 500 meters from the eastern tip of the Isle of Grain on Grain Spit, a sandbank submerged at high tide. A causeway was built out from land all the way to the tower. This still remains but is covered in mud! The tower’s fabric was substantially altered during both world wars to accommodate new guns to defend Great Britain. The tower was decommissioned in 1956, after being mothballed in a “care and maintenance” phase for twelve years.
The Explore:
It had long been a goal for myself and a group of friends to camp out at Grain and in September 2021, that came to fruition. We all met up one weekend with our respective camping gear and drove to Grain. I didn’t have Wellington boots, so I used plastic bin bags over my shoes to protect my feet. It worked quite well all things considered. We made the 500 meter walk with only one casualty – my friend Robin went head over heels into the mud and got splattered! Apart from that, we were unscathed. We set up camp in a sheltered area and explored the building all throughout the night. Dinner was a nice barbecue of burgers and sausages and kebabs. All in all, it was rather fun! However, the others all got rather drunk, so they had hangovers the next morning. That bit was rather amusing. Enjoy the photos!
1) The tower. You can see two of the group were climbing onto the very tip top of the tower. Bloody nutters!
2) A more atmospheric shot.
3) Looking at the officers' mess and land in the distance.
4) The observation tower sections.
5) The gun platform.
6) The top of the ammunition lift. Looks a bit like a face.
7) The gun platform part of the ammunition lift.
8) The top room of the lookout tower.
9) Looking over towards Sheerness.
10) Looking down at the officers' mess from the observation tower.
11) The ammunition lift in the magazine section.
12) The ammunition lift from inside, with the iron gate to the right.
13) Sunset over the mudflats.
14) Long exposure showing the gas fired Grain Power Station.
15) Long exposure looking out towards Sheerness and Queenborough.
16) Wire wool spinning from the gun platform.
17) A shot of the observation tower illuminated.
18) Another shot of wire wool spinning, this time from inside the tower floor of the observation tower.
Thanks for readin'!
Potted History:
Grain Tower Battery is a sea fort out in the confluence of the estuaries of the River Medway and the River Thames, almost out in open seas. It was built between 1848 and 1855, and stands around 500 meters from the eastern tip of the Isle of Grain on Grain Spit, a sandbank submerged at high tide. A causeway was built out from land all the way to the tower. This still remains but is covered in mud! The tower’s fabric was substantially altered during both world wars to accommodate new guns to defend Great Britain. The tower was decommissioned in 1956, after being mothballed in a “care and maintenance” phase for twelve years.
The Explore:
It had long been a goal for myself and a group of friends to camp out at Grain and in September 2021, that came to fruition. We all met up one weekend with our respective camping gear and drove to Grain. I didn’t have Wellington boots, so I used plastic bin bags over my shoes to protect my feet. It worked quite well all things considered. We made the 500 meter walk with only one casualty – my friend Robin went head over heels into the mud and got splattered! Apart from that, we were unscathed. We set up camp in a sheltered area and explored the building all throughout the night. Dinner was a nice barbecue of burgers and sausages and kebabs. All in all, it was rather fun! However, the others all got rather drunk, so they had hangovers the next morning. That bit was rather amusing. Enjoy the photos!
1) The tower. You can see two of the group were climbing onto the very tip top of the tower. Bloody nutters!
2) A more atmospheric shot.
3) Looking at the officers' mess and land in the distance.
4) The observation tower sections.
5) The gun platform.
6) The top of the ammunition lift. Looks a bit like a face.
7) The gun platform part of the ammunition lift.
8) The top room of the lookout tower.
9) Looking over towards Sheerness.
10) Looking down at the officers' mess from the observation tower.
11) The ammunition lift in the magazine section.
12) The ammunition lift from inside, with the iron gate to the right.
13) Sunset over the mudflats.
14) Long exposure showing the gas fired Grain Power Station.
15) Long exposure looking out towards Sheerness and Queenborough.
16) Wire wool spinning from the gun platform.
17) A shot of the observation tower illuminated.
18) Another shot of wire wool spinning, this time from inside the tower floor of the observation tower.
Thanks for readin'!
Been meaning to revisit ever since.
