Place Hacking: Tales of Urban Exploration

 
 

 
 
 
   

 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Place  Hacking:  Tales  of  Urban  Exploration  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A  Thesis  Presented  
 
by  
 
Bradley  Lannes  Garrett  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
submitted  to  the  University  of  London  in    

partial  fulfilment  of  the  requirements    

for  the  degree    

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY  

January  2012  

Department  of  Geography  

Royal  Holloway,  University  of  London  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
©  Copyright  by  Bradley  L.  Garrett  2012  
 
All  Rights  Reserved  
 
Cover  photo  by  Otter  at  Silent  UK  
 
   

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Declaration  of  Authorship  

   
 
I,  Bradley  L.  Garrett,  hereby  declare  that  this  thesis  and  the  work  presented  in  it  is  

entirely  my  own.  Where  I  have  consulted  the  work  of  others,  this  is  always  clearly  

stated.    

 
 
 
Signed:  _____________________________________________  
 
 
 
Date:  ________________________________________________  
   

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Dedication  
 
This   thesis   is   dedicated   to   everyone   who   makes   life   what   they   want   it   to   be   and   to  

my  friends  who  taught  me  what  it  means  to  be  free.  These  pages  were  born  from  

hope  and  desire  and  action.  Those  things  were  not  given  to  me  but  I  was  shown  the  

door.  I  can  only  hope  what  I  found  on  the  other  side  seeps  beyond  the  binding.  

 
   

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Acknowledgments  

First   and   foremost,   thank   you   to   Marcia   and   Jack   Kulpa,   Erpel   Garrett,   the   Bailey  

family  and  Philip  Moore.  You  were  all  instrumental  in  the  completion  of  this  PhD  

from   beginning   to   end.   Apologies   for   being   an   absconded   family   member   for   the  

past  five  years.  

Thank   you   to   everyone   at   the   Department   of   Geography   at   Royal   Holloway,  

University   of   London,   for   the   incredible   level   of   support   you   have   offered.   Phil  

Crang,   David   Gilbert,   Felix   Driver   and   Alastair   Pinkerton   offered   key   advice   during  

this  research.  I  also  owe  a  huge  debt  of  gratitude  Katherine  Brickell  for  reading  my  

work,  inspiring  me  and  keeping  me  on  track.  Thanks  finally,  and  most  importantly,  

to   Tim   Cresswell   for   your   unwavering   support   (and   occasional   blind   eye)   during  

late   night   frantic   calls   and   early   morning   coffee   chugging   sessions   at   the   London  

Review  Bookshop.  

I   have   had   some   great   conversations   and   received   encouragement   from   Katie  

Draper,   Noel   Jenkins,   Simon   Cornwell,   Trevor   Paglen,   Troy   Paiva,   Adam   Fish   and  

the  crew  at  Savage  Minds,  Matthew  O’Brien,  Anja  Kanngieser,  Julie  Harris,  Michael  

Cook,   Steve   Duncan,   April   Ward,   Jay   Owens   (hautepop),   Justin   Pickard,   Paul  

Dobraszczyk,   April   Ward,   Alan   Rapp,   Erika   Sigvardsdotter,   Julia   Solis   and   Oli  

Mould.  Cheers  all.    

Thanks   to   Statler,   “Gary”,   Patch,   Silent   Motion,   Winch,   Marc   Explo,   Furtle,   River  

Monkey,   John   Doe,   Thelma   and   Towanda,   Tony   H.,   Moses   Gates,   The   UE   Kingz,  

Brescia   Underground,   Shotgun   Mario,   Darlin   Clem,   Yaz,   Neb,   Dsankt,   Iris,   Urban  

Fox,   Guerrilla   Exploring,   The   Badman,   Claire-­‐Elise,   Gigi,   LutEx,   Hydra,   Ercle,   NickT,  

Eotech,   Ogof,   Curly,   Site,   Nel,   Curly,   Jess,   Urbanity,   Spungletrumpet,   Ojay,   Kevin  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Arnold,  Alias,  Witek,  Sarah,  Brickman,  Dicky,  Otter,  LutEx,  Drainpipe,  Keïteï,  Cogito,  

Hount,  Olivier,  Kat,  Brosa,  King  Rat,  Joel  and  Jesse  Childers,  Siologen,  Snappel,  User  

Scott,   El   Gringo,   Pip,   Agent   M,   Midnight   Runner,   Vanishing   Days,   Solar   Powered  

and  everyone  else  who  I  have  I  explored  with.    

A   special   thanks   is   also   owed   to   Winch   for   organizing   our   legendary   road   trips  

described  in  this  thesis  and  the  Statler  for  driving.  I  am  grateful  to  Marc  Explo  for  

being   my   best   friend   and   most   consistent   exploring   partner   and   for   his   in-­‐action  

philosophising   that   always   sent   me   back   to   the   drawing   board.   Silent   Motion   set  

the  bar  high  and  offered  a  gentle  push  when  I  needed  it.  Patch,  we’ve  been  lucky  to  

have   you   around   to   keep   our   eyes   open   to   opportunities   even   we   would   miss.   And  

cheers   to   Otter   for   stepping   up   to   the   plate   on   the   video   work   –   that   obviously  

belonged  in  your  hands.  

I   owe   another   final   thanks   to   Winch   for   being   the   first   (and   probably   last!)  

explorer   to   read   this   thesis   cover   to   cover,   your   comments   were   and   are  

invaluable.   As   with   any   ethnographic   study,   it   will   become   obvious   as   you   read  

through   that   this   is,   in   many   ways,   a   co-­‐authored   work   between   myself   and  

everyone  I  have  undertaken  this  project  with  –  thanks  again  all  for  your  thoughts,  

support  and  participation,  it’s  been  a  pleasure.  I  hope  you  enjoy  it.  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Abstract    

“But what a strange geography lesson I was given!”

-(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 1939 p. 7)
 

 
Figure  1.  Place  Hacking:  urban  exploration  and  infiltration,  under  London,  photo  by  author  
 

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Urban   exploration   is   a   practice   of   researching,   discovering   and   physically  

exploring   temporary,   obsolete,   abandoned,   derelict   and   infrastructural   areas  

within   built   environments.   Through   charting   the   rise   to   prominence   of   a   London  

urban   exploration   crew   between   2008   and   2011,   of   which   I   became   an   active  

member,  I  posit  that  urban  explorers  are  one  of  many  groups  reacting  to  increased  

surveillance   and   control   over   urban   space   by   undertaking   embodied   urban  

interventions  in  the  city  that  undermine  clean  spatio/temporal  narratives.    

The  primary  research  questions  stem  from  my  attempts  to  interrogate  the  practice  

from  the  inside  out:  Who  are  urban  explorers?  What  does  it  involve?  Why  do  they  

do   it?   What   do   they   think   it   will   accomplish?  While   the   thesis   focuses   primarily   on  

220   explorations   undertaken   with   my   primary   ethnographic   group   in   London  

between  2008  and  2011,  it  also  speaks  to  the  urban  exploration  “scene”  that  has  

developed  over  the  past  twenty  years  in  cities  all  over  the  world.    

The  results  that  emerge  from  the  research  both  compliment  and  complicate  recent  

work   within   geography   around   issues   of   surveillance,   resistance,   hacking   and  

urban   community   building   and   lays   out   a   new   account,   never   before   outlined   in  

such   detail,   of   the   tales   of   urban   exploration   taking   place   in   contemporary   cities  

across  the  globe.  

This   visual   ethnography   is   comprised   of   text   (75,000   words),   photographs   (200)  

and   video   (10   shorts).   The   ethnographic   video   components   can   be   found   on   the  

Place   Hacking   video   channel   located   at   http://vimeo.com/channels/placehacking  

or  on  the  DVD  in  the  back  of  this  document.  I  suggest  watching  all  10  short  videos  

before  reading  the  thesis.      

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Table  of  Contents  

Acknowledgments  ......................................................................................................................................  vi  

Abstract  ........................................................................................................................................................  viii  
Table  of  Contents  .........................................................................................................................................  x  
List  of  Figures  ...............................................................................................................................................  xi  
Argot  Glossary  ............................................................................................................................................  xvi  
Chapter  1  –  Urban  exploration  and  infiltration  ..............................................................................  1  
Place  Hacking  ..........................................................................................................................................................  14  
Researcher/explorer/community  .................................................................................................................  18  
Participation  ......................................................................................................................................................  18  
Demographics  ...................................................................................................................................................  19  
Style  and  research  structure  .......................................................................................................................  25  
Situating  urban  exploration  ..............................................................................................................................  27  
Formally  informal  -­‐  urban  exploration  as  practice  .................................................................................  31  
Chapter  2  –  Methodological  frameworks  .......................................................................................  42  
Doing  visual  (auto)ethnography  .....................................................................................................................  42  
Autoethnography  ..................................................................................................................................................  47  
Visual  ethnography  for  a  visual  culture  .......................................................................................................  51  
Accidental  participatory  videography  ..........................................................................................................  62  
Expect  the  unexpected  ........................................................................................................................................  66  
Chapter  3  –  Assaying  history:  creating  temporal  junctions  ...................................................  67  
A  life  in  ruins  ...........................................................................................................................................................  68  
The  preservation  anxiety  club  .........................................................................................................................  74  
Reimagining  remembered  place  –  the  recent  past  .................................................................................  87  
Do-­‐it-­‐yourself  interpretation:  past  mastering  dark  histories  ............................................................  96  
Anticipated  transience  and  architectural  agency  .................................................................................  108  
Post-­‐human  imaginaries:  mortal  architecture  ......................................................................................  117  
Temporal  junctions:  the  past  and  imagined  future  in  the  present  ...............................................  131  
Chapter  4  –  The  rise  of  an  infiltration  crew  .................................................................................  136  
The  tipping  point  –  cracking  the  Ministry  of  Defence  ........................................................................  137  
Getting  high  ...........................................................................................................................................................  151  
Doing  edgework  ............................................................................................................................................  165  
The  sub  in  subterranean  –  sneaking  under  the  city  ............................................................................  174  
New  tactics:  high  invisibility  and  social  engineering  ..........................................................................  186  
Sneaking  around,  failing  and  getting  busted  ..........................................................................................  190  
The  first  grail  -­‐  hacking  the  London  Underground  ..............................................................................  199  
Unsecuring  Iron  Mountain  secure  file  storage  ................................................................................  209  
Professional  infiltrators,  leaking  spatial  secrets  ...................................................................................  214  
Chapter  5  –  Recoding  the  city  through  bodywork  ....................................................................  220  
The  sensory  surreal  ...........................................................................................................................................  245  
Sociopathic  metabolism  .............................................................................................................................  252  
The  right  to  fear  .............................................................................................................................................  257  
The  meld:  urban  bodies  ...................................................................................................................................  262  
A  case  study  in  draining  .............................................................................................................................  264  
Chapter  6  –  Pedestals  built  on  crumbling  stone  ........................................................................  288  
The  myth  of  the  Mail  Rail  decoded  ........................................................................................................  293  
House  of  cards  ................................................................................................................................................  302  
The  alternative  ...............................................................................................................................................  311  
Future  fragmentation  .................................................................................................................................  314  
Epilogue  ......................................................................................................................................................  332  
Appendix  A  –  Snowball  sample  spreadsheet  ..............................................................................  350  
Appendix  B  –  Exploration  fieldwork  database  ...........................................................................  351  
Appendix  C  –  Exploration  location  maps  ......................................................................................  357  
 

   

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

List  of  Figures  

FIGURE  1.  PLACE  HACKING:  URBAN  EXPLORATION  AND  INFILTRATION,  UNDER  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..........  VIII  
FIGURE  2.  CROIX  ROUGE  DISUSED  METRO  STATION,  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..............................................................  XXI  
FIGURE  3.  AUTHOR  ON  THE  NEO  BANKSIDE  DEVELOPMENT,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .............................................  1  
FIGURE  4.  SILENT  MOTION  AND  MARC  EXPLO,  RECREATIONAL  TRESPASSERS,  WOLFSSCHLUCHT  II,  FRANCE,  PHOTO  
BY  AUTHOR  ............................................................................................................................................................................  3  
FIGURE  5.  TEAM  B  ON  A  DISUSED  BARGE,  WANDSWORTH,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..................................................  4  
FIGURE  6.  CLAIRE-­‐ELISE  CLIMBING  CATHEDRAL  SAINT  PIERRE,  BEAUVAIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .....................................  7  
FIGURE  7.  NEB  LOOKING  FOR  AN  OPEN  WINDOW,  ST.  CLEMENTS  HOSPITAL,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...................  8  
FIGURE  8.  AUTHOR  CLIMBING  THE  PALAIS  DE  JUSTICE,  BRUSSELS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...................................................  10  
FIGURE  9.  SILENT  MOTION  EASILY  SUBVERTING  URBAN  SECURITY,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ................................  11  
FIGURE  10.  THE  HACKER  ETHOS:  DO  WHAT  YOU  WANT,  WHEN  YOU  WANT,  WHERE  YOU  WANT,  PARIS  METRO,  PHOTO  
BY  AUTHOR  .........................................................................................................................................................................  13  
FIGURE  11.  WINCH  EMERGING  FROM  THE  RIVER  WESTBOURNE,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...................................  17  
FIGURE  12.  AN  ENCAMPMENT  FOUND  IN  A  DERELICT  SOVIET  MILITARY  BASE  IN  THE  FOREST,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  
AUTHOR  ..............................................................................................................................................................................  24  
FIGURE  13.  "GARY"  EXPLORING  A  BUNKER,  DOVER,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...........................................................................  28  
FIGURE  14.  WINCH  CRAWLING  THROUGH  THE  PARIS  “CATACOMBS”,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..............................................  32  
FIGURE  15.  SILENT  MOTION  ON  A  BATTERSEA  POWER  STATION  CHIMNEY,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .................  38  
FIGURE  16.  "GARY"  AT  SPILLERS  MILLENNIUM  MILLS,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....................................................  41  
FIGURE  17.  THE  AUTHOR  WITH  TEAM  B,  EARLY  2010,  TEMPLE  COURT,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .....................  43  
FIGURE  18.  STATLER,  "GARY"  AND  THE  AUTHOR  AT  THE  SOVIET  BASE  VOGELSANG,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  WINCH  ..  45  
FIGURE  19.  KOPS  BREWERY,  THE  FIRST  LOCATION  THE  AUTHOR  EXPLORED  IN  THE  CITY,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR
 .............................................................................................................................................................................................  50  
FIGURE  20.  MY  EQUIPMENT  FOR  FIELDWORK  DURING  ROAD  TRIPS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .................................................  52  
FIGURE  21.  CAMERA  NERDS:  VANISHING  DAYS,  MARC  EXPLO  AND  AUTHOR,  HAWKHURST  MANSION,  KENT,  PHOTO  
BY  AUTHOR  .........................................................................................................................................................................  53  
FIGURE  22.  "GARY"  AND  WINCH  TYING  OFF  ROPES  TO  DROP  INTO  THE  PRE-­‐METRO,  ANTWERP,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR
 .............................................................................................................................................................................................  54  
FIGURE  23.  WINCH  CROSSING  THE  LIMINAL  SECURITY  ZONE  AT  NEO  BANKSIDE,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .......  60  
FIGURE  24.  AUTHOR  FILMING  AT  THE  2011  INTERNATIONAL  DRAIN  MEET,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  LUCA  CARENZO  ..  65  
FIGURE  25.  KASTEEL  VAN  MESEN,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........................................................................................  67  
FIGURE  26.  URBAN  CAMPING  IN  KASTEEL  VAN  MESEN,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....................................................  69  
FIGURE  27.  AN  ARTEFACT  JUMBLE  AT  THE  WEST  PARK  ASYLUM,  SURREY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....................................  71  
FIGURE  28.  THE  ABANDONED  FACTORY  SINTERANLAGE,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...............................................  75  
FIGURE  29.  A  ROOM  IN  A  STATE  OF  ARRESTED  DECAY,  BODIE  GHOST  TOWN,  CALIFORNIA,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........  78  
FIGURE  30.  SOMETHING(S)  IN  TRANSITION,  SALVE  MATER  SANATORIUM,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...................  78  
FIGURE  31.  A  BEAUTIFULLY  TOXIC  DUMPING  GROUND,  LA  COKERIE  D'ANDERLUES,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...  80  
FIGURE  32.  THE  APPEAL  OF  INDUSTRIAL  DECAY,  COKERIE  ZOLLVEREIN,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .....................  82  
FIGURE  33.  URBAN  CAMPING  ROAD  TRIP,  KOSMOS  HOTEL,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .............................................  84  
FIGURE  34.  WINCH,  THE  AUTHOR,  STATLER  AND  SILENT  MOTION  INSIDE  THE  KOSMOS  HOTEL,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR
 .............................................................................................................................................................................................  85  
FIGURE  35.  RUIN  INFILTRATION  AS  PLAY,  "GARY"  AND  AUTHOR  HIDING  FROM  THE  SECURITY  PATROL,  SPILLERS  
MILLENNIUM  MILLS,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....................................................................................................  86  
FIGURE  36.  THE  AUTHOR  LOOKING  OUT  OVER  THE  SINTERANLAGE  FACTORY,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ............  87  
FIGURE  37.  HISTORY  IN  THE  MAKING,  UNIVERSITY  OF  LIEGE,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........................................  89  
FIGURE  38.  ARTEFACT?  PLACE?  WASTE?  ART?  MONTZEN  GARE,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .................................  90  
FIGURE  39.  BOTANICAL  INTERVENTION,  CRISTALLERIE  DU  VAL  SAINT  LAMBERT,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .......  91  
FIGURE  40.  A  RELIEF  OF  LENIN  AT  THE  SOVIET  MILITARY  BASE  VOGELSANG,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ............  94  
FIGURE  41.  SOPHIE  AND  THE  AUTHOR  PLAYING  WITH  A  CONTROL  PANEL  IN  ABBEY  MILLS  PUMPING  STATION  ........  95  
FIGURE  42.  PAST  MASTERING:  THE  AUTHOR  WEARING  A  NAZI  SOLDIER  HELMET,  POLAND,  PHOTO  BY  WINCH  .........  96  
FIGURE  43.  INSIDE  A  SOVIET  MILITARY  GYMNASIUM,  SOVIET  BASE  VOGELSANG,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .......  98  
FIGURE  44.  A  CONTINUING  MELD,  CHÂTEAU  DE  NOISY,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....................................................  99  
FIGURE  45.  RIVER  MONKEY  LYING  IN  SOMEBODY  ELSE’S  COFFIN,  SALVE  MATER  SANATORIUM,  BELGIUM  ...............  100  
FIGURE  46.  THE  AUTHOR,  SILENT  MOTION,  WINCH  AND  STATLER  CAMPING  AT  THE  SOVIET  HOSPITAL  GRABOWSEE,  
GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....................................................................................................................................  101  
FIGURE  47.  A  CHILD'S  SHOES  LEFT  BEHIND  IN  THE  WEST  PARK  ASYLUM,  SURREY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...................  105  
FIGURE  48.  A  DECREPIT  DOLL,  WEST  PARK  ASYLUM,  SURREY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .....................................................  105  
FIGURE  49.  THE  WEST  PARK  ASYLUM,  SURREY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..............................................................................  106  

