Warning: Just a little rant.

[ScarlettRose]

I’m technically a new member but I was a member back when I was a teenager for a little while on an old account (can’t for the life of me remember what it was or what email address etc).

I have been looking around the forums and also the chat box. Slowly realising there is half the community that’s really nice, helpful and patient and understanding of newer members and those that are finding their feet. Others however half are on the other end of the spectrum. Completely set in their ways, dismissive of others, unhelpful and make comments that make you feel like a completely idiot. New members or people new to exploring don’t need that kind of attitude. We’re supposed to be a community of people with the same interests not belittling people for a difference of taste or opinions on find etc. It’s a little off putting to say the least. I am almost 32, I am woman (I’m the Scarlett in will_scarlett) and I have back problems and unfortunately I don’t drive. There’s a few things that work against me when it comes to urban exploring. I work 2 jobs so time is also limited. I DO research, I look up newspaper articles, google maps, websites and forums like this. Also when I am in the car with my partner I am ALWAYS on the look out for abandoned buildings. It’s the forums like this that gives a little
Helping hand to someone like myself. Whether something is worth visiting, would I like it/be interested in a place based on information and photos. Also how safe it is, security issues etc. And most importantly I guess..is it still standing. So when I ask about a place that’s been done a millions times. I am asking for myself so I can visit for my own amusement/ photos and exploration. I don’t really care if you’ve been there, done that and got the t shirt. Some of us haven’t had the opportunity yet to see for ourselves. What I am interested in may and will probably be different to what you are. So when people make horrible comments it’s rude and not needed. Be a little more supportive, give advice or keep your fingers from typing negative rubbish. I do also do little reconnaissance trips to scout out a place I’ve found or heard of when I can too. I do and will put the effort in. We aren’t all lazy when we ask for hints and tips. We’re asking for helpful advice not negative horrible comments.

Anyway, I guess today’s explore knackered me out. I’ve been sat here researching where to go next whilst we’re in Cumbria and also some walks for us to do. I am very tired and negative people get me down. Sometimes I just feel I need to have my say too. Maybe that’s also because I am a woman! lol. Ya know what we’re like! Bitches be crazy! Hahahha

Anyway for the rest of you who’ve been very kind and helpful and welcoming. Thank you. It means a lot.

Look forward to perhaps meeting some of you on an explore one day maybe.

 

[Ojay]

Nothing has changed mate, there are ego's and unfriendly sorts within every hobby sadly, luckily the older you get and the more you do the less you give a fuck about any of it and just enjoy getting out there, attending socials and generally dicking about.

Best advice is crack on with what you enjoy, post the odd pics or threads here and there and don't get bent out of shape over the state of this silly hobby at any given point in time mate!

Good luck and look forward to seeing some stuff posted from you

 

[Camera Shy]

I remember doing a report from Barnes Hospital years ago when I'd not been doing this for long, a few people took the piss because they had seen it a million times and it wasn't that good anyway. I didn't take it to heart, just made me go out on my own doing better places, met others and got on with it. Don't take it personally It's character building you're better off not just hanging out in chatbox asking for locations, just get out and do it, if you've been around long enough you'd see how many people rock up, ask for some locations then disappear without race, It gets a bit tiresome, hence the banter.....

 

[The Lone Ranger]

I've seen you asking a few questions about what to explore in the Lakes, tbh apart from the mines there isn't too much more that I know of. Due to the demand for property in the area and tight planning regulations for any new developments in the Lakes buildings tend not to remain unused for any length of time.

The mines however are stunning, but not everyones cup of tea and can have hidden dangers. There are some mines which do have some interesting surface features and easy tunnels. Hodge Close and Cathedral Quarries spring to mind.

Probably the best bet in the Lakes would be to look at the towns and cities around the edges of the national park. Barrow in Furness, Workington, Carlisle, Penrith, Maryport, Whitehaven and Lancaster. More chance of finding something undeveloped.

Not sure if this is the school you visited, but looks worth a visit and not too far away - Priory Eden Grove School.

If all else fails I'd recommend a bit of landscape photography, an ice-cream or 2 followed by some of the excellent real ale in front of a warm fire

 

[ScarlettRose]

Nothing has changed mate, there are ego's and unfriendly sorts within every hobby sadly, luckily the older you get and the more you do the less you give a fuck about any of it and just enjoy getting out there, attending socials and generally dicking about.

Best advice is crack on with what you enjoy, post the odd pics or threads here and there and don't get bent out of shape over the state of this silly hobby at any given point in time mate!

Good luck and look forward to seeing some stuff posted from you

Thank you. Good advice. I love exploring and I won’t let anyone spoil that for me. I remember the first place I visited when I was a teen. It was what got it all started for me. I was so excited about it I wanted to share what I had seen with everyone. I will ignore the negative if I can. It’s hard not to sometimes. As I said. Think I’m just tired. Gotta sort these photos out and get my reports up!!

