Site Background
JSU Copenacre (also known as MOD Copenacre) is one of a number of smaller MOD installations dotted around the vicinity of Corsham. The site became surplus to requirements after the opening of new facilities in MOD Corsham and has been sold, with planning permission for development granted in November 2012.
Group and Equipment
This was a solo adventure. All photos were taken with a Nikon D60 and 18-55mm kit lens.
The Visit
I visited the site a few days prior to entry so that I could recce the place in advance and get a feel for the layout. I decided to focus my main effort on the largest building, as I thought that this would provide me with the most photo opportunities. I also thought I had identified an open window that would provide me with easy access once I got past the perimeter fence.
When I made my move a few days later, I discovered that my "open window" was in fact an ordinary glass window painted matt black, forcing me to find a new way in. Once that was achieved, I got my camera out and took a quick photo to confirm my settings, then heard a sound. I couldn't tell if it was a footstep, or a door opening, or just shutters rattling in the wind, but it certainly shook me up. I spent about five minutes frozen in position, desperately trying to work out if it was safe to continue. Eventually, I managed to get my nerve up and enter the building proper.
There were a lot of rooms, but all of the furniture and a lot of the network cabling had been stripped out of them. The condition of the place was generally good, unsurprising considering it has only been empty for a couple of years at most. This is about as bad as it got, and the majority of the pictures I took were like this:
I did manage to find the room that was behind the blacked out glass. They still had MOD issue toilet roll left in there:
I explored about a third of the building before I got spooked. I heard a sound that may have been a person moving around in the corridor I was about to enter. It was probably just the wind and my imagination, but I decided to trust my instincts and not my luck. I thought about leaving through the main entrance, but as that faced a moderately busy road and there was still decent daylight left I decided not to risk it.
Further Pictures
Urban Exploration 2013-05-03 - a set on Flickr
Summary and Follow-Up
On the whole, this was a satisfactory visit. I didn't notice any unusual hazards while I was there, and security appeared to relatively slight. However, it is not necessarily unguarded and I would definitely recommend caution should anyone else choose to go there. The main building is not particularly interesting and I would not go there again. However, there are many other buildings that appeared to be accessible that I did not get chance to enter. I would like to go back and explore these further another time.
JSU Copenacre (also known as MOD Copenacre) is one of a number of smaller MOD installations dotted around the vicinity of Corsham. The site became surplus to requirements after the opening of new facilities in MOD Corsham and has been sold, with planning permission for development granted in November 2012.
Group and Equipment
This was a solo adventure. All photos were taken with a Nikon D60 and 18-55mm kit lens.
The Visit
I visited the site a few days prior to entry so that I could recce the place in advance and get a feel for the layout. I decided to focus my main effort on the largest building, as I thought that this would provide me with the most photo opportunities. I also thought I had identified an open window that would provide me with easy access once I got past the perimeter fence.
When I made my move a few days later, I discovered that my "open window" was in fact an ordinary glass window painted matt black, forcing me to find a new way in. Once that was achieved, I got my camera out and took a quick photo to confirm my settings, then heard a sound. I couldn't tell if it was a footstep, or a door opening, or just shutters rattling in the wind, but it certainly shook me up. I spent about five minutes frozen in position, desperately trying to work out if it was safe to continue. Eventually, I managed to get my nerve up and enter the building proper.
There were a lot of rooms, but all of the furniture and a lot of the network cabling had been stripped out of them. The condition of the place was generally good, unsurprising considering it has only been empty for a couple of years at most. This is about as bad as it got, and the majority of the pictures I took were like this:
I did manage to find the room that was behind the blacked out glass. They still had MOD issue toilet roll left in there:
I explored about a third of the building before I got spooked. I heard a sound that may have been a person moving around in the corridor I was about to enter. It was probably just the wind and my imagination, but I decided to trust my instincts and not my luck. I thought about leaving through the main entrance, but as that faced a moderately busy road and there was still decent daylight left I decided not to risk it.
Further Pictures
Urban Exploration 2013-05-03 - a set on Flickr
Summary and Follow-Up
On the whole, this was a satisfactory visit. I didn't notice any unusual hazards while I was there, and security appeared to relatively slight. However, it is not necessarily unguarded and I would definitely recommend caution should anyone else choose to go there. The main building is not particularly interesting and I would not go there again. However, there are many other buildings that appeared to be accessible that I did not get chance to enter. I would like to go back and explore these further another time.