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FIGURE  50.  TIME  IS  HAPPENING  RIGHT  NOW,  CRISTALLERIE  DU  VAL  SAINT  LAMBERT,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR
 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................  108  
FIGURE  51.  NOTES  FROM  ANOTHER  TIME  NOW,  LA  COKERIE  D'ANDERLUES,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ............  108  
FIGURE  52.  WHITTINGHAM  ASYLUM,  LANCASHIRE,  DECEMBER  2007,  PHOTO  BY  WINCH  ........................................  111  
FIGURE  53.  WHITTINGHAM  ASYLUM,  LANCASHIRE,  JULY  2009,  PHOTO  BY  WINCH  ....................................................  111  
FIGURE  54.  STEPPING  INTO  THE  UNKNOWN,  ST  JOSEFSHEIM  MONASTERY,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .............  113  
FIGURE  55.  SLEEPING  IN  SOVIET  BASE  VOGELSANG,  BERLIN,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .........................................................  113  
FIGURE  56.  THE  POST-­‐INDUSTRIAL  PRESENT?  CRISTALLERIE  DU  VAL  SAINT  LAMBERT,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR.
 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................  115  
FIGURE  57.  A  CONTINUING  LIFE  OF  HEAVY  INDUSTRY,  SCHWERMASCHINENBAU,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....  115  
FIGURE  58.  AUTHOR  AT  THE  POST-­‐APOCALYPTIC  BURTON  BREWED  BITTER  SITE,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..  117  
FIGURE  59.  IMAGINED  RUINS  OF  JOHN  SOANE’S  BANK  OF  ENGLAND,  BY  JOSEPH  MICHAEL  GANDY  (1830),  IMAGE  VIA  
WIKIMEDIA  COMMONS  .................................................................................................................................................  118  
FIGURE  60.  SILENT  MOTION  AND  MARC  EXPLO  IN  THE  URBAN  TRAINING  GROUND,  WOLFSSCHLUCHT  II,  NEAR  PARIS,  
PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........................................................................................................................................................  120  
FIGURE  61.  URBAN  EXPLORATION  OFTEN  REVEALS  THE  DISTURBING,  THE  HORROR  LABS,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  
AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  121  
FIGURE  62.  THE  AUTHOR  DESCENDING  INTO  THE  CLAPHAM  SOUTH  BUNKER,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...........  123  
FIGURE  63.  THE  AUTHOR  INSIDE  THE  CLAPHAM  NORTH  BUNKER,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..............................  124  
FIGURE  64.  ALMOST  FORGOTTEN,  UNIVERSITY  OF  LIEGE,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ............................................  126  
FIGURE  65.  MARC  EXPLO,  STATLER,  SILENT  MOTION,  WINCH  AND  THE  AUTHOR  SLEEPING  IN  THE  QUARRIES  OF  
PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ............................................................................................................................................  127  
FIGURE  66.  THE  AUTHOR  COMMANDEERING  A  DISUSED  MILITARY  VEHICLE  IN  A  FORMER  NATO  BUNKER,  NEAR  
PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ............................................................................................................................................  129  
FIGURE  67.  MARC  EXPLO  IN  NGTE  PYESTOCK,  FARNBOROUGH,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..................................................  131  
FIGURE  68.  SLIPPAGE  AT  THE  ABANDONED  UNIVERSITY  OF  LIEGE,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ............................  133  
FIGURE  69.  TIME  CHURNING,  BARENQUELL  BREWERY,  BERLIN,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....................................................  135  
FIGURE  70.  JULES  IN  THE  CLAPHAM  NORTH  BUNKER,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...................................................  136  
FIGURE  71.  THE  FIRST  STEPS  INTO  BURLINGTON  BUNKER,  WILTSHIRE,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ......................................  138  
FIGURE  72.  BURLINGTON  WAS  AN  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  TREASURE  TROVE,  OUR  PERSONAL  MUSEUM  FOR  A  NIGHT,  
BURLINGTON  BUNKER,  WILTSHIRE,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .........................................................................................  139  
FIGURE  73.  TEAM  B  REVIEWING  MAPS,  PLANNING  OUR  EXPLORATION  OF  BURLINGTON  BUNKER,  WILTSHIRE,  PHOTO  
BY  AUTHOR  ......................................................................................................................................................................  139  
FIGURE  74.  SILENT  MOTION,  NEB  AND  STATLER  FIGURE  OUT  HOW  TO  START  THE  "BURLY  BUGGIES",  BURLINGTON  
BUNKER,  WILTSHIRE,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR.  ................................................................................................................  141  
FIGURE  75.  A  TEMPORARY  PUBLIC  REAPPRORIATION  OF  MILITARY  RESOURCES,  BURLINGTON  BUNKER,  WILTSHIRE,  
PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR.  .......................................................................................................................................................  141  
FIGURE  76.  BANNED  FOR  LIFE  FROM  28  DAYS  LATER,  SCREENSHOT  VIA  AUTHOR  .......................................................  144  
FIGURE  77.  MARC  EXPLO'S  29TH  BIRTHDAY  IN  KING'S  REACH  TOWER:  THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  LCC,  PHOTO  BY  
OTTER  ..............................................................................................................................................................................  147  
FIGURE  78.  MARC  EXPLO  IN  THE  GLC  PIPE  SUBWAYS,  ONE  OF  OUR  FIRST  LIVE  INFILTRATIONS,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  
AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  147  
FIGURE  79.  ATOP  STRATA,  ELEPHANT  &  CASTLE,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  SILENT  MOTION  ............................................  151  
FIGURE  80.  THE  AUTHOR  CLIMBING  THE  CRANE  ON  NEW  COURT,  CITY  OF  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ................  153  
FIGURE  81.  INFILTRATING  THE  PARIS  METRO  SYSTEM  WITH  MARC  EXPLO,  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..................  154  
FIGURE  82.  ABOVE  PARIS,  ST-­‐SULPICE  CATHEDRAL,  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..........................................................  155  
FIGURE  83.  MARC  EXPLO  CLIMBING  THE  SHARD,  LONDON  BRIDGE,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .............................................  158  
FIGURE  84.  ON  THE  ROOF  OF  TEMPLE  COURT,  CITY  OF  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .................................................  160  
FIGURE  85.  THE  AUTHOR  AND  HYDRA  DANCING  ON  THE  ROOF  OF  THE  GILLETTE  FACTORY,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  
SILENT  MOTION  .............................................................................................................................................................  161  
FIGURE  86.  PATCH  IN  THE  BARBICAN  UTILITY  TUNNELS,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..............................................  163  
FIGURE  87.  THE  AUTHOR  AT  PLAY,  ST  JOSEFSHEIM  MONASTERY,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..............................  164  
FIGURE  88.  DOING  OUR  EDGEWORK,  SILENT  MOTION  ON  HERON  TOWER,  CITY  OF  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  SILENT  
MOTION  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  166  
FIGURE  89.  "GARY"  DOING  HIS  EDGEWORK,  ABSEILING  30  METERS  INTO  THE  PRE-­‐METRO  VENTILATION  SHAFT,  
ANTWERP,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....................................................................................................................................  168  
FIGURE  90.  "GARY"  "BUILDS"  THE  SHARD,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ......................................................................  170  
FIGURE  91.  THE  AUTHOR  ON  TOP  OF  THE  SHARD,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...........................................................  171  
FIGURE  92.  THE  AUTHOR  IN  THE  COLOSSUS  OF  THE  SOUTH  (COTS)  DRAIN,  BRIGHTON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .........  174  
FIGURE  93.  NEGLECTED  PUBLIC  INFORMATION,  THE  POST-­‐WAR  INFRASTRUCTURAL  LAYOUT  OF  THE  CITY  OF  
LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .......................................................................................................................................  176  
FIGURE  94.  BREACHING  THE  THRESHOLD,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........................................................................  178  

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FIGURE  95.  LIGHT  PAINTING  A  BUNKER  IN  DOVER,  PHOTO  BY  VANISHING  DAYS  AND  AUTHOR  ..................................  180  
FIGURE  96.  PLAYFUL  LIGHTING,  RUBIX,  RIVER  EFFRA,  SOUTH  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  SILENT  MOTION,  STATLER  AND  
AUTHOR  ..........................................................................................................................................................................  180  
FIGURE  97.  YAZ  AND  THE  AUTHOR  AT  LUCKY  CHARMS,  RIVER  EFFRA,  SOUTH  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  OTTER,  YAZ  AND  
AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  184  
FIGURE  98.  WINCH  IN  THE  RIVER  TYBURN,  WEST  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  WINCH  AND  AUTHOR  ...................................  184  
FIGURE  99.  AUTHOR  KNEE-­‐DEEP  IN  SEWAGE,  RIVER  EFFRA,  SOUTH  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...........................  186  
FIGURE  100.  WINCH  AND  NEB  IN  COSTUME  POPPING  A  LID,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .........................................  188  
FIGURE  101.  A  “STOP  AND  SEARCH”  FORM  RECEIVED  BY  THE  AUTHOR  FROM  THE  LONDON  METROPOLITAN  POLICE  
AFTER  BEING  SEEN  CLIMBING  A  CRANE,  IMAGE  VIA  LONDON  MET  AND  AUTHOR  ................................................  190  
FIGURE  102.  OH  US?  WE'RE  JUST  PHOTOGRAPHERS...  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .....................................................................  194  
FIGURE  103.  GAINING  ACCESS  TO  DOWN  STREET  ABANDONED  LONDON  UNDERGROUND  STATION,  PHOTO  BY  
AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  198  
FIGURE  104.  THE  INFILTRATION  OF  THE  LONDON  UNDERGROUND,  DOWN  STREET  STATION,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  
AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  199  
FIGURE  105.  OUR  FIRST  DISUSED  LONDON  UNDERGROUND  STATION  INFILTRATION,  MARK  LANE,  LONDON,  PHOTO  
BY  AUTHOR  ......................................................................................................................................................................  200  
FIGURE  106.  SIGNAGE  AT  LORD'S  DISUSED  STATION,  METROPOLITAN  LINE,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..............................  201  
FIGURE  107.  CHECKING  THE  TRACKS  AT  LORD'S  DISUSED  STATION,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...........................  202  
FIGURE  108.  KINGSWAY  TRAMWAY,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..................................................................................  204  
FIGURE  109.  THE  “HOLY  GRAIL”  OF  THE  LONDON  UNDERGROUND,  ALDWYCH  DISUSED  STATION,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR
 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................  205  
FIGURE  110.  SILENT  MOTION  IN  THE  "MAGIC  DOOR",  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  "GARY"  ...................................................  205  
FIGURE  111.  DOWN  STREET  DISUSED  STATION,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..............................................................  206  
FIGURE  112.  PASSING  TRAIN  ON  THE  LONDON  UNDERGROUND,  DOWN  STREET  DISUSED  STATION,  LONDON,  PHOTO  
BY  AUTHOR  ......................................................................................................................................................................  206  
FIGURE  113.  THE  AUTHOR  ON  THE  TRACKS  OF  THE  PICCADILLY  LINE,  DOWN  STREET  DISUSED  STATION,  LONDON,  
PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........................................................................................................................................................  207  
FIGURE  114.  AN  IRON  MOUNTAIN  SECURITY  ARCHIVE  VAN  TRANSPORTING  DOCUMENTS,  PHOTO  BY  SARAH  HG  ...  209  
FIGURE  115.  THE  SUBSURFACE  LAYOUT  OF  A  LONDON  DEEP  SHELTER,  PHOTO  VIA  HTTP://UNDERGROUND-­‐
HISTORY.CO.UK/SHELTERS.PHP  ...................................................................................................................................  211  
FIGURE  116.  SILENT  MOTION  ABSEILING  INTO  A  SECURE  FILE  STORAGE  THROUGH  THE  VENTILATION  SHAFT,  
LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .......................................................................................................................................  211  
FIGURE  117.  THE  DISABLED  MAGNETIC  REED  SWITCH  DOOR  ALARMS  IN  THE  SECURE  FILE  STORAGE,  LONDON,  PHOTO  
BY  SILENT  MOTION  .......................................................................................................................................................  212  
FIGURE  118.  SUCCESSFUL  ACCESS  TO  IRON  MOUNTAIN'S  SECURITY  ARCHIVES,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  SILENT  MOTION
 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................  212  
FIGURE  119.  SECURITY  BREACH:  THE  AUTHOR  FLIPPING  THROUGH  DEUTSCHE  BANK  ARCHIVES,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  
AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  214  
FIGURE  120.  SECURITY  GLITCH  LOCATED  AT  ABBEY  MILLS  PUMPING  STATION,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .......  216  
FIGURE  121.  NOCTURNAL  HOSPITAL  INFILTRATION,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ......................................................  218  
FIGURE  122.  THE  AUTHOR  HAVING  A  BEER  AND  LISTENING  TO  NASA  RADIO  FEEDS  IN  IN  A  CRANE  CAB,  LONDON,  
PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........................................................................................................................................................  219  
FIGURE  123.  INFILTRATION  OF  INFRASTRUCTURE  OFFERED  NEW  POSSIBILITIES  FOR  BODILY  DAMAGE,  GLC  PIPE  
SUBWAYS,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....................................................................................................................  220  
FIGURE  124.  BODIES  IN  ACTION,  WEST  HAM  STORM  RELIEF,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ......................................  222  
FIGURE  125.  SILENT  MOTION  AND  KEÏTEÏ  SNEAKING  INTO  THE  LONDON  UNDERGROUND,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .....  224  
FIGURE  126.  RUNNING  THE  TRACKS  FROM  LORDS  TO  MARLBOROUGH  ROAD  AND  SWISS  COTTAGE  DISUSED  
STATIONS,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...................................................................................................................  224  
FIGURE  127.  THE  MOTHBALLED  RUSSIAN  U-­‐475  BLACK  WIDOW  SUBMARINE,  ROCHESTER,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .  227  
FIGURE  128.  HYDRA  PLAYING  INSIDE  THE  BLACK  WIDOW  SUBMARINE,  ROCHESTER,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..............  227  
FIGURE  129.  THE  AUTHOR  AND  SILENT  MOTION  CONFRONTING  THE  WRETCHED,  "STOOP"  SEWER,  LONDON,  PHOTO  
BY  AUTHOR  ......................................................................................................................................................................  230  
FIGURE  130.  ABSOLUTELY  FILTHY!  SILENT  MOTION  IN  THE  RIVER  EFFRA,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..............  230  
FIGURE  131.  SITE  NUDE  IN  THE  SEWER,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  SITE  ..................................................................................  232  
FIGURE  132.  IMPOSSIBLE  PLACES,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  SILENT  MOTION  .......................................................................  233  
FIGURE  133.  "GARY”  AND  THE  AUTHOR  EXPERIENCING  A  DIFFERENT  PACE  IN  SPILLERS  MILLENNIUM  MILLS,  
LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  AND  “GARY”  ................................................................................................................  235  
FIGURE  134.  THE  LIVING  RUIN,  SPILLERS  MILLENNIUM  MILLS,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...................................  235  
FIGURE  135.  STATLER  NEAR  RUBIX,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  SILENT  MOTION,  STATLER  AND  AUTHOR  .........................  237  
FIGURE  136.  "VIRGIN"  ASSEMBLAGE  OR  CAREFULLY  STAGED  SET?  BARENQUELL  BREWERY,  BERLIN,  PHOTO  BY  
AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  238  