 

[ScarlettRose]

I remember doing a report from Barnes Hospital years ago when I'd not been doing this for long, a few people took the piss because they had seen it a million times and it wasn't that good anyway. I didn't take it to heart, just made me go out on my own doing better places, met others and got on with it. Don't take it personally It's character building you're better off not just hanging out in chatbox asking for locations, just get out and do it, if you've been around long enough you'd see how many people rock up, ask for some locations then disappear without race, It gets a bit tiresome, hence the banter.....

No offence. I do understand. Maybe I just don’t get the banter yet. I’m only asking because we’re only here for 2 more days and then 350 miles back home. It’s not a trip we’re likely to do again anytime soon. We did a place I found today which I will get a report up as soon as the photos have been sorted. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I liked it. Doesn’t seem to have been done tons of times I hope. lol.

 

[UrbandonedTeam]

Just explore what you like. it's all fun! In response to your question I live about 5 mins away from Camelot and I don't think it's worth it anymore, but it's one of the few abandoned theme parks in the UK so it's always gonna be interesting to look around. Good luck if you go!

 

[ScarlettRose]

I've seen you asking a few questions about what to explore in the Lakes, tbh apart from the mines there isn't too much more that I know of. Due to the demand for property in the area and tight planning regulations for any new developments in the Lakes buildings tend not to remain unused for any length of time.

The mines however are stunning, but not everyones cup of tea and can have hidden dangers. There are some mines which do have some interesting surface features and easy tunnels. Hodge Close and Cathedral Quarries spring to mind.

Probably the best bet in the Lakes would be to look at the towns and cities around the edges of the national park. Barrow in Furness, Workington, Carlisle, Penrith, Maryport, Whitehaven and Lancaster. More chance of finding something undeveloped.

Not sure if this is the school you visited, but looks worth a visit and not too far away - Priory Eden Grove School.

If all else fails I'd recommend a bit of landscape photography, an ice-cream or 2 followed by some of the excellent real ale in front of a warm fire

Great advice. Not sure about ice cream as it’s bloody cold up here at the moment. But our hotel has a lovely open fire we’ve been sat in front of. Where I am doing research and planning our walk tomorrow to Aira Force waterfall. Looks beautiful. The scenery is amazing and I am looking forward to photographing the landscape etc. And yes. It was the school we did today. It’s in some serious disrepair and getting seriously battered. Interesting though. Should have photos and video up soon.

 

[ScarlettRose]

Just explore what you like. it's all fun! In response to your question I live about 5 mins away from Camelot and I don't think it's worth it anymore, but it's one of the few abandoned theme parks in the UK so it's always gonna be interesting to look around. Good luck if you go!

Thank you

 

[myke]

Not done a real explore of worth since joining here as had too much going on in my life. If I like an post I comment or tick like if I dont I dont. Not all negative comments are negative some are constructive so can help. The level of photography on here is excellent but its about getting out too.

 

[The Lone Ranger]

Great advice. Not sure about ice cream as it’s bloody cold up here at the moment. But our hotel has a lovely open fire we’ve been sat in front of. Where I am doing research and planning our walk tomorrow to Aira Force waterfall. Looks beautiful. The scenery is amazing and I am looking forward to photographing the landscape etc. And yes. It was the school we did today. It’s in some serious disrepair and getting seriously battered. Interesting though. Should have photos and video up soon.

Enjoy the walk tomorrow, it's a nice area you'll be in. As far as know that school hasn't been reported on 28DL so look forward to seeing the report. Also shows that you are putting the research in; just a shame the Lakes don't have too much exploring locations above ground!

 

[ScarlettRose]

Enjoy the walk tomorrow, it's a nice area you'll be in. As far as know that school hasn't been reported on 28DL so look forward to seeing the report. Also shows that you are putting the research in; just a shame the Lakes don't have too much exploring locations above ground!

Ah tell me about it. I don’t think we’re suitably kitted up for mines tbh.

 

[EOA]

First off, I didn't realise you were two people. I thought you were like Captain Scarlet. I think there maybe some mileage in getting Will to change his name, because being Captain Scarlett would be cool.

I don't think I've ever been involved in a hobby where there aren't running jokes, and it just so happens that Camelot is a running joke for lots of reasons (it's been covered a lot, it's where the goons always head and it's often mistaken for much more of an epic explore than it is). But also, and importantly, if you've only got a through trip you're not likely to make again, it genuinely has passed it's best / the rollercoaster is heavily guarded by secca and fenced off - the rest of it is just decrepit / not even interesting decay. It's probably about an hour from me and I've got no inclination of going. That could be down to personal preference, but if it is, who gives a fuck what anyone else thinks anyway. Just go and see it for yourself if you want. No one has a monopoly on these places. But on a trip back from the lake district to surrey, I think there is likely to be other interesting stuff that is better than Camelot? That's a long trip with a lot of possibilities.

This kinda takes me to the next problem. No one knows your route, no one knows how much time you've got or how much of a detour you're happy to take to see something worthwhile. My knowledge is relatively local, with stuff dotted around. Plus, what I do know that exists outside my own area tends to reflect my own personal tastes, which sounds like it may not reflect yours (mines, industrial stuff that isn't just a walk in). I expect that much is true for most people. So it's really difficult for anyone to offer you any meaningful suggestions, I suppose.

