So, it’s been another while since my last report…
The original idea for sieging the sea fort was hatched a while ago and it went into the planning stage of things to do (there are many plans and there are many things). Planning involved learning how to kayak and then kayak at sea and generally not die doing either of these things. A few months later AlbinoJay and I went to check it out in March, but it was altogether still too snowy and generally wank weather to see much of anything. Besides, we didn’t know how to kayak back then…
Fast forward five months, several kayak missions later and a seak kayak rescue lesson from BigJobs on the Menai Straits in case the worst should happen on a seafaring adventure. All following a fairly boozy, but quite marvelous rope meet… I’d planned to go to sea for a paddle and already had a recce of the fort in mind. So @Ferret , two of her friends and I went for a mooch. We deliberately went at low tide to see whether it was possible to wade out for friends without kayaks. But, that just resulted in us dragging our kayaks over three quarters of a mile of mud and paddling the last quarter. We were limited for time on that trip because we wanted to catch the rising tide back and didn’t have many provisions beyond a few sea beers. We climbed around the outside and on top of it to get a general impression of the lie of the sand, but made to attempt to get inside.
This is as close as you're getting on a normal low tide.
Then, a couple of months later, I would return with @Bigjobs , @Paradox , Mister Matt Ellison, @Captain Ginger Beard (can't tag him for some reason) and Andy. This time we properly pirated the fort. Drinking plenty of sea beers, raising the Jolly Rodger, and sleeping overnight whilst fending off attacks from the lifeguard.
Ze snaps for this report are a combination of both explores. But first…
The Historicals…
There are two forts in the Humber, this cheeky bugger being the one nearest Cleethorpes shore… Both are 18 meters above sea level and would accommodate 200 soldiers. They took four years to build. Construction started during the first world war, but ended a year and a month afterwards in December 1919. Lucky there was a Second World War then, hey!
Modernised for the Second World War the forts were now under attack from enemy aircraft. Ze authorities also stretch netting betveen ze two to stop U Boat attacks further down the estuary.
Haile Sand Fort is Privately owned and currently up for sale. It’s not in bad condition either, if you’ve got the money to buy it. It was up for £300k last time I looked…
Zer Shenanigns
Dragging kayaks layden with all sorts of stuff is not fun. Avoid it. The other difficulty of arriving at low tide was, someone in the line of ownership has cut off all the steps leading up to it on the lower levels. To get on the fort I had to figure out some way of standing up in my kayak to reach the lowest step. I don't know how I did not capsize... Ferret followed and then her friends. Ve ver on ze fort!
It got a bit ropey for a time...
Looking darn...
Gun turrets...
Rusty building on the top...
The tide was rising and it was time to go before the eddy created by the fort and the incoming tide made disembarking stupid...
Travels at 88 miles an hour....
So, next time Matt, Jobs, Paradox, Cap'n Ginger Beard (and parrot), Andy and I all set off at high tide from a different location and land after a fucking horrible paddle, but a reasonably decent (by previous standards) assailment of the fort in all our kayaky gloriousness. I'd forgotten my provisions so Jobs and Paradox kindly plundered some food on the way. Andy gave me some flares because he thought I was sensible.
And then, quite like magic, we were in...
And wasn't it pretty.
And then Matt found a power station. We have all discussed this. It's not a diesel generator, because it has a separate control panel. And if anyone tries spoiling this for Matt I will personally hunt you down and put itching powder in your underpants.
Camp One. Paradox was unfortunately poorly (and an absolutely legend for making the journey there and back with no complaint whatsoever, just a bit of vomiting). Matt had a fucking amazing crab pot that some cunt of a crab detached from it's paracord. RIP bacon.
At some point in time a local yacht thought we were distressed and called out the lifeguard. Who turned up on a rather fancy rib just before evening to check we didn't need rescuing. Jobs dealt with the situation with his inimitable charm and the RNLI went off to tell the people on the yacht whatever they told them... The coast guard rang Jobs, availed them of our plans to leave in the morrow at high tide and off they popped...
As it got darker and I got drunker I turned into Seascape...
We had (a well contained a responsible) fire...
The stars came out...
We planned other shenanigans...
We made another camp...
And then we packed up as the sun rose and left the fort exactly as we found it...
The greatest explores are cool places spent with awesome people having the best of times doing amazing things normal people don't do.