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FIGURE  137.  THE  URBAN  MARGIN,  SCHWERMASCHINENBAU,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....................................  239  
FIGURE  138.  THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  SPECTACLE,  KING'S  REACH  TOWER,  SOUTH  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  LUTEX  AND  
AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  241  
FIGURE  139.  THE  JOURNEY  INTO  THE  PARIS  CATACOMBS  WITH  MARC  EXPLO  AND  HYDRA,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....  242  
FIGURE  140.  MARC  EXPLO  AND  THE  AUTHOR  AFTER  BEING  CAUGHT  EXITING  A  MANHOLE  IN  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  HYDRA
 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................  244  
FIGURE  141.  A  GATHERING  IN  THE  ILLEGAL  UNDERGROUND  CINEMA,  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .............................  245  
FIGURE  142.  THE  AUTHOR  IN  THE  PIMLICO  STEAM  TUNNELS,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ......................................  248  
FIGURE  143.  ACTIVATED:  THE  LCC  IN  KING'S  REACH  TOWER,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...................................  249  
FIGURE  144.  MARC  EXPLO  IN  THE  ST-­‐MARTIN  DISUSED  STATION,  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  AND  MARC  EXPLO  .  250  
FIGURE  145.  THE  AUTHOR  IN  A  METRO  LINE  EXTENSION  BEFORE  TRACKS  ARE  LAID,  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  AND  
OTTER  ..............................................................................................................................................................................  251  
FIGURE  146.  THE  AUTHOR  ACTING  ON  A  DESIRE  TO  FEAR,  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .................................................  254  
FIGURE  147.  CHILDISH  BEHAVIOUR:  SILENT  MOTION  SPINNING  IN  AN  OFFICE  CHAIR,  GILLETTE  FACTORY,  
HOUNSLOW,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .................................................................................................................................  256  
FIGURE  148.  THE  AUTHOR  DOING  EDGEWORK  AT  LANDSCHAFTEPARK  DUISBERG  NORD,  GERMANY,  PHOTO  BY  WINCH
 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................  258  
FIGURE  149.  STATLER  AT  THE  INTERNATIONAL  DRAIN  MEET,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  LUTEX  ......................................  261  
FIGURE  150.  THE  AUTHOR  EXPERIENCING  THE  MELD;  THE  BODY  IN  THE  CITY  AND  CITY  IN  THE  BODY,  THE  RIVER  
WESTBOURNE,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................  263  
FIGURE  151.  1930  LONDON  DRAIN  MAP  USED  BY  THE  LCC,  IMAGE  VIA  HTTP://WWW.SEWERHISTORY.ORG  ........  264  
FIGURE  152.  VICTORIANS  IN  ABBEY  MILLS  PUMPING  STATION,  LONDON,  1868,  IMAGE  VIA  
HTTP://RAGPICKINGHISTORY.CO.UK  ..........................................................................................................................  266  
FIGURE  153.  EXPLORERS  IN  ABBEY  MILLS  PUMPING  STATION,  LONDON,  2011,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .......................  266  
FIGURE  154.  THE  PARIS  SEWERS,  PHOTO  BY  OTTER,  WINCH  AND  AUTHOR  ..................................................................  267  
FIGURE  155.  FURTLE  INSIDE  THE  COLOSSUS  OF  THE  SOUTH,  BRIGHTON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  AND  FURTLE  ............  269  
FIGURE  156.  THE  AUTHOR  AND  MARC  EXPLO  AT  "UNIBROW",  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  AND  MARC  EXPLO  ..  271  
FIGURE  157.  AN  1864–65  PHOTO  BY  FÉLIX  NADAR  OF  THE  PARIS  SEWERS,  IMAGE  VIA  (GANDY,  1999)  .............  273  
FIGURE  158.  A  2011  LCC  RESHOOT  OF  NADAR'S  1865  PHOTO,  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  OTTER,  MARC  EXPLO  AND  THE  
AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  274  
FIGURE  159.  THE  FATHER  OF  LONDON  DRAINING,  SIR  JOSEPH  BAZALGETTE,  IMAGE  VIA  WWW.THAMESWATER.CO.UK
 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................  275  
FIGURE  160.  THE  AUTHOR  HACKING  BAZALGETTE’S  HIDDEN  LEGACY,  THE  RIVER  WESTBOURNE,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  
AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  276  
 FIGURE  161.  BIOLOGICAL  PACKETS,  HYDRA  AND  MARC  EXPLO,  QUARRIES  OF  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..............  279  
FIGURE  162.  CROWDING  THE  EDGE  OF  FEAR,  MOUNTROUGE,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........................................................  280  
FIGURE  163.  OUTMODED  INFRASTRUCTURE,  USELESS  ORGAN,  CONTROL  ROOM  A,  BATTERSEA  POWER  STATION,  
LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .......................................................................................................................................  282  
FIGURE  164.  USER  SCOTT  ELECTRONICALLY  HACKING  LIFT  CONTROLS,  PHOTO  BY  SILENT  MOTION  ........................  283  
FIGURE  165.  MARC  EXPLO  MEDITATING,  QUARRIES  OF  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  SILENT  MOTION  AND  AUTHOR  ...............  284  
FIGURE  166.  THE  AUTHOR  LYING  IN  THE  BONES  OF  THE  DEAD,  QUARRIES  OF  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ................  285  
FIGURE  167.  THE  AUTHOR  EXPLORING  THE  PARIS  METRO,  LEARNING  THE  CITY  FROM  THE  INSIDE  OUT,  PARIS,  PHOTO  
BY  AUTHOR  ......................................................................................................................................................................  287  
FIGURE  168.  BROSA  WIGGLING  THROUGH  A  SECURITY  LOOPHOLE,  ABBEY  MILLS  PUMPING  STATION,  LONDON,  
PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........................................................................................................................................................  288  
FIGURE  169.  THE  GROUP  CRACKED  TUBE  STATIONS  NEVER  PREVIOUSLY  EXPLORED,  BROMPTON  ROAD  DISUSED  
STATION,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  “GARY"  .......................................................................................................................  290  
FIGURE  170.  THE  AUTHOR  WITH  DRAINPIPE  AT  MY  LEAVING  PARTY,  CLAPHAM  BUNKER,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  COGITO
 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................  292  
FIGURE  171.  THE  AUTHOR’S  SQUAT  IN  CLAPHAM,  CONVERTED  INTO  THE  BRAD:PAD/TEAM  B  WAR  ROOM,  LONDON,  
PHOTO  BY  COGITO  ..........................................................................................................................................................  292  
FIGURE  172.  ACCESSING  A  HOLY  GRAIL,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  SILENT  MOTION  .............................................................  295  
FIGURE  173.  MOTHBALLED  SUBTERRANEAN  INDUSTRY,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  STATLER  ..............................................  295  
FIGURE  174.  TUNNEL  VISION  IN  THE  MAIL  RAIL,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  "GARY"  ............................................................  297  
FIGURE  175.  MINI  YORK  TRAINS  IN  THE  MAIL  RAIL,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  PATCH  ........................................................  297  
FIGURE  176.  SNAPPEL,  URBAN  FOX  AND  SIOLOGEN  IN  THE  MAIL  RAIL,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  URBAN  FOX  ..............  299  
FIGURE  177.  RECREATIONAL  CRIMINALITY,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  PATCH  .......................................................................  301  
FIGURE  178.  AN  ERROR  IN  THE  CODE,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...............................................................................  302  
FIGURE  179.  INFILTRATION  PARAPHERNALIA,  TEAM  B  WAR  ROOM,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .........................  306  
FIGURE  180.  SOME  KEYS  OPEN  MORE  DOORS  THAN  OTHERS,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........................................  306  
FIGURE  181.  THE  BOARDED  UP  BRAD:PAD/WAR  ROOM  IN  CLAPHAM,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .......................  308  
FIGURE  182.  THE  AUTHOR  HIDING  FROM  DRIVERS  IN  THE  METRO,  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..................................  313  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

FIGURE  183.  THE  AUTHOR  LYING  ON  THE  TRACKS  IN  THE  ARSENAL  DISUSED  STATION,  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR313  
FIGURE  184.  WATCHING  THE  BONFIRE  NIGHT  FIREWORKS  FROM  A  CHIMNEY  OF  BATTERSEA  POWER  STATION,  
PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........................................................................................................................................................  314  
FIGURE  185.  "GARY"  JUST  HAVING  A  LOOK,  BELGIUM,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ....................................................................  317  
FIGURE  186.  THE  TRIBE,  KING'S  REACH  TOWER,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ..........................................................  318  
FIGURE  187.  IT  TOOK  A  CREW,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................  319  
FIGURE  188.  EXPLORERS  EXHIBIT  DEEP  CARE  FOR  THE  CITY,  DERELICT  BARGE,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  MARC  EXPLO
 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................  319  
FIGURE  189.  SILENT  MOTION  CLIMBING  THE  IMPOSSIBLE,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...........................................  320  
FIGURE  190.  A  PORTAL  TO  OUR  CITY,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ................................................................................  321  
FIGURE  191.  PATCH  AND  OTTER  BACKCABBING  A  METRO  TRAIN,  PARIS,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...................................  324  
FIGURE  192.  A  VIEW  WE  CAN  NEVER  SEE  AGAIN,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ............................................................  324  
FIGURE  193.  STRADDLING  THE  EDGE  OF  THE  FORBIDDEN,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .............................................................  326  
FIGURE  194.  PROBING  THE  LIMITS  OF  THE  URBAN,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  SILENT  MOTION  ..........................................  327  
FIGURE  195.  A  COMMUNITY  THAT  MUST  BE  BUILT,  PATCH,  LUTEX,  “GARY”,  SILENT  MOTION,  LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  
AUTHOR  ...........................................................................................................................................................................  328  
FIGURE  196.  DOING  EXCEPTIONAL  THINGS  THAT  AREN’T  ON  OFFER,  “GARY”,  WINCH,  GIGI  AND  THE  AUTHOR,  
LONDON,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .......................................................................................................................................  328  
FIGURE  197.  THERE  ARE  ALWAYS  NEW  ADVENTURES  TO  BE  HAD,  BERLIN,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  .................................  330  
FIGURE  198.  ANOTHER  SIDE  OF  WHAT  YOU  KNOW,  REVEALED  BY  URBAN  EXPLORATION,  PRE-­‐METRO,  ANTWERP,  
PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ........................................................................................................................................................  331  
FIGURE  199.  THE  GROWTH  OF  AN  IDEA,  LONDON  2012,  PHOTO  BY  AUTHOR  ...............................................................  332  
FIGURE  200.  SIMPLICITY,  PHOTO  BY  SILENT  MOTION  .......................................................................................................  333  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Argot  Glossary  

The  3rd  –  The  third  rail  that  provides  power  to  electric  trains  (for  instance  in  the  London  

Tube  and  Paris  Metro).  

Access/Access  details  –  The  way  in  which  one  gains  entry  to  a  location.  Access  details  

are  shared  carefully.  

Admin  –  The  administration  building  of  a  derelict  hospital/asylum.  

ARTS  –  Abandoned  Rapid  Transit  Stations.  

Asylum  Seeker  –  An  explorer  who  primarily  explores  abandoned  asylums.  

Backcabbing  –  Riding  in  the  back  cab  of  a  train.  

Backlighting  –  a  photographic  technique  in  which  something  (usually  a  person)  blocks  

light  in  front  of  a  camera  to  create  a  photo  that  “pops”  in  the  dark.  

Bait  –  Acting  in  a  way  that  is  provocative  or  looks  dodgy,  therefore  baiting  police  or  

security  (i.e.  “I  just  took  a  bait  photo  of  her  crowbarring  that  door”).      

Blagging  –  talking  one’s  way  into  a  place/out  of  a  bust  (see  bust).  

Bricked  Up  –  an  opening  that  has  been  bricked,  blocked  or  cemented  (see  Sealed).    

Bust(ed)  –  1.  Getting  caught.  2.  Doing  something  [i.e.  we  busted  an  epic  (see  Epic)].  

Cracking  (a  location)  –  Opening  a  new  location  for  the  first  time  that  no  explorer  (and  

likely  few  other  people)  have  ever  seen.  

Cubed  location  –  A  location  where  one  exploration  connects  to  another  and  then  

another  (i.e.  a  tunnel  goes  into  the  basement  of  a  building,  where  you  then  climb  to  the  

roof  [see  Squared  Location]).  

Derp  –  1.  A  derelict  place,  non-­‐infrastructural.    2.  A  bit  dull/a  stripped  out  site.  

DOANUE  –  Do  an  Urban  Exploration.  

Drainer/Drain0r  –  An  explorer  who  is  primarily  interested  in  drains  or  sewers.  

DSLR  –  A  Digital  Single  Lens  Reflex  camera,  the  preferred  photographic  equipment  for  

most  urban  explorers.    

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Elite/Leet/Pro/Pr0  –  An  explorer  or  group  with  an  (usually  international)  reputation  

for  doing  high-­‐quality,  new  explorations.  

Edgework  –  Undertaking  a  life-­‐threatening  risk  for  no  reason  other  than  to  feel  "the  

edge".  

ENOF  –  Epic  night  of  fail;  everything  went  wrong.  

Epic  –  An  exploration  of  a  very  high  calibre  and/or  a  never-­‐before-­‐seen  site.  

Fail  –  1.  A  failure  i.e.  a  failed  exploration.    2.  The  failure  or  the  secca  or  cop  to  catch  you  

(see  secca).  

The  Fresh  –  Poo.  Also  used  to  describe  the  feeling  of  being  in  the  sewer  or  in  "in  thy  

fresh".  

Golden  Age  –  The  years  of  urban  exploration  in  London  between  2008-­‐2011.  Other  

cities  (such  as  Minneapolis  and  New  York)  have  different  urban  explorer  Golden  Ages.    

Group  shot  –  A  photograph  of  everyone  participating  on  an  exploration.  

GTFO  –  Get  the  Fuck  Out,  i.e.  we’ve  been  busted  (see  urbanexit).  

Heras  –  The  name  of  a  fence  manufacturer,  usually  used  in  reference  to  a  type  of  loose  

fence  that,  while  easy  to  disassemble,  makes  an  incredible  amount  of  noise  to  climb.    

HDR  –  A  photographic  technique  that  layers  3  or  more  shots  to  create  a  particular  

aesthetic  effect.  Most  explorers  have  a  strong  opinion  for  or  against  its  use.    

Hoarding  –  Wooden  board  placed  around  a  site  to  secure  it.    

Hot  (location)  –  A  location  which  has  been  posted  publically  online  recently  or  that  

explorers  were  caught  in,  usually  best  to  stay  out  of  until  the  heat  cools.  

Holy  Grail  –  An  exploration  that  requires  deep  research  and  effort  with  a  commensurate  

high  reward  at  the  end.  

Infiltration  –  A  trespass  on  a  live  site    (not  derelict  or  with  workers  in  it).  

J  Bizzle  –  Joseph  Bazalgette,  architect  of  the  London  sewer  system.  

Key  –  A  found/borrowed/copied  key,  drain  key,  triangle  key  (for  lifts)  or  a  crowbar.    

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Keyboard  warrior  –  An  explorer  who  “talk  a  lot  of  shit”  online  but  doesn’t  live  up  to  it  in  

“real  life”.  

KTAs  –  The  Paris  Catacombs  (quarries  under  Paris).    

Layup  –  Where  trains  are  parked.    

Light  painting  –  Painting  a  dark  place  with  light  during  a  long  exposure  photograph.  

Lift  surfing  –  Standing  on  the  roof  of  a  lift  box  while  it  is  moving.  

Lonely  chair  shot  –  The  photo  every  “noob”  takes  in  an  abandoned  building  of  a  lonely  

chair  placed  in  a  beam  of  light  coming  through  a  broken  ceiling  (see  noob).  

Mask  up  –  Putting  on  or  pulling  up  facemasks,  usually  to  run  by  a  camera.  

Midriding  –  Riding  trains  by  standing  in  the  space  between  two  carriages.  

Meet/Meet-­‐up/Pissup  –  A  mass  meeting  of  urban  explorers.  

Ninja/Ninjors  –  An  explorer  skilled  at  climbing,  often  sent  in  solo  to  open  doors  from  

the  inside.  

No  man’s  land  –  The  area  between  the  security  fence  and  a  building,  usually  where  

security  patrols  walk  (see  Secca).  

Noob  –  A  new/inexperienced  explorer.  

Orb  –  A  light  refraction  in  a  photograph  mockingly  (for  the  most  part)  referred  to  as  a  

spectre.    

Overcooked  –  An  HDR  photo  that  has  been  “overdone”.  

Palisade  –  A  type  of  static,  sharp,  spiked  metal  fence.  Particularly  difficult  to  climb.      

Picked  –  Using  lockpicks  to  gain  entry.  

People  shot  –  A  photograph  of  people  exploring  (rather  than  the  place).  

Portal  –  Where  a  infrastructural  system  (ie  metro)  goes  from  underground  to  

aboveground.      

Pranged/Pranged  out  –  A  bit  cautious/on  edge  after  an  incident  that  makes  one  wary.  

Some  explorers  are  always  pranged  out.    

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Prohobo/Probo/Urban  camping  –  Sleeping  in  abandoned  places  with  expensive  kit  

(gear).  

Recce  –  Reconnaissance/scouting/scoping  out  the  way  inside  somewhere  before  

exploring  it  and/or  clocking  security  patrols.  

Rinsed  –  When  a  location  or  place  (as  large  as  a  city)  is  thought  to  have  been  been  

thoroughly  explored.    

Rope  in  –  An  abseil  entry  using  ropes  and  harnesses.  

Ruin  porn  –  A  fetish  for  the  exploration  and  photography  of  ruination  and  dereliction.  

