Back in April this year I explored the Wistow Mine one of the Selby pits that were closed in 2002. To be honest the visit to Selby was quite a thought provoking experience for me, I hadn't appreciated quite the scale of the waste that Selby represented. Normally exploring you see sites that are very derelict and have clearly a long history. Selby complex is just so new - too new - to have been abandonded. Yet the pits are capped and the massive tunnel complex and equipment lost underground forever. Most of the Coal remains underground as UK Coal only extracted the easy stuff.
I needed to see more, so decided to have a look at Stillingfleet which I noticed on the return trip from Wistow in April.
Stillingfleet closed at about the same time in 2002, but is almost completely intact unlike Wistow which has had more demolition take place. Furthermore UK Coal is still active at this site, so I'm putting this in the Private section, just in case it spoils future visits. Its is so unvandalised that there surely must be on site security, particularly as there's working machinery on site. Maybe I hit lucky between security rounds, but I was unchallenged despite walking round in broad daylight.
Today Stillingfleet is still used to extract Methane Gas from the Selby complex for electricity generation, there is a constant noise on site from machinery. But its a total GHOST TOWN. Dweeb explored Ricall in 2006 and reported the lights in the car park were left permanently on, day and night the lights are left on here too, the only ones off are where the bulb has finally popped after 6 years. Who is paying the elecy bills!
I didn't enter through the front gate, but found my own way in. The overgrown car park and bushes reminded me of shots from Pripyat. But the weird thing was most of the flood lights were on!
Here is an old photo of the site showing the enclosed head gear which is now removed - it was the only structure apart from the chimneys visible from outside
Here are the chimneys today
But the headstock is now just a cap
Because the site is still active the vast majority of the buildings are locked up tight, at a guess though I would say the equipment inside remains as it was. I did manage to get into the boiler room. Everything was as it was, tools, safety posters etc.
The gym was also accessible though completely empty. I could only guess why a gym was needed, surely after a hard physical job of mining, weight training in the gym was overkill, but maybe it was for the office staff.
Like Wistow there was an excess of signs giving patronising advise, the gym was plastered with them, dont put you feet on the wall, tidy up etc.
Clearly someone tidied up too well as all the equipment was now gone, probably nicked through the broken window I used to get in.
Some more ghost town shots
All the doors were locked, but peering through the windows desks were piled up with papers and files and many of the lights were left on. It was clear from the cobwebs though nobody ever goes in, odd.
Notice the dome CCTV on the left. There were a few watching me and they looked in good condition. Nobody ever came though, so maybe the monitors are unattended.
Unfortunately my camera batteries died before I could photo any more buildings, I'll return though. Here's a final shot of the chimneys that I liked.
I needed to see more, so decided to have a look at Stillingfleet which I noticed on the return trip from Wistow in April.
Stillingfleet closed at about the same time in 2002, but is almost completely intact unlike Wistow which has had more demolition take place. Furthermore UK Coal is still active at this site, so I'm putting this in the Private section, just in case it spoils future visits. Its is so unvandalised that there surely must be on site security, particularly as there's working machinery on site. Maybe I hit lucky between security rounds, but I was unchallenged despite walking round in broad daylight.
Today Stillingfleet is still used to extract Methane Gas from the Selby complex for electricity generation, there is a constant noise on site from machinery. But its a total GHOST TOWN. Dweeb explored Ricall in 2006 and reported the lights in the car park were left permanently on, day and night the lights are left on here too, the only ones off are where the bulb has finally popped after 6 years. Who is paying the elecy bills!
I didn't enter through the front gate, but found my own way in. The overgrown car park and bushes reminded me of shots from Pripyat. But the weird thing was most of the flood lights were on!
Here is an old photo of the site showing the enclosed head gear which is now removed - it was the only structure apart from the chimneys visible from outside
Here are the chimneys today
But the headstock is now just a cap
Because the site is still active the vast majority of the buildings are locked up tight, at a guess though I would say the equipment inside remains as it was. I did manage to get into the boiler room. Everything was as it was, tools, safety posters etc.
The gym was also accessible though completely empty. I could only guess why a gym was needed, surely after a hard physical job of mining, weight training in the gym was overkill, but maybe it was for the office staff.
Like Wistow there was an excess of signs giving patronising advise, the gym was plastered with them, dont put you feet on the wall, tidy up etc.
Clearly someone tidied up too well as all the equipment was now gone, probably nicked through the broken window I used to get in.
Some more ghost town shots
All the doors were locked, but peering through the windows desks were piled up with papers and files and many of the lights were left on. It was clear from the cobwebs though nobody ever goes in, odd.
Notice the dome CCTV on the left. There were a few watching me and they looked in good condition. Nobody ever came though, so maybe the monitors are unattended.
Unfortunately my camera batteries died before I could photo any more buildings, I'll return though. Here's a final shot of the chimneys that I liked.
