Hello all from North London (but not north north London)
I have some experience urban exploring and know of the risks and what 'unwritten rules' there may be. My favourite site would have to be the disused Highbury and Islington station. I was fortunate enough to get in with two friends (it was literally a miracle) and we had loads of time to explore the historic place. Just a very short history for anyone interested:
The station opened in 1904 to connect Finsbury Park and Moorgate, and during the construction of the Victoria Line in the 1960's significant changes were made to the stations infrastructure and so the current single-story station was constructed, which opened in 1968. The introduction of escalators to deep-level platforms meant that the old entrance was no longer necessary and so it was closed. It did undergo some refurbishment in 2006, which is evident, to house signalling equipment for the Vic.
Inside the station there are a few spaces, some steps going down, a few locked doors, a disused bathroom, a massive shaft/ventilation which you walk past when going to the Victoria line platform in the current station, just a lot deeper. Unfortunately as I don't know how to pick a lock nor wanted to, or have the 'keys to the underground' I couldn't enter these areas, but have seen footage of it on an old graf doc (City of Paranoia 2 if anyone is interested) which showed them leading to much deeper areas. There was tons of history and although it was completely devoid of people, it was still full of life, the rumbling of the trains are very present and the numerous etchings on the walls from people before me were everywhere. If anyone wants any pictures please feel free to reach out, the reason that I haven't added any is that I can see the importance of good image quality on this site and my crappy phone photos aren't to a high standard.
I have a passion for these types of places, the underbelly and bowels of London; the places made specifically for efficiency, disregarding aesthetic or other factors. Would be grateful for any tips/recommendations and looking forwards to meeting new people with the same interests.
I have some experience urban exploring and know of the risks and what 'unwritten rules' there may be. My favourite site would have to be the disused Highbury and Islington station. I was fortunate enough to get in with two friends (it was literally a miracle) and we had loads of time to explore the historic place. Just a very short history for anyone interested:
The station opened in 1904 to connect Finsbury Park and Moorgate, and during the construction of the Victoria Line in the 1960's significant changes were made to the stations infrastructure and so the current single-story station was constructed, which opened in 1968. The introduction of escalators to deep-level platforms meant that the old entrance was no longer necessary and so it was closed. It did undergo some refurbishment in 2006, which is evident, to house signalling equipment for the Vic.
Inside the station there are a few spaces, some steps going down, a few locked doors, a disused bathroom, a massive shaft/ventilation which you walk past when going to the Victoria line platform in the current station, just a lot deeper. Unfortunately as I don't know how to pick a lock nor wanted to, or have the 'keys to the underground' I couldn't enter these areas, but have seen footage of it on an old graf doc (City of Paranoia 2 if anyone is interested) which showed them leading to much deeper areas. There was tons of history and although it was completely devoid of people, it was still full of life, the rumbling of the trains are very present and the numerous etchings on the walls from people before me were everywhere. If anyone wants any pictures please feel free to reach out, the reason that I haven't added any is that I can see the importance of good image quality on this site and my crappy phone photos aren't to a high standard.
I have a passion for these types of places, the underbelly and bowels of London; the places made specifically for efficiency, disregarding aesthetic or other factors. Would be grateful for any tips/recommendations and looking forwards to meeting new people with the same interests.