Secca  -­‐  Security  guard.  

Sealed  -­‐  Somewhere  that  is,  or  has  become,  inaccessible.  

Snipping  –  Cutting  through  a  fence/lock  to  enter.  

Squared  location  -­‐  A  location  which  connects  to  another  (i.e.  entering  a  tunnel  which  

then  connects  to  a  drain,  see  Cubed  Location).  

Stoop  –  A  small  sewer  pipe  that  is  painful  and  filthy  to  traverse.  Also  the  name  of  a  

famous  London  drain  explorer.  

Swag  –  Material  artefacts  removed  from  a  site.  

Tankcatting  –  Smashing  into/breaking  into  a  site,  through  a  door  or  lock.  

TOADS  –  Temporary,  Obsolete,  Abandoned  and  Derelict  Spaces.  

Trackies  –  Rail  workers.  

Trolling  –  Purposefully  antagonizing  other  people  on  forums  to  provoke  outrage,  for  

instance  by  posting  access  details  (see  access  details).  

Walk  in  –  A  site  which  requires  little  or  no  effort  to  access.    

Xmas  -­‐  A  period  of  time  when  security  is  almost  non-­‐existent,  when  “epic”  sites  get  

“busted”  [see  Epic  and  Bust(ed)].  

Urban  exploration/UrbEx/UE  –  Undertaking  a  recreational  trespass.  

   

xix  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Marc   and   I   are   sat   on   one   of   those   little   benches   inside   a   Paris   Metro  
station,   you   know,   the   ones   that   you   would   never   sit   on   under   normal  
circumstances,  wearing  black  and  covered  in  grime.  I  have  a  head  torch  on  
over  my  hoodie.  We’ve  basically  been  up  for  2  days  and  I’m  a  bit  loopy.    
 
On   the   other   side   of   the   station,   there   are   three   drunken   guys   lying   on  
another  bench  harassing  people  walking  by.  So,  they  are  a  concern.  I  look  
at  the  board  and  there  are  two  trains  arriving,  one  in  2  minutes  and  one  in  
6.  There  are  various  people  lingering  on  the  platform  waiting  for  the  train  
in  2  minutes.  The  people  looking  at  their  watches  and  mobile  phones  are  
good;   they’re   not   paying   attention,   likely   in   a   rush.   However,   a   little   girl  
with   a   balloon   is   staring   at   us   very   intently,   her   parents   oblivious.   She  
knows  we’re  up  to  no  good.  She  wants  in  on  the  secret.  
 
Marc  looks  me  over  and  whispers  “tuck  that  strap  in  on  your  backpack,  if  
it  gets  caught  and  you  go  down,  we  won’t  make  it.  Remember  we  only  have  
4  minutes  in-­‐between  trains.”  I  realise  with  a  start  that  by  “not  make  it”,  
he  means  we  will  be  hit  by  the  train  arriving  in  6  minutes.  5  now.  
 
The  next  minute  is  the  longest  of  my  life,  I  feel  like  I  can  hear  the  heartbeat  
of   everyone   near   us,   my   body   is   tingling   and   shaking.   I   stop   myself   from  
instinctively  looking  at  the  security  camera  and  pull  up  my  buff,  covering  
my  face  a  little  more.  By  the  time  the  wind  is  pushed  in  through  the  tunnel  
and   the   little   electronic   bells   announce   the   arrival   of   the   train,   I’m  
sweating.  I  feel  like  everyone  is  staring  at  us.  I  push  this  awareness  to  the  
back  of  my  mind  as  we  get  up  slowly  and  walk  toward  the  last  doors  of  the  
train.   The   doors   close   just   as   we   get   to   them   and   we   both   feign  
disappointment  and  turn  to  leave  the  platform.  Except  we  don’t.  The  last  
thing  I  see  as  Marc  throws  open  the  barrier  on  the  end  of  the  platform  and  
we   run   into   the   dark   passage   onto   the   trembling   tracks   is   the   little   girl  
staring   at   us   out   the   window   as   the   train   pulls   away,   her   face   glowing   red  
in  the  taillights  (Field  Notes,  Paris,  September,  2010).  

xx  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration             Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  2.  Croix  Rouge  disused  Metro  station,  Paris,  photo  by  author  

xxi  
 
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Chapter  1  –  Urban  exploration  and  infiltration    

“The Age of Discovery is not dead: it lives on through urban explorers.”

-(Deyo and Leibowitz, 2003: 146)
 

 
Figure  3.  Author  on  the  NEO  Bankside  development,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
In  his  2005  book  Access   all   Areas,  an  urban  explorer  who  wrote  under  the  nom   de  

plume  Ninjalicious  described  urban  exploration  and  infiltration  (more  colloquially  

known  as  UrbEx  or  UE)  as  “an  interior  tourism  that  allows  the  curious-­‐minded  to  

discover  a  world  of  behind-­‐the-­‐scenes  sights”  (Ninjalicious,  2005:  3).  Ninjalicious  

is   largely   credited   as   the   individual   who   first   penned   the   phrases   “urban  

exploration”   and   “infiltration”   to   describe   what   Troy   Paiva   has   more   recently  

called   the   discovery   and   exploration   of   T.O.A.D.S.,   temporary,   obsolete,   abandoned  

or  derelict  spaces  (Paiva  and  Manaugh,  2008:  9).  More  specifically,  urban  explorers  

recreationally   trespass   into   derelict   industrial   sites,   closed   hospitals,   abandoned  

military   installations,   sewer   and   drain   networks,   transportation   and   utility  

networks,   shuttered   businesses,   foreclosed   estates,   mines,   construction   sites,  

cranes,  bridges  and  bunkers,  among  other  places.    

1  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Urban  explorers  come  from  a  wide  swath  of  nations  and  vocations,  all  connected  

primarily   by   their   interest   in   adventure   and   the   preference   for   embodied  

experience  over  analysis  or  representation,  seemingly  in  contrast  to  their  obvious  

proficiency  with  visual  media.  Through  networks  of  practitioners  operating  under  

pseudonyms   and   false   identities,   the   urban   exploration   scene   is   mysterious,  

secretive,  exclusionary  and,  as  I  will  show  through  my  ethnographic  work  with  the  

community,   a   deeply   rooted   community   full   of   rare   camaraderie.   A   web   of   rich  

stories  has  formed  in  London  from  2008-­‐2011  with  a  group  who  refused,  despite  

eventually  very  severe  consequences  and  repercussions,  to  let  adventure,  mystery  

and  desire  wither  in  a  world  rendered  increasingly  mundane  through  what  many  

of   them   see   as   the   commercialisation   (Edensor,   1999)   and   securitisation   (Adey,  

2009)  of  the  city.    

At   the   same   time,   working   deeply   within   the   community   has   revealed   a   strain   of  

libertarian   ideology,   grounded   in   a   desire   for   personal   freedom,   that   also  

celebrates  the  neoliberal  construction  of  the  monolithic,  all  capable  subject  (Berg,  

2011)   and   complicates   a   superficial   understanding   of   this   “movement”   as   simply   a  

response   to   the   neoliberalisation   of   the   city   (Peck   and   Tickell,   2002).   The  

argument   that   I   want   to   put   forward   here   is   that   urban   explorers,   in   the   hacking  

tradition,   hack   or   exploit   fractures   in   physical   architecture   and   social   expectations  

in  an  effort  to  find  deeper  meanings  and  different  readings  in  places  even  as  they  

preference   process   over   results.   This   practice,   rather   than   being   strictly  

oppositional,  is  actually  quite  celebratory;  it  is  a  method  of  affecting  desire  through  

unencumbered   play   that   creates   a   meld   between   body   and   city,   representations  

and  practice,  explorers  and  place  and,  of  course,  between  fellow  trespassers.    

2  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  4.  Silent  Motion  and  Marc  Explo,  recreational  trespassers,  Wolfsschlucht  II,  France,  photo  by  
author  
 
This   thesis   is   constructed   in   two   interlinked   strands.   The   first   is   built   upon   my  

involvement  in  220  explorations  through  eight  countries  with  over  100  explorers  

(See  Appendix  A  and  B),  primarily  based  with  an  urban  exploration  crew  referred  

to   as   “London   Team   B”   between   2008   and   2011   (though   as   I   will   show,   many  

people   involved   with   the   crew   resisted   group   bounding   and   labels).   This   period   of  

time   is   significant,   for,   as   I   will   demonstrate,   “Team   B”   gained   an   international  

reputation  during  the  time  I  explored  with  them  through  both  international  “urban  

camping”  trips  and  an  unprecedented  level  of  exploration  in  London  centred  in  the  

city’s   infrastructure.   This   led   to   London   “Team   B”   eventually   fusing   with   what   was  

“Team  A”  to  be  reframed  as  the  “London  Consolidation  Crew”,  now  one  of  the  most  

respected   international   urban   exploration   collectives   in   the   world.   The   story   of  

what   it   took   to   get   there,   and,   to   a   degree,   my   complicities   in   those   exploits   as   a  

member  of  the  crew,  make  up  one  strand  of  this  research.    Those  are  the  tales  of  

urban  exploration.  

3  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  5.  Team  B  on  a  disused  barge,  Wandsworth,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
The  second  strand  of  this  ethnography  is  the  spatial  theory  behind  the  practice.  I  

have  posited  urban  exploration  as  a  quest  for  a  decommodified  sense  of  the  past  

folded   into   passion   for   a   discovery   of   a   novel   present   which   creates   temporal  

junctions   (Garrett,   2011a   and   Chapter   3),   an   interest   in   the   unexpected   and  

underappreciated,   and   a   desire   to   shatter   illusions   about   control   over   urban  

environs  through  temporary  spatial  reappropriation  (for  similar  examples  of  these  

tactics  see  Borden,  2001,  Saville,  2008,  Lyng,  1990a,  Cant,  2003).  Through  this  lens,  

the  practice  can  be  viewed  as  a  tactic  (de  Certeau,  1984)  utilized  to  create  smooth  

spaces   of   openness,   transparency   and   interconnectivity   (Deleuze   and   Guattari,  

1988)  and  to  appropriate  cultural  heritage  and  material  memory  on  local,  personal  

and   affective   terms   (Samuel,   1994).   At   the   same   time,   while   the   movement   may   be  

considered,   on   whole,   as   a   commentary   on   urban   alienation,   “urban   explorers  

[themselves]   largely   don’t   make   claims   beyond   exercising   a   right   to   learn   more  

about   their   environment”   (Rapp,   2010:   3)   through   “firsthand   experiences   of   the  

4  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

built   environment   denied   to   the   rest   of   us”   (Rapp,   2010:   38)   undertaking   what  

Siologen,   one   of   my   project   participants,   has   called   “victimless   criminal   activity”  

(Siologen,  January  2011).1 These  more  theoretical  aspects  of  the  work  are  what  I  

refer  to  as  “place  hacking”,  a  term  I  will  unpack  in  the  next  section.    

In  the  thesis,  I  argue  that  urban  exploration,  at  its  core,  is  about  the  reassertion  of  

power   over   place   from   a   population   frustrated   by   increasing   constrictions   on  

spatial   freedom   (Foucault   and   Rabinow,   1984)   affirmed   through   an   embodied  

existentialist   drive   (Sartre   and   Baskin,   1967,   Merleau-­‐Ponty,   1962).   However,  

these  explorations  are  also,  perhaps,  beyond  traditional  notions  of  embodiment  in  

their  quest  for  experiences  beyond  representation  or  explanation  (Lorimer,  2008).  

Urban  exploration  has  arisen,  I  argue,  like  many  preceding  critical  spatial  practices  

(Rendell,   2010),   as   an   “oppositional   response   to   the   disembodied   imperatives   of  

late   capitalism”   (Lyng,   2004:   360)   intimately   connected   to   canonical   urban  

critiques   including   the   work   of   the   Surrealists   (Breton,   1978),   Situationist  

International   or   SI   (Debord,   2006a,   Debord,   2006c),   various   cultural   jamming  

activities   (see   Barnard,   2004:   119),   and   urban   subversions,   yet   is   also   deeply  

intertwined   in   modes   of   production,   waste   and   change   in   the   modern   city  

(Hawkins  and  Muecke,  2003)  which  often  can  be  read  running  parallel,  rather  than  

in   opposition   to,   late   capitalism.   Finally,   I   contend   that   new   research   on   urban  

exploration   slots   tightly   into   seminal   geography   research   by   Cresswell   (1993,  

1996)   on   transgression   as   well   as   Bonnett   and   Pinder's   accounts   of   avant-­‐garde  

urban  tactics  (Pinder,  2005a,  Pinder,  2008,  Bonnett,  1993,  Bonnett,  1996b)  even  as  

the   “movement”   itself   is   largely   unaware   of   these   preceding   practices   and/or  

largely  unconcerned  about  the  spatial  theory  behind  their  motivations  to  explore.  
                                                                                                               
1
Unless otherwise noted, direct quotes have been recorded in person (likely on video) during the course
of ethnographic research (2008-2011).

5  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

However,   I   also   want   to   make   a   case   for   urban   exploration   and   infiltration   as   a  

necessary   escalation   and   adaptation   of   those   previous   practices   and   concepts,  

declaring   an   almost   righteous   right   to   spatial   freedom   in   reaction   to   escalating  

securitisation   of   everyday   life   (the   root   of   the   perceived   subjugation)   well  

documented   by   geographers   (Graham   and   Marvin,   2001)   which   has   resulted   “in  

structural  conditions  of  alienation,  reification,  individualism  and  oversocialization”  

(Lyng,   2004:   363).   I   will   show   that   urban   exploration,   as   a   practice,   owes   a   debt   to  

the  successes  and  failures  of  these  preceding  movements  working  to  actively  resist  

spatial   and   social   homogenization.   The   lessons   learned   from   these   preceding  

practices   has   led   to   the   creation   of   a   network   of   subversive   practitioners   that   is  

horizontally  structured,  largely  without  leadership,  and  decentralized,  that  exudes  

an  opaque  public  image  of  apolitical  benignity,  at  times  even  presented  as  a  type  of  

heroic   guerrilla   preservationism   (RomanyWG,   2010,   Payne,   2009)   while   at   the  

same   time   asserting   itself   politically   through   public   valorisation   of   successful  

covert   criminal   undertaking.   Urban   exploration,   as   a   result   of   its   foundational  

internal  decentralised  power  structure,  well-­‐groomed  public  image  (which  I  have  

disrupted  though  this  research)  and  widespread  denial  of  dogmatic  motivation,  is  

deeply   political   in   action   but   not   assertion,   rooted   in   freedom   of   personal   choice  

that   comes   across   as   almost   libertarian   in   ideology   (here   again   we   can   look   to  

Bonnett’s   (1989)   discussion   of   the   entanglements   between   Situationism   and   the  

libertarian  left).  As  Marc  Explo,  an  explorer  from  France  told  me  on  a  trespass  into  

the  Paris  catacombs  (quarries)  (see  Garrett,  2011b),  

I don’t need anyone to tell me that I am free. I prove that I am free everyday
by going wherever I want. If I want to drink wine on top of a church, I do
that, if I want to throw a party underground, I do that (Marc Explo,
September 2010).
 

6  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  6.  Claire-­‐Elise  climbing  Cathedral  Saint  Pierre,  Beauvais,  photo  by  author  
 
This  central  motivation  behind  urban  exploration  has  been  parodied  beautifully  by  

the   UE   Kingz,   a   Stockholm   urban   exploration   crew,   who   created   a   music   video   in   a  

sewer  called  You  Have  to  Choose  where  they  implore  the  viewer  to  “live  your  life  in  

a   fishbowl…   or   climb   down   in   a   manhole”.2     The   central   tenet   of   the   UE   Kingz  

philosophy   is   that   no  person,   or   physical   barrier,   can   stop   you   from   going   where  

you  want  to  go  and  doing  what  you  want  to  do  –  that  choice  is  always  yours.  This  

precept   is   also   asserted   by   many   of   my   project   participants.   It   is   the   ultimate  

assertion  of  the  right  of  the  autonomous  subject,  which  is  itself  a  reflection  of  the  

neoliberal   project   these   activities   appear   to   resist.   As   the   explorer   and   BASE  

jumper3  Downfallen   wrote,   “when   we   see   a   sign   that   says   ‘Do   not   enter’,   we  

understand  that  this  is  simply  a  shorthand  way  of  saying  ‘leaving  protected  zone:  

demonstrate  personal  accountability  beyond  this  point’”  (RomanyWG,  2010:  np).    

                                                                                                               
2
http://vimeo.com/13702117 (accessed 30th November 2011).
3
BASE jumping is an activity that employs an initially packed parachute to jump from fixed objects,
usually illegally. "B.A.S.E." is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one
can jump: buildings, antennae, spans, and earth (see Martha and Griffet, 2006).

7  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  7.  Neb  looking  for  an  open  window,  St.  Clements  Hospital,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
In   the   following   passage,   the   American   explorer   youliveandyouburn   highlights  

what   he   sees   as   urban   exploration’s   role   in   liberating   humanity   from   societal  

constraints,  

Most of us enjoy the benefit of living in a safe society. We live within

defined and defended borders. We sleep soundly under the ever reaching
umbrella of government protection. Our food and water are monitored, our
consumer products tested.  

Cups of coffee are sold with warning labels, “this is hot.” Seat belts are
required on most roads in most developed countries. The benefits of this
recent rise of safety cannot be denied. Infant mortality is down, life
expectancy is up, and more and more people are gaining the material
markers of a so called “modern world.”