Also, you do get out of it what you put in. Same with any community. So if you have reports up of your explores, you've had some engagement with other forum members and people can see you're active, that's how you build up contacts to help you out. And if you do start doing reports, which would be cracking to see you'll find that pretty much roundly, everyone is actually very supportive.

You also asked in the chat box, which probably wasn't the best place to ask. Again, as with camelot being a running joke, maybe you're not to know. But like Camera Shy says, people come and go, don't really contribute to the forum or the community; and they all tend to pop up in the chat box for a while asking the same questions (usually for locations, that with the current trend, get put up on YouTube to a wider audience and shut down). This is how all communities work, though. They have social norms that are enforced in some way. It's not unique to 28 days. It happens in pretty much every social group that exists and certainly within every hobby I've ever been involved in.

If someone asked about explores in my area, I would be guarded about giving the access to some of the cooler stuff I know until I knew them a bit. Because, the current trend is to stick places on YouTube and that results in access getting shut down fairly quickly after that.

I asked the same question about Hull a few months ago in chat box, because I was nipping across there and it didn't generate anything for me to go at. To some extent, because there is very little in Hull to go at (just like there is little other than mines in Cumbria), but also because it is genuinely quite hard for people to make recommendations for other people.

Anyway, I've said all that to hopefully try and explain that whatever you feel like you've been on the brunt of, it definitely wasn't personal. 28 Days is a cracking community and the more you get involved, the more you will get out of it.

Hope you stick about and put some reports up of your explores

 

[ScarlettRose]

First off, I didn't realise you were two people. I thought you were like Captain Scarlet. I think there maybe some mileage in getting Will to change his name, because being Captain Scarlett would be cool.

I don't think I've ever been involved in a hobby where there aren't running jokes, and it just so happens that Camelot is a running joke for lots of reasons (it's been covered a lot, it's where the goons always head and it's often mistaken for much more of an epic explore than it is). But also, and importantly, if you've only got a through trip you're not likely to make again, it genuinely has passed it's best / the rollercoaster is heavily guarded by secca and fenced off - the rest of it is just decrepit / not even interesting decay. It's probably about an hour from me and I've got no inclination of going. That could be down to personal preference, but if it is, who gives a fuck what anyone else thinks anyway. Just go and see it for yourself if you want. No one has a monopoly on these places. But on a trip back from the lake district to surrey, I think there is likely to be other interesting stuff that is better than Camelot? That's a long trip with a lot of possibilities.

This kinda takes me to the next problem. No one knows your route, no one knows how much time you've got or how much of a detour you're happy to take to see something worthwhile. My knowledge is relatively local, with stuff dotted around. Plus, what I do know that exists outside my own area tends to reflect my own personal tastes, which sounds like it may not reflect yours (mines, industrial stuff that isn't just a walk in). I expect that much is true for most people. So it's really difficult for anyone to offer you any meaningful suggestions, I suppose.

Also, you do get out of it what you put in. Same with any community. So if you have reports up of your explores, you've had some engagement with other forum members and people can see you're active, that's how you build up contacts to help you out. And if you do start doing reports, which would be cracking to see you'll find that pretty much roundly, everyone is actually very supportive.

You also asked in the chat box, which probably wasn't the best place to ask. Again, as with camelot being a running joke, maybe you're not to know. But like Camera Shy says, people come and go, don't really contribute to the forum or the community; and they all tend to pop up in the chat box for a while asking the same questions (usually for locations, that with the current trend, get put up on YouTube to a wider audience and shut down). This is how all communities work, though. They have social norms that are enforced in some way. It's not unique to 28 days. It happens in pretty much every social group that exists and certainly within every hobby I've ever been involved in.

If someone asked about explores in my area, I would be guarded about giving the access to some of the cooler stuff I know until I knew them a bit. Because, the current trend is to stick places on YouTube and that results in access getting shut down fairly quickly after that.

I asked the same question about Hull a few months ago in chat box, because I was nipping across there and it didn't generate anything for me to go at. To some extent, because there is very little in Hull to go at (just like there is little other than mines in Cumbria), but also because it is genuinely quite hard for people to make recommendations for other people.

Anyway, I've said all that to hopefully try and explain that whatever you feel like you've been on the brunt of, it definitely wasn't personal. 28 Days is a cracking community and the more you get involved, the more you will get out of it.

Hope you stick about and put some reports up of your explores

Oh don’t worry I will stick around. Not going anywhere and my reports will be up as soon as possible. Just got to get time to sort through the photos and get something written up.

I understand now chatbox was bad place to put something without realising the banter that goes on. I need to learn and I will.
As for captain Scarlett! Hell yeah! I will tell Will to make his own account! lol.

It’s a long drive back to Woking so I think stop offs may be a no go unless it’s a pee break. It’s gonna take forever to get back. I’m into industrial and residential places, hospitals etc. I’ve been searching the forums and got some ideas to go on.

 

[Speed]

At the end of the day reinforcing peoples delusions and idiotic behaviour by insisting on 'nice comments only' does way more damage than a few 'less than nice' comments do. People need to know when there post is utter shite as much as they do when its epic.