Thanks for reading,
EOA
The original idea for sieging the sea fort was hatched a while ago and it went into the planning stage of things to do (there are many plans and there are many things). Planning involved learning how to kayak and then kayak at sea and generally not die doing either of these things. A few months later AlbinoJay and I went to check it out in March, but it was altogether still too snowy and generally wank weather to see much of anything. Besides, we didn’t know how to kayak back then…
Fast forward five months, several kayak missions later and a seak kayak rescue lesson from BigJobs on the Menai Straits in case the worst should happen on a seafaring adventure. All following a fairly boozy, but quite marvelous rope meet… I’d planned to go to sea for a paddle and already had a recce of the fort in mind. So @Ferret , two of her friends and I went for a mooch. We deliberately went at low tide to see whether it was possible to wade out for friends without kayaks. But, that just resulted in us dragging our kayaks over three quarters of a mile of mud and paddling the last quarter. We were limited for time on that trip because we wanted to catch the rising tide back and didn’t have many provisions beyond a few sea beers. We climbed around the outside and on top of it to get a general impression of the lie of the sand, but made to attempt to get inside.
This is as close as you're getting on a normal low tide.
Then, a couple of months later, I would return with @Bigjobs , @Paradox , Mister Matt Ellison, @Captain Ginger Beard (can't tag him for some reason) and Andy. This time we properly pirated the fort. Drinking plenty of sea beers, raising the Jolly Rodger, and sleeping overnight whilst fending off attacks from the lifeguard.
Ze snaps for this report are a combination of both explores. But first…
The Historicals…
There are two forts in the Humber, this cheeky bugger being the one nearest Cleethorpes shore… Both are 18 meters above sea level and would accommodate 200 soldiers. They took four years to build. Construction started during the first world war, but ended a year and a month afterwards in December 1919. Lucky there was a Second World War then, hey!
Modernised for the Second World War the forts were now under attack from enemy aircraft. Ze authorities also stretch netting betveen ze two to stop U Boat attacks further down the estuary.
Haile Sand Fort is Privately owned and currently up for sale. It’s not in bad condition either, if you’ve got the money to buy it. It was up for £300k last time I looked…
Zer Shenanigns
Dragging kayaks layden with all sorts of stuff is not fun. Avoid it. The other difficulty of arriving at low tide was, someone in the line of ownership has cut off all the steps leading up to it on the lower levels. To get on the fort I had to figure out some way of standing up in my kayak to reach the lowest step. I don't know how I did not capsize... Ferret followed and then her friends. Ve ver on ze fort!
It got a bit ropey for a time...
Looking darn...
Gun turrets...
Rusty building on the top...
The tide was rising and it was time to go before the eddy created by the fort and the incoming tide made disembarking stupid...
Travels at 88 miles an hour....
So, next time Matt, Jobs, Paradox, Cap'n Ginger Beard (and parrot), Andy and I all set off at high tide from a different location and land after a fucking horrible paddle, but a reasonably decent (by previous standards) assailment of the fort in all our kayaky gloriousness. I'd forgotten my provisions so Jobs and Paradox kindly plundered some food on the way. Andy gave me some flares because he thought I was sensible.
And then, quite like magic, we were in...
And wasn't it pretty.
And then Matt found a power station. We have all discussed this. It's not a diesel generator, because it has a separate control panel. And if anyone tries spoiling this for Matt I will personally hunt you down and put itching powder in your underpants.
Camp One. Paradox was unfortunately poorly (and an absolutely legend for making the journey there and back with no complaint whatsoever, just a bit of vomiting). Matt had a fucking amazing crab pot that some cunt of a crab detached from it's paracord. RIP bacon.
At some point in time a local yacht thought we were distressed and called out the lifeguard. Who turned up on a rather fancy rib just before evening to check we didn't need rescuing. Jobs dealt with the situation with his inimitable charm and the RNLI went off to tell the people on the yacht whatever they told them... The coast guard rang Jobs, availed them of our plans to leave in the morrow at high tide and off they popped...
As it got darker and I got drunker I turned into Seascape...
We had (a well contained a responsible) fire...
The stars came out...
We planned other shenanigans...
We made another camp...
And then we packed up as the sun rose and left the fort exactly as we found it...
The greatest explores are cool places spent with awesome people having the best of times doing amazing things normal people don't do.
Thanks for reading,
EOA
Great report and pictures man, those stars