But what of the detriment they have caused? Adventure has become a
packaged commodity. One can take an afternoon course in skydiving, or a
pre-planned six day trip to Jerusalem. Even Everest has become a tourist
trap. Rich men and women shelling out six figures for a guided treck (sic)
up the mountain. The danger has been minimized for the convenience of
the consumer; the difficult planning already done. These adventures are
not adventures at all. They are vacuum packed, sanitized bastardizations of
an original independent spirit.

The things [we do] are not “safe” in the way that modern society has come
to understand safety. We are not experts in our field. We don’t always use

8  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

tested and accepted equipment. We don’t always go where it is deemed

safe for us to go. The risks are plain and clear to all involved, but we face
them and weigh the options. Climb that crane and take a slight risk of
death or incarceration? Or stay home and watch another uninspiring
television show? Rather than pursue solely the recreational products and
services offered to us we choose to follow our own aims.

Want to summit that skyscraper? No need to jump through hoops trying to

arrange a guided tour. Just use your own head and get up there yourself.
When you abandon the child-parent relationship between yourself and
society and start to act and think for yourself a whole new world will open
up. The consequences truly pale in comparison because, lets face it, what
we do is not that dangerous and a night in the cells is really not that bad.4

These  disclosures,  I  hope,  underscore  the  value  of  undertaking  deep  ethnography  

throughout  this  research.  As  an  active  member  of  this  community,  I  have  been  able  

to   undertake   explorations   with   people   over   three   years   to   gain   insight   into  

motivations   that,   within   this   secretive   and   closed   community,   are   rarely   spoken  

(see   chapter   2   for   a   discussion   of   my   methods),   given   that   practitioners   largely  

respects   action   over   words.   As   a   result,   this   research   also   speaks   through   action  

and  like  many  urban  ethnographies,  is  more  method  than  theory  based.    

As  an  example,  on  a  two-­‐week  urban  camping  (prohobo)  road  trip  from  England  to  

Poland   in   July   2010,   four   of   us   (Winch,   Statler,   “Gary”   and   myself)   explored   and  

slept   in   over   50   ruins,   abseiled   into   the   never-­‐completed   Antwerp   metro   system  

and   climbed   a   number   of   notable   buildings   including   the   Palais   de   Justice   in  

Brussels.   Winch,   one   of   my   primary   project   participants,   told   me   that   he   felt   urban  

exploration,  for  him,  redefined  the  notion  of  “quality  of  life”.  When  I  asked  him  to  

elaborate,  he  said,    

Well, I think our generation has come to realise that you can’t buy real
experiences, you have to make them. Experiences like these are what
quality of life are about, it has far less to do with how much stuff you own
and more to do with how you choose to spend your time (Winch, June
2010, emphasis mine).
 
                                                                                                               
4
http://www.nopromiseofsafety.com/?page_id=515 (accessed 28th December 2011).

9  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  8.  Author  climbing  the  Palais  de  Justice,  Brussels,  photo  by  author  
 
Winch’s  insistence  on  his  right  to  make  life  what  he  wants  it  to  be  was  exhibited  

throughout   my   time   with   the   community   and   manifested   in   increasingly   militant  

forms   as   our   crew   became   more   brazen   and   skilful   at   trespassing.   Meanwhile,  

explorers  constantly  asserted  to  me  that  what  they  were  doing  was  not  political  or  

even  subversive  –  it  was  just  something  that  could  be  done.    

However,  to  me  it  was  is  no  fortuitous  coincidence  that  many  of  these  adventures  

were  based  in  global  capital  cities  where  everyday  experiences  and  encounters,  it  

has  been  argued,  have  been  dulled  through  both  sensorial  overload  and  increased  

securitisation   of   everyday   life.   This   has   taken   place   as   “global   interconnections  

between  highly  valued  spaces,  via  extremely  capable  infrastructure  networks,  are  

being   combined   with   strengthening   investment   in   security,   access   control,   gates,  

walls,   CCTV   and   the   paradoxical   reinforcement   of   local   boundaries   to   movement  

and  interaction  within  the  city''  (Graham  and  Marvin,  2001:  206).  

10  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  9.  Silent  Motion  easily  subverting  urban  security,  London,  photo  by  author  

11  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Ironically,   as   I   will   demonstrate   in   this   thesis,   it   is   exactly   these   types   of  

constructions   that   are   most   susceptible   to   the   urban   explorer’s   “hack”,   for   the  

more   complicated   a   system   gets,   the   more   weaknesses   there   are   to   exploit.  

Another  of  my  project  participants,  Silent  Motion,  said,    

At some point you have to say ‘fuck the consequences, I need to connect
with this city, and if I have to work a little harder for that feeling then so be
it’ (Silent Motion, December 2010).

Urban  explorers  reignite  everyday  experience  by  deprogramming  controlled  space  

through   both   premeditated   and   spontaneous   recreational   trespass,   acted   out   in  

place-­‐making   exercises   that   shatter   the   monotony   of   everyday   experience   in  

normative   urban   spaces.   These   explorations   and   expeditions,   in   their   playful  

unproductiveness,  are  reminiscent  of  the  pointless  wanderings  of  the  SI  of  1950s  

Paris.   Guy   Debord,   in   The   Society   of   the   Spectacle,   writes   that   “the   modern  

spectacle   depicts   what   society   could   deliver,   but   in   doing   so   it   rigidly   separates  

what   is   possible   from   what   is   permitted”   (Debord,   2006b:   14,   italics   in   original).  

Urban   explorers   offer   a   tacit   theory   of   seduction   that   slips   under   the   net   of   the  

spectacle  and  returns  with  documentation,  verging  towards  transgression  quietly  

but   consistently,   with   little   or   no   explanation   as   to   why   or   how   and   no   central  

leadership  with  a  list  of  demands;  where  they  are  not  offered,  rights  to  the  city  are  

simply  taken.  As  Winch  writes  on  his  blog,    

Exercising access to voidspace is not a right or a privilege, it’s just

something that can be done. Why should we sit and wallow in the
regimentation of shallow, sterile spaces presented to us as ‘safe’ and
appropriate for use?5

In  this  thesis,  I  contextualize  this  libertarian  notion  of  simply  “doing  what  can  be  

done”   regardless   of   social,   cultural   or   legal   constraints   in   terms   of   a   hacker   ethic  

(Nissenbaum,   2004).   Computer   hackers,   like   urban   explorers,   exploit   security  

weaknesses   for   the   joy   of   doing   so,   in   the   spirit   of   liberalism   and   meritocracy.  
                                                                                                               
5
www.thewinch.net/?p=1724 (accessed 6th March 2011).

12  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

However,   urban   explorers,   like   hackers,   reject   a   static   notion   of   what   that   might  

imply   in   an   attempt   to   sidestep   being   associated   with   a   movement   that   entails   a  

clear  narrative  or  motivation.  As  Coleman  and  Golub  write,    

…hacking, so often marginalized or misunderstood in popular culture as a

sub-cultural group separate from or diametrically opposed to mainstream
society, is in fact one crucial location whereby the fractured and cultural
character of liberalism is given new life and visibility in the digital age
(Coleman  and  Golub,  2008:  257,  emphasis  in  original).

 Both   communities   (even   that   term   is   problematically   bounded,   as   I   will  

demonstrate),   while   many   times   adopting   a   stance   of   apolitical   benignity,  

nevertheless  form  a  community  of  active  political  subversion,  both  of  which  move  

between  physical  and  virtual  space.  The  interstices  that  urban  explorers  locate  and  

exploit   cause   what   I   call   the   meld,   a   collapse   and   fusion   of   the   physical   and   the  

virtual,  the  seen  and  unseen,  the  can  and  can’t.  Those  meld  events  have  the  ability  

to  shock  and  inspire,  but  eventually  come  at  a  cost  as  the  embarrassment  of  state  

authority  figures  inevitably  leads  to  crackdowns.  

 
Figure  10.  The  hacker  ethos:  do  what  you  want,  when  you  want,  where  you  want,  Paris  Metro,  
photo  by  author  
   

13  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Place  Hacking    

“Place is the first of all beings, since everything that exists is in a place and cannot exist
without a place.”
- Archytas, as cited by Simplicius (Lees and Overing, 2006)
 
 
Tim  Cresswell  argues  that  “place,  at  a  basic  level,  is  space  invested  with  meaning  in  

the  context  of  power”  (Cresswell,  2004:  12)  that  “must  have  some  relationship  to  

humans   and   the   human   capacity   to   produce   and   consume   meaning”   (Cresswell,  

2004:  7).  I  suggest  that  urban  exploration,  as  a  cultural  practice,  creates  alternative  

placial  narratives  and  counter-­‐spectacles  through  the  systematic  subversion  of  this  

context   of   power   via   subtly   transgressive   mobilities   (Cresswell,   1993)   that  

undermine   dominant   capitalist   narratives   through   playfully   unproductive,  

pointless,   or   at   the   least   largely   uncommodifiable   action.   Those   actions   erode  

perceived  power  by  exposing  spatial  security  flaws  through  gaining  access  to  off-­‐

limits   architecture.   Successful   explorations   and   infiltrations   are   systematically  

documented  and  retained,  flaunted  and  used  as  inspirational  tools  that  escalate  the  

“edge”   of   the   practice.   This   social   practice,   which   sizzles   with   subversivness,  

resembles   the   work   of   computer   hackers   (Löwgren,   2000)   –   except   that   urban  

explorers   are   largely   hack   places   rather   than   virtual   systems.   Both   are   elective  

procedures  of  participation  in  otherwise  closed  objects  (proprietary  cyberspace  or  

off-­‐limits  architecture).  

As  early  as  the  1980s,  the  term  “hacking”  was  applied  first  to  physical  space  by  the  

Technology   Hackers   Association   at   MIT   who   learned   to   pick   locks   and   infiltrated  

the   steam   tunnels   underneath   the   university.   Students   began   climbing   rooftops   on  

campus,   conducting   freshmen   on   what   is   called   the   “Orange   Tour”   (Scott,   1993).  

The   celebrated   hacker   Kevin   Mitnick   used   to   dumpster   dive   in   Los   Angeles   (LA)  

14  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

and   find   old   bus   passes.   After   acquiring   a   punch   hole   device   identical   to   the   LA  

Rapid  Transit  Authority,  he  would  stamp  out  free  bus  transfers  for  passengers,  one  

of  his  favourite  hacks  (Coleman  and  Golub,  2008).  It  wasn’t  until  relatively  recently  

the   term   “hacking”   was   appropriated   by   the   virtual   computing   community.   As  

Löwgren  (2000:  np)  writes,  “the  word  ‘hack’  was  used  to  refer  to…  practical  jokes  

or  stunts.  Its  meaning  shifted  to  the  technology  needed  to  perform  the  prank,  and  

later  came  to  mean  a  clever  technical  solution  in  general.”  The  7th  entry  under  the  

term   “hacker”   in   the   New   Hacker’s   Dictionary   defines   a   hacker   as   “one   who   enjoys  

the   intellectual   challenge   of   creatively   overcoming   or   circumventing   limitations”  

(Raymond,   1996:   310)   importantly   pointing   out   the   physical   foundations   of   the  

art.  As  Dsankt,  one  of  today’s  most  well-­‐known  urban  explorers  writes,    

Whether you're hacking transit systems or computer systems they're all

fissured, all possessing those little cracks just wide enough to wriggle your
dirty little fingers into and force to sneak a peek into what lies beneath the
shiny smoothed over facade most [people] take for granted every single
day.6
 
I   suggest   place   hacking   as   a   porous   phrase   that   encapsulates   various   types   of  

urban   explorations.   This   can   include   urban   exploration,   infiltration,   draining,  

illegal   underground   river   boating,   buildering,   unauthorised   spelunking,   drain  

driving,   urban   adventuring,   underground   parties   and   more.   The   common   theme  

here   is   the   ability   to   access   closed   places,   whether   public   or   private,   and  

reappropriate   them   for   whatever   temporary   use   is   desired.   In   all   cases,   these  

activities  encompass  the  more  intangible  themes  of  heritage  seizure,  authoritative  

subversion,   “alternative”   or   sub-­‐cultural   community   construction   and  

identification.  This  subcultural  identification  is,  in  effect,  limitless;  most  explorers  

undertake   many   types   of   exploration,   refusing   to   be   definitively   categorized,   while  

many   still   consider   themselves   specialists   in   particular   environments.   For  

                                                                                                               
6
http://www.sleepycity.net/posts/247/The_London_Underground (accessed 1st December 2010).

15  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

instance,  there  is  a  dedicated  transnational  community  of  “drainers”  that  primarily  

explore  drain  and  sewer  networks  (see  video  9,  IDM   2011),  though  most  drainers  

do  other  types  of  urban  exploration  as  well.  

 
The  images  that  urban  explorers  produce  depicting  the  art  of  finding  and  entering  

places   to   create   moments   temporarily   deprogrammed   have   been   widely   publically  

applauded  as  one  of  the  most  promising  forms  of  contemporary  photography  that  

“speak   back”   to   the   world   around   us   (see   chapter   4).   But   while   the   organisation,  

practice   and   publication   of   the   practice   may   be   novel,   a   question   remains   whether  

the   practice   itself   actually   is.   The   connections   I   have   posited   to   preceding  

movements  suggest  the  basic  premise  behind  the  practice  –  acting  on  the  instinct  

to   explore   places   –   is   quite   base.   Even   the   Situationists,   perhaps   the   most  

revolutionary  of  spatial  hijackers,  wrote  that  the  only  thing  people  lacked  was  the  

consciousness  of  what  they  already  knew.  What  the  SI  offered,  like  urban  explorers  

and   hackers   of   today,   is   a   glimpse   at   what   it   looks   like   when   you   start   acting   on  

your  repressed  impulses  (Marcus,  2001:  50).    

Urban   exploration,   over   the   past   20   years,   has   built   a   rich   history   for   itself  

structured   primarily   around   web   forums   that   appears   quite   cohesive. 7  The  

community   even   extols   a   “code   of   ethics”,   an   ethereal   code   of   which   there   is   no  

apparent  enforcing  body  other  than  the  disapproval  of  fellow  conspirators,  again,  

much  like  the  computer  hacker  “community”.  However,  in  both  cases  those  unified  

fronts  contain  innumerable  fractures  leading  to  a  constant  assertion  that  there  is  

no  urban  exploration  “community”.  This  ethnographic  research   worked  largely  off  

those  forums,  behind  the  “public  image”  of  urban  exploration.    

                                                                                                               
7
www.uer.ca is the largest global forum and www.28dayslater.co.uk boasts the highest membership
numbers in the United Kingdom. There are also dozens of small and private forums.

16  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

The   results   of   this   ethnography   suggest   that   urban   exploration,   infiltration   and  

place   hacking   are   a   way   of   speaking   back   to   forces   often   beyond   our   control,  

asserting  spatial  rights  simply  by  doing  things  that  are  not  supposed  to  be  able  to  

be  done.  By  producing  these  events,  the  individual  creates  a  space  to  assert  their  

agency   as   a   being   in   place   and   melds   her   and   himself   into   the   urban   fabric,   also  

melding  the  unified  subject  into  a  deeply-­‐bonded  community  -­‐  a  re-­‐enfolding  into  

place   on   rewritten   code   –   that   is   stacked   and   layered   over   time.   That   increasing  

connectivity,   aligned   with   the   potential   for   radical   subjectivity,   revealed   and  

increasingly   escalated   through   these   activities,   creates   enticing   new   urbanisms.  

Those   connections   also   reveal   the   potentiality   for   urban   exploration   to   have  

implications   beyond   the   immediacy   of   the   hack,   indicated   through   massively  

growing  public  interest  in  the  practice.    

 
Figure  11.  Winch  emerging  from  The  River  Westbourne,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

17  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Researcher/explorer/community  

“Attach yourself to what you feel to be true. Begin there.”

– The Invisible Committee (2009: 97)
 
Participation  

Nestor  (2007)  reports  that  the  most  popular  global  urban  exploration  forum  in  the  

world,   the   Urban   Exploration   Resource   (UER),   has   18,000   registered   users.   In  

London,  there  may  be  around  100  active  urban  explorers  as  of  January  2012.  When  

I   asked   Oxygen   Thief,   the   administrator   of   Britain’s   most   prevalent   forum,   28  Days  

Later,   if   he   could   provide   me   with   any   statistics   on   registered   users   across   Britain,  

he  responded,  “what  happens  on  the  forums  has  squat  to  do  with  exploring,  it's  not  

a  true  reflection  of  anything”  (Oxygen  Thief,  April  2010).8  

Oxygen  Thief’s  reaction  was  expected;  it  is  the  reaction  any  superficial  researcher  

would   provoke   in   an   attempt   to   approach   this   community,   a   community   built  

around   shared   experiences,   a   community   that   defines   itself   on   an   obscure  

foundation   of   constant   misinformation   to   mislead   “noobs”   and   “cops”.   Even   after   a  

year   of   close   friendship   and   countless   explorations   together,   one   of   my   project  

participants  called  “Gary”  told  me,  “what  you  do  Brad,  it’s  just  words,  this  doesn’t  

have  anything  to  do  with  anything”  (“Gary”,  April  2010).    

