My first report!.
I have just visited the National Shire Horse centre as I have read it is on its last days before demolishing. Havinge just moved back to Torbay, and I wanted a simple, low risk exploration!
My visit was cut somewhat short as there are people on site living in caravans, and they were wandering around the main buildings, so I kept to the outer edge, still a lot to see. Pictures were done with my phone, so not the best quality I am afraid!
After gaining access, (which wasn't too hard despite having large barred gates, the hedge rows are still pretty porous
almost immediately I saw the caravans, and a couple of warm bodies wandering around, so I decided to approach it by doing a circuit around the outside, with some cover, and slowly working my way in.
What I can say about this site, is it a beautiful bit of land, it would have had everything you would need for a sunny Sunday afternoon walk with the family back in the day, with the added bonus of horses, if that was your thing.
Dotted around the site is a multitude of sheds and wooden buildings, many of which still retain lots of junk, including the kitchen sink in a few!
Even retaining some cool graphics from the era (I am an 80s child, so these I found especially cool)
The first big find was, what I am calling "The Slide Of Death" which may seem dramatic, but this place was from a simpler time, health and safety was only in the fist stage of madness.
A full wooden structure, which upon reaching the top, you threw yourself bodily over a lip with a 4ft vertical drop (hoping you hadn't jumped too far) where upon you would land on the "slide" part and hope no exposed skin (or shell suit material, as seen in the sign) rubbed away!
The picture here doesnt show the vertical drop very well, you will have to trust me that it gave me a little vertigo!
On to wandering around the rest of the outer circle, there are many aging amusements, and old buildings
"The windmill of doom" - probably not, but it is the first thing I saw after the "slide of death"
Toilets with CCTV, simpler times....
The odd reminder of the "Shire Horse" part:
The Gorilla Part:
The random old truck dump part:
So after amusing myself with a walk around the perimeter, I decided to venture closer to the main builds. There are a lot of them, and unfortunatly I only got as far as some of the barns, though one of them blew me away with what was inside!
By now I was quite close to the centre and starting to see signs of life, including 3 goats!
With the obvious signs of life around ( could hear people in the distance, and it was starting to make me uncomfortable, I wasn't in the mood for a confrontation, and I definitely didn't feel like a run!) I decided to exit stage left.
The last thing I saw on my way out was a planning permission sign, I dont think this place is going to be around for long.....
I hope you enjoyed this report, my first, but hopefully not my last.
Thanks for reading.
I have just visited the National Shire Horse centre as I have read it is on its last days before demolishing. Havinge just moved back to Torbay, and I wanted a simple, low risk exploration!
My visit was cut somewhat short as there are people on site living in caravans, and they were wandering around the main buildings, so I kept to the outer edge, still a lot to see. Pictures were done with my phone, so not the best quality I am afraid!
After gaining access, (which wasn't too hard despite having large barred gates, the hedge rows are still pretty porous
almost immediately I saw the caravans, and a couple of warm bodies wandering around, so I decided to approach it by doing a circuit around the outside, with some cover, and slowly working my way in.
What I can say about this site, is it a beautiful bit of land, it would have had everything you would need for a sunny Sunday afternoon walk with the family back in the day, with the added bonus of horses, if that was your thing.
Dotted around the site is a multitude of sheds and wooden buildings, many of which still retain lots of junk, including the kitchen sink in a few!
Even retaining some cool graphics from the era (I am an 80s child, so these I found especially cool)
The first big find was, what I am calling "The Slide Of Death" which may seem dramatic, but this place was from a simpler time, health and safety was only in the fist stage of madness.
A full wooden structure, which upon reaching the top, you threw yourself bodily over a lip with a 4ft vertical drop (hoping you hadn't jumped too far) where upon you would land on the "slide" part and hope no exposed skin (or shell suit material, as seen in the sign) rubbed away!
The picture here doesnt show the vertical drop very well, you will have to trust me that it gave me a little vertigo!
On to wandering around the rest of the outer circle, there are many aging amusements, and old buildings
"The windmill of doom" - probably not, but it is the first thing I saw after the "slide of death"
Toilets with CCTV, simpler times....
The odd reminder of the "Shire Horse" part:
The Gorilla Part:
The random old truck dump part:
So after amusing myself with a walk around the perimeter, I decided to venture closer to the main builds. There are a lot of them, and unfortunatly I only got as far as some of the barns, though one of them blew me away with what was inside!
By now I was quite close to the centre and starting to see signs of life, including 3 goats!
With the obvious signs of life around ( could hear people in the distance, and it was starting to make me uncomfortable, I wasn't in the mood for a confrontation, and I definitely didn't feel like a run!) I decided to exit stage left.
The last thing I saw on my way out was a planning permission sign, I dont think this place is going to be around for long.....
I hope you enjoyed this report, my first, but hopefully not my last.
Thanks for reading.
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