These   tensions   between   my   roles   as   a   researcher   and   explorer   have   been   an  

important   directing   factor   behind   the   autoethnographic   components   of   the  

research.   It   also   points   to   the   distinction   between   experience   and   representation  

reinforced   by   my   project   participants   through   their   work.   Urban   exploration,  

despite  claims  by  outside  observers  (High  and  Lewis,  2007,  Bennett,  2011),  is  not  a  

                                                                                                               
8
There are about 10,000 registered users according to Davenport (2011) and Otter suggests there are
probably about 3000 active in the UK (Otter, interview, October 2011).

18  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

spectator  sport  and  the  beautiful  long-­‐exposure  photographs  urban  explorers  are  

becoming   famous   for,   as   Silent   Motion   told   me,   “exist   solely   as   markers   to  

experience”  even  as  they  are,  as  Winch  extolls,  “proof  of  what  we’ve  accomplished”  

(Silent  Motion  and  Winch,  December  2009).    

 
Demographics  

This   is   not   a   quantitative   study   about   involvement   and   I   will   not   begin  

enumerating   participatory   statistics   beyond   what   I   have   done   above.   However,   I  

have  given  a  number  of  presentations  about  my  research  to  various  audiences  and  

in   almost   every   instance,   a   question   is   raised   about   the   lack   of   equal   female  

participation  in  the  practice.  This  is  obviously  an  important  point  to  address  (see  

cover   photo).   There   is   clear   imbalance   in   the   ratio   of   women   to   men   involved   in  

urban   exploration   (approximately   10%-­‐15%   of   London   explorers   are   female).  

While  explorers  themselves  have  been  accused  of  being  sexist,  probably  due  to  the  

highly   masculinised   edge   to   the   images   they   produce   and   obvious   links   to   the  

male-­‐dominated  historical  foundations  of  “exploration”,  there  is  nothing  explicit  in  

the   exclusion   of   female   participation.   Women   who   are   involved   tend   to   be   very  

highly   regarded.   However,   the   determination   within   the   community   to   valorise  

risk   and   push   extremes   certainly   seems   to   appeal   to   a   characteristically   (at   least  

historically)  “masculine”  way  of  seeing  the  world.    

The   issue   then   seems   to   be   a   more   intangible   one   about   the   way   the   community  

has  already  formed  (without  any  overt  consensus),  the  root  of  the  movement  being  

founded   upon   an   admittedly   selfish   desire   to   “take”   what   is   wanted   from   the  

environment  in  terms  of  both  pictures  and  experiences,  as  long  as  it  hurts  no  one  

else   –   Siologen’s   “victimless   crime”.   This   is,   again,   pitched   in   terms   of   personal  

19  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

responsibility,   regardless   of   the   illegalities   or   external   concerns   provoked   by  

explorations.   The   resultant   community   atmosphere   is   almost   nightmarish   in   its  

competitiveness,   a   mirror   of   the   hacker’s   open   source   “completely”   free   market.  

Most   women,   and   many   men,   find   the   atmosphere   during   meets   (meetups)  

abhorrently  masculine,  fuelled  by  alcohol,  fireworks  and  grand  tales,  though  Winch  

contends   this   is   just   another   aspect   of   freeing   oneself   from   socially   acceptable  

normative   behaviour.   As   Siologen   once   said   to   me,   “it’s   amazing   there   even   is   a  

community,   given   that   urban   exploration   is   a   basically   just   groups   of   friends  

competing  to  do  epic  shit  first”  (Siologen,  November  2010).    

Despite   this   problematic   imbalance,   there   were   a   number   of   women   involved   with  

this   project   including   Hydra,   Drainpipe,   Claire-­‐Elise,   Urban   Fox,   Agent   M,   Shreen,  

Rookinella   and   Jess.   Many   more   are   involved   with   the   practice   outside   of   my  

research   group   including   Nurse   Payne   and   a   famous   Australian   explorer   who  

changed  their  gender  from  male  to  female.  Dystopia,  Dsrt  Chck,  Aurelie  Curie   and  

DarlinClem,  added  to  this  list,  make  up  a  formidable  contingent  of  female  explorers  

and   are   well   respected   in   the   community.   Rookinella,   for   instance,   is   also   an  

administrator   on   the   28   Days   Later   forum.   Connected   to   this,   and   despite   there  

being   a   significant   contingent   of   gay   explorers   (perhaps   10%),   including   the  

universally   respected   openly   gay   Futtslutts  of   Minneapolis,   Thelma   and   Towanda,9  

there  is  a  tangible  homophobic  element  within  some  urban  exploration  groups.  In  

the   UK,   it   is   rumoured   that   one   of   the   first   forums   actively   banned   openly   gay  

explorers  as  well  as  explorers  from  a  number  of  minority  groups.  It   is   unlikely   this  

would  be  tolerated  in  any  explorer  group  today.    

                                                                                                               
9
http://futtslutt.tumblr.com (accessed 1st January 2012).

20  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Perhaps  due  to  stories  like  these,  it  has  been  suggested  that  urban  explorers  are  all  

“white”   and   “middle   class”   (High   and   Lewis,   2007:   63).   But   here   again   the  

community   is   perhaps   less   homogenous   than   it   appears   on   public   web   forums.  

While  it  is  the  case  that  this  is  a  study  about  a  group  of  mostly  white,  middle  class  

men  (similar  to  the  work  of  Willis  and  Jefferson,  1990  on  "hippie"  culture)  where  

Yaz   once   told   me   (half   joking)   that   he   was   “the   wrong   colour   to   be   an   explorer”,  

there   are   people   from   a   wide   swath   of   nationality,   economic   background   and  

vocation   involved   in   the   London   urban   exploration   community,   though   the  

community   is   overwhelmingly   Caucasian,   likely   because   of   fear   of   police  

overreaction  if,  for  instance,  someone  of  Middle-­‐Eastern  background  were  caught  

exploring  infrastructure.  

My   project   participants   include   individuals   from   the   UK,   USA,   Sweden,   France,  

Australia,   Italy,   Belgium   and   the   Netherlands   and   include   a   number   of   people   with  

various   office   jobs,   a   social   housing   worker,   a   manager   at   ASDA,   a   bus   driver,   a  

church  leader,  an  exotic  dancer,  photography,  film  and  music  students,  an  owner  of  

a   construction   company,   a   few   freelance   photographers,   a   joiner,   a   banker,   a   call  

centre   worker,   a   lighting   engineer,   a   supermarket   worker,   a   special   constable,   a  

dentist,   a   geography   teacher   and,   unsurprisingly,   a   number   of   people   working   in  

software,  IT  and  web  design  industries  who  might  also  be  considered  “hackers”  in  

a   virtual   sense.   Stunningly,   all   of   my   project   participants   are   employed   full   time   or  

in   school   and   despite   perhaps   perceiving   of   their   day   jobs   as   “boring”   or   pointless,  

many   express   militant   opposition   toward   anyone   seen   to   be   “leaching”   off   of   the  

system,  again  connected  to  the  personal  responsibility  ideology.  Olstead  (2011:  4,  

following  Fletcher,  2008)  offers  another  rational  for  the  demographic  in  her  work  

21  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

with  “professional”  females  who  participate  in  dangerous  sports  where  she  writes  

that,    

…class differences in rates of participation do not simply reflect structural

inequalities… risk sports have particular appeal to the “professional
middle class” because of the way in these activities both satisfy and
provide escape from a class culture, which requires continual deferral of
gratification and self discipline.
 
Similar   to   Olstead’s   research,   there   are   very   few   people   involved   in   urban  

exploration   that   are   economically   destitute,   even   if   many   work   “minimum   wage”  

jobs.   Obviously,   in   order   to   have   the   opportunity   for   these   sorts   of   engagements  

with   the   city,   one   must   be   secure   enough   financially   and   have   enough   free   time  

that   investing   the   hours   necessary   to   research   and   explore   sites   can   be  

accomplished.   One   also,   more   importantly,   has   to   view   these   spaces   as   primarily  

areas   for   play   and   creative   practice   rather   than   potential   housing   for  instance   (see  

video  10,  Crack  the  Surface,  6:35).  As  we  found  in  our  exploration  of  economically  

disadvantaged   areas   in   Poland   and   the   drains   of   Las   Vegas   (O'Brien,   2007),   our  

relative   affluence   became   readily   apparent   when   we   explored   places   only   to   find  

people   living   in   them.   In   this   excerpt   from   my   field   notes   during   a   road   trip   to  

Poland  to  explore  abandoned  Soviet  military  sites,  I  logged  these  thoughts,  

The   further   East   we   went,   the   heavier   our   bourgeois   baggage   became.  
As   we   crossed   the   border   into   Poland,   the   car   was   filled   with   excited  
cheers  quickly  followed  by  confused  murmurs.  While  the  landscape  here  
offered  what  we  have  come  to  expect  from  Europe  –  endless  ruins  –  we  
found   ourselves   confronted   with   a   place   in   which   the   relationship   to  
derelict  space  was  entirely  different.  
 
Here   ruins   were   spaces   not   of   bounded   exclusion   but   of   potential  
utilization.  After  driving  for  hours  through  a  forest  hunting  for  a  soviet  
base   called   Keszwca   Lesla,   we   arrived   at   10pm   to   find   rows   of   buildings,  
clearly  Soviet-­‐built,  surrounding  an  undecipherable  war  memorial  that  
looked   like   our   standard   Eastern   European   fare   with   the   addition   of  
satellite   dishes   hanging   off   the   sides   of   buildings.   It   seemed   the   local  
population   here   had   turned   this   place   into   a   summer   holiday  
encampment   after   the   collapse   of   the   USSR   and   the   abandonment   of   the  
base.   Gangs   of   teenagers   roamed   the   streets   late   at   night   in   tracksuits  
and   mullets,   running   in   and   out   of   the   derelict   buildings   and   bunkers.  

22  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Inhabited  buildings  looked  derelict.  There  were  no  fences  or  security  to  
be   found,   no   rules,   boundaries   or   exclusionary   practices   in   evidence.   It  
should  have  been  paradise  for  us.  Except  that  things  felt  different  here.  

And   then   the   difference   hit   me   -­‐   there   wasn’t   a   hint   of   nostalgia   to   be  
found.   No   one   cared   about   stripping   soviet   blocks   of   all   they   were   worth  
because  they  were  still  in  pain  here.  It  was  probably,  rather,  a  delicious  
catharsis  to  smash  out  those  windows  and  excavate  the  rusting  hunks  of  
artillery  from  the  ground  to  sell  to  scrap  yards.    

There   was   a   particular   guilt   that   came   with   exploring   Poland.    I   think  
that  guilt  came  from  the  clashing  of  different  value  systems  in  regards  to  
derelict   space.   Perhaps   it   is   an   indication   of   a   larger   clash   between  
capitalism   and   communism.   Where   east   meets   west,   desire   meets   utility,  
nostalgia  meets  future  promise  and  mobility  meets  placemaking.  We  all  
knew  we  brought  the  West  with  us  and  we  all  knew,  deep  down,  that  the  
social   conditioning   that   resides   in   those   templates   can   never   be  
completely  erased,  much  as  we  try  (Field  Notes,  August  2010).  

It   is   only   in   the   context   of   exploring   the   cities   in   which   they   are   confortable   that  

urban   explorers   can   make   the   sorts   of   claims   to   space   they   do.   As   Winch   said  

during   that   trip,   on   our   way   out   of   Poland,   “I   felt   just   as   likely   to   get   my   ass   kicked  

and   camera   stolen   out   there   than   get   a   good   photograph…   and   I   couldn’t   blame  

them”  (Winch,  August  2010).  It  is  important  to  point  out  however  that  not  every  

urban  exploration  crew  would  be  willing  to  undertake  the  sorts  of  trips  that  would  

cause  you  to  question  motivations  behind  the  practice.  This  is  the  reason  I  stayed  

close  to  the  people  I  did  in  the  first  place.    

Taken  at  a  metropolitan  level,  the  urban  exploration  “community”  is  pretty  loosely  

structured.   The   group   that   I   work   with   might   be   considered   what   the   sociologist  

Charles  Horton  Cooley  called  a  social  “Primary  Group”  where  he  defined  them  as,  

…characterized by intimate face-to-face association and cooperation. They

are primary in several senses, but chiefly in that they are fundamental in
forming the social nature and ideals of the individual (Cooley, 1909: 23
cited in Anderson, 1976: 33).
 

23  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  12.  An  encampment  found  in  a  derelict  Soviet  military  base  in  the  forest,  Germany,  photo  by  
author  
 
The  larger  global  urban  exploration  “community”  is  beyond  what  Anderson  (1976)  

would   have   termed   an   “extended   primary   group”   in   his   work   in   the   1970s   on   a  

Chicago  street  corner.  The  connections  in  this  community  are  much  more  tenuous,  

competitive   and   contested.   However,   despite   internal   claims   to   the   contrary   by  

practitioners   who   claim   they   “have   nothing   to   do   with   other   crews”   (Patch,  

Interview,   December   2011),   there   clearly   is   an   urban   exploration   community.  

Although   explorers,   on   some   level,   insist   on   the   right   to   individual   affirmation   of  

personal   subjectivity   though   unregulated   existential   action,   self-­‐concept   and  

identity   are   of   course   also   products   of   collective   action   (Mead,   1934)   and   we   often  

communicated,   traded   information   and   visited   explorers   in   other   cites  

(Minneapolis,  New  York,  Brescia,  Stockholm,  Paris  and  Moscow  among  others).    

At   its   largest   scale,   we   might   imagine   the   international   online   UE   community,  

remotely   connected   by   UER,   the   world’s   largest   web   forum.   Within   Britain,   we  

24  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

then   find   a   range   of   groups   loosely   arranged   around   the   forums   28   Days   Later,  

Dark  Places,  Urbex  Forums,  Derelict  Places,  Talk  Urbex,  and  a  few  others,  including  

private   forums.   Within   London   however,   the   community   structure   was   rather  

unique,  essentially  four  different  yet  overlapping  crews  operated  in  the  city  when  I  

began   my   research   in   2008   and   many   explorers   were   not   connected   to   any  

particular  group.  Most  of  the  London  “Teams”  operated  outside  of  the  forums  or  on  

secret  forums  that  were  by  personal  invite  only.  

Within   six   months   of   my   initial   involvement   in   the   scene,   I   was   solidly   exploring  

with   a   group   flippantly   referred   to   as   “Team   B”   by   Oxygen   Thief   (implying   our  

inferiority   to   “Team   A”   explorers),   who   became   my   primary   group,   project  

participants   and   collaborators   operating   first   on   a   now-­‐defunct   forum   called  

Footprints  in  the  Dust,   later   whittled   down   into   the   20-­‐person   secret   (invite-­‐only,  

non-­‐search   engine   indexed)   forum   Urban   Infiltration   Scene.   Eventually,   as   the  

reader   will   see   as   these   stories   unfold,   these   designations   began   to   partially  

collapse  and  things  became  much  more  consolidated  within  the  city  by  the  end  of  

2011.  

 
Style  and  research  structure  

Throughout  this  thesis,  I  refer  to  the  urban  explorers  who  have  been  involved  with  

my   research   by   their   known   (public)   aliases.   At   times,   at   their   request,   I   have   used  

double   blind   aliases.   Although   I   have   met   over   100   people   during   the   course   of   my  

PhD,   the   ones   I   have   explored   with   most   will   reappear   frequently.   These  

individuals  are  Vanishing  Days,  LutEx,  MC  Nebula  (or  Neb),  Statler,  Winch,  “Gary”,  

Patch,  Hydra,  Silent  Motion,  Marc  Explo,  and  Otter.  Less  frequent  explorations  took  

place   with   Gigi,   Yaz,   Snappel,   Claire-­‐Elise,   Siologen,   Olivier,   Kat,   User   Scott,   Dsankt,  

25  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Furtle,   River   Monkey,   Tigger   and   other   explorers   from   Milan   to   Los   Angeles   (see  

Appendix  A  for  my  snowball  sample  meeting  chart).  

With   each   of   these   individuals   from   my   primary   group,   I   have   collected  

photographs,   video   footage,   field   notes   and   diary   entries.   I   have   also   collected  

direct  quotes  from  emails,  facebook  messages,  text  messages,  forum  postings  and  

blog  postings.  Everything  that  I  quote  or  paraphrased  from  my  primary  group  has  

been   vetted   through   the   community   and   approved   for   publication.   Some   of   what  

we  did  together  will  not  be  written  about.  Other  explorations  undertaken  have  had  

names  omitted  or  small  details  changed  at  the  request  of  my  project  participants  

for  reasons  that  will  be  clear  by  the  end  of  the  thesis.      

In   2001,   Ian   Cook   and   Mike   Crang   noted   that   “while   it   is   often   commented   that  

geography   is   a   visual   discipline,   there   has   been   little   attempt   to   move   from   text-­‐

based  dissertations,  theses  and  even  methods  books”  (Crang  and  Cook,  2007:  119).  

The  thesis  is  an  attempt  to  take  that  call  to  arms  quite  seriously  and  is  comprised  

of   75,000   words,   200   photographs   and   10   short   video   pieces   (all   viewable   at  

http://vimeo.com/channels/placehacking   or   on   the   DVDs   in   the   back   on   this  

thesis),   all   utilised   in   distinct   yet   complementary   ways   (see   Chapter   2   and   Garrett,  

2010b).  As  such,  this  thesis  is  meant  to  be  read  on  the  screen  rather  than  on  paper  

so  that  one  can  fully  engage  with  the  high  resolution  photographs,  web  links  and  

high-­‐definition  video  clips  that  make  up  the  work.  In  short,  this  doctoral  research  

output  is  a  multimedia  document.    

Additionally,   as   a   result   of   the   way   the   research   has   been   structured,   the   writing  

fluctuates   between   narrative   form   and   conversational   tone   to   quotes   with   typos  

26  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

from   internet   sources   to   more   polished   “academic”   components.   Rather   than  

finding   this   confusing   or   too   disorienting,   I   hope   the   reader   will   enjoy   those   twists  

and  turns.  It  is  my  intention  that  the  resulting  document  exists  as  a  vulnerable  text  

(Behar,   1997)   that   reveals   the   fluidity,   richness,   spontaneity,   difficulty   and  

absolute   starry-­‐eyed   wonder   that   undertaking   the   work   has   been,   work   that   has  

changed   myself   and   my   project   participants   irrevocably   (Ellis   and   Bochner,   2005).  

I  make  no  pretence  at  objective  ethnographic  observation  here,  as  the  first  person  

ever  to  do  in-­‐depth  research  with  this  community,  I  am  well  known  by  most  urban  

explorers  in  the  world  now,  respected  and  despised  alike.  I  even,  halfway  through  

my   research,   received   a   politically   motivated   lifetime   ban   from   the   28  Days  Later  

forum   and   weeks   of   hate   male   for   a   breach   of   the   mythical   UE   “code   of   ethics”,  

which  I  will  return  to  in  chapter  4.    

In  the  rest  of  chapter  1,  I  begin  by  unpacking  the  term  “urban  exploration”,  both  its  

implications  and  praxes,  and  look  at  the  popular  history  of  the  practice  from  within  

the  community.    

Situating  urban  exploration  

“UE is a crime but I won’t do time.”

– UE Kingz10
 
Despite   the   widespread   public   recognition   and   assumptive   understanding   of   the  

term  “urban  exploration”,  many  urban  explorers  themselves  reject  the  phrase.  As  

Alan   Rapp   (2010:   11)   has   written,   “like   many   emergent   cultures,   [urban  

exploration]   has   accrued   a   definition   without   centralized   guidance   or   even  

consensus”   which   has   led   to   ceaseless   fracturing   in   those   instances   where  

communities   are   formed   and   endless   disputes   over   the   politics,   ethics   and  
                                                                                                               
10
UE is a Crime, http://vimeo.com/15869889 (accessed 1st December 2010).

27  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

boundaries  of  the  practice.  A  number  of  my  project  participants  object  first  to  the  

term   “urban”,   given   that   many   of   our   explorations   take   place   in   distinctly   rural  

areas.   The   sleepy   coastal   town   (yet   busy   port)   of   Dover,   for   instance,   is   full   of  

bunkers,  mines  and  forts  and  we  have  made  numerous  trips  there  to  explore  them.    

 
Figure  13.  "Gary"  exploring  a  bunker,  Dover,  photo  by  author  
 
This   notion   is   normally   sidestepped   by   pointing   out   that   urban   exploration   is  

defined   by   the   exploration   of   human-­‐built   environs   which   “extend   into   the  

countryside  as  mines,  dams  and  ghost  towns  [and]  must  be  understood  as  part  of  

the  city’s  structure”  (McRae,  2008:  2).  As  Graham  (2001:  11)  has  written,  we  might  

also   understand   the   size   of   the   city   not   in   terms   of   its   built   structure  

(topographical)  but  in  terms  of  it’s  sphere  of  influence  (topological).  In  short,  “the  

city  is  everywhere  and  in  everything”  (Amin  and  Thrift,  2002:  1)  through  its  global  

connectivity.  

28  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

At   the   same   time,   the   perceived   dualities   of   the   urban   and   rural,   natural   and  

human-­‐made   have   been   complicated   by   recent   scholarship   (Whatmore,   2002),  

reinforced   by   urban   explorers   themselves   writing   about   the   collapse   of   those  

boundaries   within   ruins   where   “…the   most   beautiful   sights…   are   the   result   of  

natural   processes   left   to   operate   on   man-­‐made   materials,   machinery,   surfaces,  

furniture”  (Roppo,  ND:  cover).  Notwithstanding  their  shared  public  axiom  of  “take  

nothing  but  pictures  and  leave  nothing  but  footprints”,  these  explorations  remain  

distinct   from   wilderness   exploration   for   their   focus   on   the   intentionally   human-­‐

built   environment   and   the   most   celebrated   or   “epic”   explorations   are   usually,  

because   of   their   difficulty   in   locating   and   gaining   entry   to,   located   in   the   most  

densely  built-­‐up  urban  areas.  

Perhaps   more   problematically,   the   term   “exploration”   conjures   up   a   host   of  

imaginaries   pulled   from   the   cultural   baggage   the   term   carries   around;   visions   of  

colonial   expeditions,   invasions,   subjugated   populations,   disease   and   occupation  

(Johnston,   2000).   It   is   language   of   conquest.   Given   the   (I   think   mostly  

unintentional)   exclusionary   and   relatively   masculine   nature   of   the   practice  

outlined  above,  the  use  of  the  term  becomes  especially  foreboding.    

But   here   I   would   point   to   the   reappropraition   of   the   term   by   SI   (Debord,   2006a)  

who   made   aimless   urban   wandering   and   pointless   exploration   for   the   sake   of  

exploration  into  an  alternative  practice,  set  in  the  context  of  the  urban  everyday.  I  

might   also   suggest   the   writings   of   radical   geographer   Bill   Bunge   (1969)   who  

worked  with  local  communities  in  the  1960s  to  explore  areas  important  to  them  in  

the  American  Midwest.  More  recently,  the  wandering  local  narrative  of  Londoner  

Raphael  Samuel  (1994)  also  serves  to  bring  exploration  back  to  more  Dickensian  

29  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

roots,  building  narratives  from  the  ground  up  through  alternative  explorations  of  

areas   of   everyday   experience   (Harrison,   2000).   Finally,   we   might   look   to   Driver  

and   Jones   (2009)   who   have   worked   on   hidden   histories   of   exploration,   getting  

behind  the  scene  to  relocate  and  celebrate  those  individuals  who  have  been  largely  

excluded  from  those  narratives.  All  of  this  work  points  to  what  I  would  argue  is  a  

post-­‐colonial  populist  reimagining  of  exploration.    

The  explorer  and  journalist  Matthew  O’Brien,  author  of  the  book  Beneath  the  Neon:  

Life  and  Death  in  the  Tunnels  of  Las  Vegas  spent  two  years  interviewing  homeless  

people   living   in   storm   drains   under   the   city   as   he   explored   the   entirety   of   the  

system   (O'Brien,   2007).   He   now   runs   a   non-­‐profit   organization   called   Shine   a  

Light,11  devoted  to  helping  the  homeless  community  in  the  tunnels.  Urban  explorer  

Steve  Duncan  has  done  similar  work  along  with  National  Public  Radio  (NPR)  in  the  

occupied   abandoned   train   tunnels   of   New   York   (Lynden,   2011   also   see   Toth  

1993).12     And   in   Italy,   a   crew   called   the   Associazione   Brescia   Underground   have  

legitimized  their  explorations  and  now  run  formal  tours  of  the  sewer  system.13    

Although   these   projects   may   not   release   the   notion   of   “exploration”   from   that  

historical   baggage,   I   contend   that   they   do   at   least   break   up   the   epistemological  

bounding  of  the  term  enough  to  warrant  a  re-­‐assessment.  In  the  end,  when  I  asked  

“Gary”  if  he  objected  to  the  term,  he  told  me,  “call  it  whatever  you  want,  you  still  

don’t   know   what   it   is   until   you   do   it”   (“Gary”   August   2010).   “Gary”   could   not   be  

more   correct,   Crang   and   Cook   support   his   assertion   when   they   write   “there   is   a  

danger  of  reifying  categories  until  they  become  what  the  exercise  is  about”  (Crang  
                                                                                                               
11
http://www.beneaththeneon.com/shine-a-light.asp (accessed 12 November 2011).
12
http://www.npr.org/2011/01/02/132482428/into-the-tunnels-exploring-the-underside-of-nyc (accessed
12 November 2011).
13
http://www.bresciaunderground.com (accessed 12 November 2011).

30  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

and   Cook,   2007:   148).   As   a   result,   I   am   content   to   present   this   research   as   a  

scholarship   of   evocation   rather   than   definition   (Solnit,   2001),   and   to   move   into  

unpacking   the   practice   without   attempting   to   define   and   bound   it   to   a   great  

degree.   The   urban   exploration   community,   again   like   hackers,   have   “a   cultural  

sensibility   that,   in   practice,   is   under   constant   negotiation   and   reformulation   and  

replete   with   points   of   contention”   (Coleman   and   Golub,   2008:   255).   And   so,  

frustrating   as   people   may   find   it,   urban   exploration   will   remain   a   term   under  

constant  contention.  14    

 
Formally  informal  -­‐  urban  exploration  as  practice  

“Ain’t nothing to it but to do it. I say it’s time for action!”

– (Marc Explo, staring up at the Heron Tower in the City of London)
 
Recreational   trespassing   surely   extends   as   far   back   as   notions   of   spatial  

ownership,   though   many   of   those   stories   will   have   been   lost   to   time.   Troy   Paiva  

writes   “urban   exploration   is   a   pastime   as   old   as   mankind.   It’s   simply   how   we’re  

wired”  (Paiva  and  Manaugh,  2008:  9).  One  of  the  earliest  stories  urban  explorers  

like   to   recount   comes   from   1793   when   a   Frenchman   named   Philibert   Aspairt  

journeyed   by   candlelight   into   the   abandoned   quarry   system   underneath   Paris  

(colloquially,  and  erroneously,  known  as  the  Paris  Catacombs)  looking  for  a  “lost”  

wine   cellar.   His   body   was   found   11   years   later   and   a   monument   erected   to   his  

memory.  Over  100  years  after  that  event,  one  week  after  the  opening  of  the  New  

York  subway  system,  Leidschmudel  Dreispul  was  killed  by  a  train  while  exploring  

the   freshly-­‐carved   subterranean   tunnels   (Ninjalicious,   2005).   Of   course,   not   all  

tales  have  such  tragic  endings.    

                                                                                                               
14
See http://ltvsquad.com/Blog/2011/06/07/ue-just-what-the-hell-is-it-anyway for an argument by
Control of the LTV Squad in New York City against my reification of urban explorers as a group
(accessed June 16th 2011).

31  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

The  stories  of  Livy  exploring  Rome’s  Cloaca  Maxima  sewer  (Brick,  2009)  and  John  

Hollingshead’s   insistence   that   London   “sewers   have   been   fruitful   in   furnishing  

antiquarian  and  geological  discoveries”  (Hollingshead,  2009  [1862]:  453)  reveal  a  

long   history   of   fascination   with   liminal   urban   spaces   ripe   for   rediscovery.   The  

writings   of   Walt   Whitman,   Charles   Dickens   (who   first   published   Hollingshead’s  

London   sewer   explorations   in   1861),   Baudelaire   and   many   preceding   artists   and  

groups   including   the   Dadaists,   Surrealists   and   Situationists   serve   as   inspirational  

figureheads   for   contemporary   notions   of   the   practice   with   their   passion   for  

discovering  dangerous,  precarious,  incongruous  and  absurd  urban  spaces.  

 
Figure  14.  Winch  crawling  through  the  Paris  “catacombs”,  photo  by  author  
 

Facilitated   by   the   Internet,   the   first   generation   of   cohesive   urban   exploration  

groups  coalesced  in  the  1970s-­‐1990s.  These  groups  were  (and  are)  known  as  the  

Drainiacs   and   the   Cave   Clan   in   Australia,   Diggers   of   the   Underground   Planet   in  

Russia,  the  Jinx  Crew  and  LTV  Squad  in  New  York  City,  the  Cacophony  Society  in  

San   Francisco,   the   Action   Squad   in   Minneapolis,   Angels   of   the   Underground   in  

Canada,   the   Berlin   Underground   Association   in   Germany   and   various   “Cataphile”  

32  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

groups  in  Paris,  among  others.  However,  as  Winch  pointed  out  to  me  during  a  field  

interview,   “the   whole   idea   of   a   larger   urban   exploration   ‘community’   isn’t   our  

reality   anyway,   it’s   just   friends   hanging   out   with   each   other”   (Winch,   December  

2010).   This   comment   attests   to   the   importance   and   vitality   of   the   “primary   group”  

in   the   practice   –   precisely   the   reason   urban   exploration   can’t   be   studied  

adequately  from  a  distance.    

The   first   recorded   large-­‐scale   internet-­‐facilitated   urban   explorer   “meet”   was  

attended  by  about  30  individuals  in  Brooklyn  in  2002,  organized  by  the  LTV  Squad,  

a   graffiti-­‐crew-­‐turned-­‐urban-­‐explorer-­‐crew,   followed   by   an   even   larger   meet   in  

Toronto,   June   2004   where   65   people   gathered   to   go   exploring   together.   If   there  

ever   was   a   moment   when   a   global   “community”   was   formed,   certainly   the   years  

2000-­‐2005  were  a  pivotal  period.  Given  that  Ninjalicious,  the  first  person  to  pen  a  

book   on   urban   exploration,   was   also   from   Toronto,   the   largest   web   forum,   the  

Urban   Exploration   Resource,   is   run   from   there,   and   the   fact   that   the   city   has  

produced  a  steady  stream  of  internationally-­‐respected  urban  explorers,  including  

Michael   Cook   (Manaugh,   2009),   I   think   it   is   fair   to   say   that   Toronto   may   be   the  

birthplace  of  the  modern  urban  exploration  movement  (for  a  more  in-­‐depth  look  at  

the   history   of   urban   exploration,   see   Ninjalicious,   2005).   However,   despite   the  

increasing   size   and   national   eclecticity   of   these   continuing   gatherings,   many   urban  

explorers,   like   Winch,   still   maintain   that   they   are   relatively   unconcerned   about   the  

notion  of  a  cohesive  urban  explorer  community  beyond  their  group  of  friends.    

Following   from   Wershler-­‐Henry’s   assertion   that   urban   exploration   is   a  

“postmodern   version   of   Fodor’s   [travel   guide]”   (2005   quoted   in   High   and   Lewis  

2007:   42),   I   suggest   that   these   public   image   fissures   are   exactly   what   urban  

33  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

explorers   want   to   present   to   “outsiders”   despite   their   clear   sense   of   community  

that   exists   (for   instance,   my   project   participants   and   I   have   over   100   “shared”  

friends  on  Facebook,  all  urban  explorers  from  around  the  world).  Urban  explorers,  

like   computer   hacker   groups   such   as   Anonymous   (Fantz   and   Shubert,   2010),  

perfectly   understand   that   to   transgress,   to   create   a   “movement”   of   resistance,   is   to  

create   a   target   for   authority   to   bear   down   on.   The   fragmented   community   that  

urban   exploration   is,   nomadically   operating   under   aliases   and   photos   full   of  

blurred   faces,   shifting   identities   and   constantly   changing   geographic   locales  

precludes   the   possibility   of   urban   explorers   constructing   any   grand   narrative   of  

opposition.  Now  this  is  not  to  say  that  it  would  actually  be  difficult  to  unravel  the  

smokescreen,  it’s  admittedly  a  pretty  thin  ruse  (see  chapter  6)  and  perhaps  this  is  

where   Wershler-­‐Henry’s   accusation   really   hits   home.   Urban   explorers   take   these  

precautions  less,  I  think,  because  of  fear  of  persecution  and  more  as  a  by-­‐product  

of  postmodern  obsessions  with  being  “beyond”  labels.  It  is  also,  in  a  way,  a  cop  out  

for   having   to   articulate   their   motivations   for   what   is,   in   the   end,   a   largely   selfish  

pursuit.    

Explorers   clearly   enjoy   the   image   of   the   urban   explorer   as   miscreant   or   vandal  

masked   up   and   sneaking   into   the   city   during   the   early   hours,   shatter   illusions   of  

security   by   demonstrating   that   these   artifices   can   be   breached   by   a   group   of   20  

and  30-­‐year  olds  after  work  every  night  (Osborn,  2011),  even  as  graffiti  artist,  for  

instance,   “clown”   the   practice   as   being   pointless,   suggesting   explorers   “go   places  

and  do  nothing”.15     Although  the  images  urban  explorers  produce,  including  those  

in   this   thesis,   can   appear   almost   menacing,   in   reality,   there   is   nothing   very  

alarming   about   urban   exploration,   it   is   certainly   more   quirky   than   threatening.  

                                                                                                               
15
http://thisismycostume.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/urban (accessed 6th January 2011).

34  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Exploring  places  rarely  leaves  the  city  vulnerable,  what  the  practice  does  challenge  

is   the   underlying   message   of   constant   and   immanent   threat   promised   by   late  

capitalism   used   to   codify   the   urban   environment   for   our   “safety”   and   restrict   the  

range  of  acceptable  activities.  Exploration  of  “secure”  sites  reveals  this  spectacle  to  

be,   similar   to   explorers’   public   image,   a   smokescreen.   As   an   anti-­‐spectacle   (Pinder,  

2000),   I   would   venture   to   guess   that   most   explorers   hope   that   their   narrative   is  

found  to  be  the  more  tantalising  option  and  pulls  people  away  from  the  mall  and  

television   screen   (I   will   return   to   this   notion   of   anti-­‐spectacle   in   chapter   4).   In   this  

way,   urban   explorers   undermine   “clean”   narratives.   While   urban   exploration   is  

clearly  not  something  many  people  might  want  to  be  involved  with,  most  explorers  

appreciate  and  often  take  part  in  other  urban  subversions  like  graffiti,  parkour  and  

skateboarding  and  expect  reciprocal  respect  on  some  level.  

Urban  exploration,  in  its  entanglements  with  urban  history,  is  similarly  organized  

to   undermine   any   grand   narrative   in   relation   to   encounters   with   the   past   (see  

Chapter   3   and   Garrett,   2011a).   The   movement,   importantly,   seeks   to   re-­‐localize  

experience,   to   make   memory,   community   and   friendship   personal   (created   and  

maintained   within   the   primary   group)   in   instances   where   it   is   felt   these  

relationships   have   been   eroded,   though   it   is   important   to   note,   again,   that   urban  

explorer’s  response  to  this  situation  is  not  to  blame  the  system  but  to  do  what  they  

wish,  regardless  of  the  system.    

On   the   website   of   Dsankt,   one   of   the   most   well-­‐known   urban   explorers   in   the  

world,   the   bar   at   the   bottom   of   the   page   that   would   normally   say   something   to   the  

effect  of  “Don’t  try  this  at  home”  instead  says  “Disclaimer?  There  is  none,  do  as  you  

35  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

wish.  Climb  bridges,  run  the  subways,  play  in  sewage,  go  in  drains.”  16  The  message  

behind  the  disclaimer  is  clear  –  no  one  is  stopping  you  from  doing  this  but  yourself.  

And  perhaps  this  is  where  the  postmodern  fractures  between  preceding  connected  

practices  become  more  evident.  Unlike,  for  instance,  the  SI,  urban  explorers  aren’t  

calling  for  a  revolution,  they  just  want  to  inspire  an  awakening  that  will  encourage  

people  to  viscerally  engage  with  the  world,  in  whatever  way  strikes  them,  as  most  

people  did  when  they  were  children,  to  contribute  to  the  creation  of  a  more  ludic  

city  (Stevens,  2007).      

Perhaps   the   most   striking   distinction   between   the   SI   or   praxes   rooted   in   Marxist  

thought  is  that  urban  explorers  clearly  enjoy  capital  materialism  for  its  inevitable  

surplus   and   superfluous   nature   (Doel,   2009).   Where   Marxist   scholars   and  

practitioners  in  particular  work  “against  the  forces  of  development”  (Pinder,  2000:  

368),   urban   subversionists   such   as   traceurs   and   traceuse   (parkour   practitioners)  

(Mould,   2009),   street   artists   (Dickens,   2010),   base   jumpers   and   urban   explorers  

work  within  the  spectacle  (since  there  is  no  longer  an  “outside”  of  the  spectacle),  

playfully   entangling,   unravelling   and   enjoying   the   products   of   capital   in   new   and  

novel   ways.   As   the   explorer   Spungletrumpet   said   to   me,   “[urban   exploration]   can't  

possibly   be   over   until   they   stop   building   stuff”   (Spungletrumpet,   July   2010).   These  

playful  infiltrations  are  then,  many  times,  put  on  public  display  to  the  dismay  and  

sometimes   embarrassment   of   developers,   as   when   recently   explorers   snuck   into  

the   under-­‐construction   London   2012   Olympic   stadium   by   cover   of   darkness,  

photographed  it,  and  posted  it  online,  resulting  in  an  internal  security  uproar  even  

                                                                                                               
16
http://www.sleepycity.net (accessed 1st December 2010).

36  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

as   the   public   found   it   quite   amusing   to   see   the   barriers   of   that   seemingly  

impenetrable  monolith  to  nationalism  and  “security”  breached  on  explorer  blogs.17  

Unlike   political   movements   built   in   resistance   to   capitalism,   urban   exploration   is  

not  an  attempt  to  build  a  “new”  grand  narrative  of  resistance  but  to  subversively  

reimagine  what  already  exists,  undermining  to  some  extent,  but  more  importantly  

complicating,   urban   identity   and   imagination   though   a   playful   exchange   with  

waste   and   excess   (Hawkins   and   Muecke,   2003).   Graffiti   writers,   like   urban  

explorers,   do   not   tend   to   get   involved   in   discussions   about   what   should   be  

preserved,   regulated   and/or   constructed,   they   simply   assert   that   “everywhere   is  

free  space”  (Cresswell,  1996:  47).    

One  of  these  archetypal  “free  spaces”  (re)located  by  explorers  is,  as  Tim  Edensor  

has   written   about   extensively   (Edensor,   2005c,   Edensor,   2005a,   Edensor,   2005b,  

Edensor,   2007),   derelict   space   where,   once   past   a   many   times   well-­‐secured  

boundary   zone,   freedom   of   expression   is   relatively   unregulated   by   social  

expectations.   For   an   example   of   this,   I   turn   to   an   excerpt   from   my   ethnographic  

field   notes,   when   I   accompanied   Hydra   on   an   exploration   of   Battersea   Power  

Station,  our  first  time  into  a  site  which  has  since  become  a  place  of  serial  trespass  

in  London,  

We   were   hiding   in   the   bushes,   covered   in   mud,   watching   the   security  

patrol   walk   past   on   their   rounds.   I   could   hear   the   gravel   crunching  
under  their  boots  and  their  conversation  about  a  football  match.  Beyond  
them,  Battersea  Power  Station  sat  empty  with  its  beautifully  grim  brick  
walls   and   creamy   smoke   stacks   jutting   into   the   slow   clouds.   Security  
turned   the   corner   and   without   a   word   we   ran,   crouched   low.   Over   the  
fences  we  went,  two  to  get  into  the  courtyard,  one  more  to  get  into  the  
walkway   entrance.   The   last   fence   was   broken   and   made   an   incredible  
amount   of   noise   as   we   tried   to   get   over   it.   We   held   the   fence   for   each  

                                                                                                               
17
http://www.silentuk.com/?p=1216 [accessed 3rd December 2010).

37  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

other,   sweating   and   shaking,   got   over   quickly   (if   not   quietly)   and   ran  
into  the  roofless  central  hall,  falling  into  the  grass,  trying  to  suppress  our  
laughter  and  excitement.    
 
Lying   there,   catching   our   breath,   staring   up   at   the   massive   chimneys   we  
would   soon   climb,   inside   one   of   the   most   iconic   (yet   derelict)   sites   of  
London,  I  felt  an  immense  sense  of  freedom.  Hydra  turned  to  me  and  said  
“should  we  go  see  what  else  we  can  find  in  here?”  and  I  felt  the  tension  
release   from   my   shoulders.   I   knew   that   I   was   in   love   with   this,   I   never  
want  this  feeling  to  leave  me  (Field  notes,  May  2009,  Battersea  Power  
Station,  London,  UK).    
 

 
Figure  15.  Silent  Motion  on  a  Battersea  Power  Station  chimney,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

Battersea  Power  Station,  along  with  Millennium  Mills,  are  considered  by  the  urban  

exploration  community  to  be  the  last  great  industrial  ruins  of  London  and,  as  such,  

have   taken   on   an   almost   mythological   status.   When   explorers   from   other   cities  

visited   our   crew   in   London,   both   of   these   places   were   usually   on   the   “list   of  

attractions”.  However,  the  stories  I  will  tell  of  my  time  with  the  Consolidation  Crew  

will  reveal  a  world  that  goes  far  beyond  the  “ruin  exploration”  depicted  in  almost  

all   contemporary   writing   about   urban   exploration   (Rapp,   2010,   McRae,   2008,  

Lipman,   2004,   Douglas-­‐Jones,   Harris,   2010,   Deyo   and   Leibowitz,   Edensor,   2005b,  

38  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

High   and   Lewis,   2007,   Trigg,   2006,   Dobraszczyk,   2010,   Garrett,   2010a)   and   goes  

into  the  city  (quite  literally)  in  ways  which  the  reader  may  find  terrifying  as  well  as  

inspiring.   I   will   argue   that   this   worked   to   bring   urban   exploration   back   to   its   roots  

in  live  infiltration  (Ninjalicious,  2005)  and  hacking.  

As   the   reader   may   have   surmised   by   this   point,   this   thesis   will   offer   no   easy  

narrative   or   central   defining   theory.   Like   the   practice   of   urban   exploration   itself,  

the  research  sidesteps  being  easily  labelled  as  explicitly  “qualitative”,  “Marxist”  or  

even   “ethnographic”,   because   real   life   practices   can’t   be   delineated   according   to  

singular   ontological   characterisations.   Additionally,   in   an   ethnography   driven   by  

multiple   individuals   in   varying   circumstances,   making   a   claim   to   a   central  

theoretical   motivation   or   principle   would   ultimately   prove   facile   and   likely  

frustrate  the  people  who  have  invested  in  me  to  convey  these  stories  in  their  full  

depth.    

If   anything,   the   research   has   been   more   method   driven   than   theory   driven   and   I  

may,  as  a  result,  rely  too  heavily  of  those  visual  methods  utilized  (see  chapter  2)  in  

an   effort   to   stay   “close”   to   my   participants   who   also   rely   heavily   on   those   visual  

skills   as   a   way   of   communicating   experiences   which   are   largely   inarticulable.  

Despite   my   necessary   criticisms   and   challenges   to   the   community,   I,   in   the   end,  

learned  far  more  from  my  project  participants  than  I  ever  could  have  imagined.  I  

certainly  didn’t  do  the  ethnography  I  set  out  to  do  and,  in  the  end,  my  ethnographic  

method   was   defined   not   as   researcher/subject   but   through   the   eyes   of   friendships  

only  forged  through  deeply  shared  experiences  over  long  periods  of  time.    

39  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

In   the   next   chapter,   I   turn   to   my   methods   to   discuss   the   ways   in   which   they  

succeeded   and   failed,   preparing   us   for   the   tales   of   urban   exploration   that   will   be  

unveiled   through   the   rest   of   the   thesis.   In   chapter   3,   we   will   turn   to   look   at   the  

departure   point   for   most   urban   exploration   –   that   of   ruin   exploration   –   to   think  

about   the   ways   in   which   the   practice   encourages   complex   temporal   emotional  

entanglements   in   places   (building   on   the   groundbreaking   work   of   Edensor,  

2005b).  In  chapter  4  we  will  look  at  the  ways  in  which  my  work  with  “Team  B”  and  

the  “London  Consolidation  Crew”  increasingly  turned  to  infrastructural  infiltration,  

thinking   about   how   explorations   of   the   vertical   and   hidden   city   through   calculated  

risk   taking   “edgework”   in   the   practice   work   to   change   perceptions   about   what  

constitutes   the   city.   In   chapter   5,   I   will   discuss   embodied   experiences   of  

exploration,  yearnings  to  play  with  emotions  and  desires  in  unlikely  places  to  tap  

into   the   sensory   surreal.   In   the   final   chapter,   I   will   discuss   the   ways   in   which   all   of  

these   aspect   of   the   practice   are   coalescing   into   a   deepening   spatial   politic   that   is  

receiving   increasing   attention   and   make   some   predictions   about   the   future   of  

urban  exploration,  including  the  wider  implications  I  think  its  emergence,  growth  

and   inevitable   continued   fracturisation   have   for   reconfiguring   (especially   urban)  

geographical  theory  and  endeavour.    

40  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  16.  "Gary"  at  Spillers  Millennium  Mills,  London,  photo  by  author  

41  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Chapter  2  –  Methodological  frameworks  

Doing  visual  (auto)ethnography  

“There is only one way to understand another culture. Living it.”

– (Høeg, 2005: 169 italics original).
 
Over  the  past  three  years,  I  have  conducted  a  deep  ethnography  with  the  London  

urban   exploration   community   through   a   variation   of   snowball   sampling   or  

respondent-­‐driven   sampling   (Salganik   and   Heckathorn,   2004,   Cassell,   1988,   see  

Appendix   A),   building   a   research   group   that   now   includes   over   100   project  

participants.   My   primary   ethnographic   group   was   “London   Team   B”,   a   group   of  

about  a  dozen  explorers,  one  of  the  most  active  in  the  city  between  2008  and  2011  

and  part  of  what  might  be  considered  the  2nd  generation  of  the  London  exploration  

“scene”,   though   it’s   important   to   keep   in   mind   I   largely   label   the   group   for  

analytical  convenience,  group  formation  and  continued  involvement  was  and  is,  for  

the  most  part,  constantly  in  flux.      

 
Ethnography,  as  practiced  by  most  geographers  (Western,  1997,  McDowell,  1997,  

Laurier,   2010,   Butler,   2003,   Degen   and   Desilvey,   2008),   often   has   more   brief    

“ethnographic   contact”   components,   with   most   of   the   work   residing   in   detailed  

analysis   of   the   records   created   during   those   encounters.   As   Söderström   (2010)  

writes,  this  may  have  to  do  with  the  intense  development  of  spatial  analysis  within  

geography   from   the   1950s   to   1970s.   Söderström   explains   that   David   Ley,   when   he  

proposed  to  do  fieldwork  in  inner-­‐city  Philadelphia  in  the  1970s  (Ley,  1974),  had  a  

very   hard   time   convincing   faculty   members   in   the   department   of   the   need   to   go  

“out  there”.  This  tendency  toward  “virtual”  fieldwork  has  of  course  been  assisted  

by  the  rapid  growth  of  the  Internet.  

42  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  17.  The  author  with  Team  B,  early  2010,  Temple  Court,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

Many   geographic   ethnography   projects   are   driven   by   a   range   of   “qualitative  

methods”  including,  on  a  broad  scale,  “data  collection”  (Rowles  and  Watkins,  1993:  

517)   and   “field   visits”,   down   to   “large   scale   questionnaire   survey[s]   and   “nested  

hierarchical  sampling  method[s]”  (McDowell,  1998:  2136).  These  studies  were  and  

are  valuable.  However,  while  this  sort  of  work  utilizes  ethnographic  methods,  the  

researchers  often  retain  an  “outsider”  status  and  do  not  usually  gives  direct  voice  

or   editorial   control   to   the   researched.   More   qualitative   ethnographic   work   has  

been  done  within  geography  which  has  attempting  to  “go  deeper”  by  Sibley  (1981)  

working  with  Gypsies,  Western  (1997)  working  in  apartheid  Cape  Town  and  Parr  

(2000)  doing  covert  work  about  treatment  of  the  mentally  ill  in  Nottingham.  These  

were  inspirational  case  studies.    

43  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

The   work   Mike   Crang   conducted   with   historical   re-­‐enactors   and   Ian   Cook   in   his  

research   on   a   Papaya   farm   (Crang   and   Cook,   2007)   were   also   important   templates  

for   my   research.   In   both   cases,   Crang   and   Cook   were   both   observers   and  

participants.  Additionally,  the  ethnographic  work  of  Sarah  Cant  on  caving  culture,  

where  she  participated  on  a  number  of  trips  and  gave  project  participants  plenty  of  

“speaking   space”   (Cant,   2003)   was   also   an   inspiration   and   this   project   builds   on  

that  tradition  of  “deep  ethnography”  within  the  discipline.  I  have  spend  the  better  

part  of  three  years  living  and  working  with  my  project  participants  on  an  almost  

daily   basis   and   co-­‐authoring   popular   work   with   them   (see   video   10   –   Crack   the  

Surface  and  video  8  –  Sewer  Skank)  which  has  received  international  recognition.  18  

I   also   gave   them   editorial   control   over   my   representations   of   them   in   this  

document   (and   related   publications)   as   much   as   possible   without   giving   up   my  

own  voice.  

The   goal   of   this   project   was   to   push   geographic   ethnography   even   further,   to   do  

what   futurist   Justin   Pickard   has   referred   to   as   “Gonzo   ethnography”   where   the  

ethnographer   groks   the   subject;   comprehending   (relating   intellectually)  

apprehending   (relating   emotionally   and   spiritually)   the   quiddity,   essence,   and  

being  of  a  thing,  event  or  being.19  I  sought  to  completely  collapse  my  identity  into  

the   group,   to   become   the   researched   as   sociologist   Elijah   Anderson   did   at   Jelly’s  

Bar   in   Our   Place   on   the   Corner   (Anderson,   1976),   to   write   from   a   life   of   direct  

experience   as   Applebaum   (1981)   has   in   the   context   of   the   social   lives   of  

construction   workers.   In   these   instances   the   ethnographer   goes   beyond   the  

participant/observer  relationship  to  becoming  an  active  producer  and  reproducer  

                                                                                                               
18
We also undertook collaborative blog postings such as
http://www.placehacking.co.uk/2011/04/24/security-breach-london-mail-rail (accessed 15th July 2011)
19
Justin Pickard’s blog can be found at http://justinpickard.net (accessed 15th July 2011).

44  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

of   the   culture   under   study.   In   effect,   over   the   course   of   my   research   I   rendered  

myself   invisible   in   the   study   group   as   a   researcher,   regardless   of   my   constant  

assertions   I   was   “writing   a   book”   or   “making   a   film”   about   “us”.   At   the   same   time,   I  

tried  to  keep  in  frame  my  autoethnographic  or  “reflexive”  (Cant  and  Sharma,  1998)  

role,  aware  of  the  points  at  which  I  was  perhaps  overstepping.  Of  course,  fieldwork  

never   goes   that   smoothly   and   those   vulnerable   moments   that   bear   the   reality  

behind  research  this  deep  are,  I  hope,  embarrassingly  evident.    

 
Figure  18.  Statler,  "Gary"  and  the  author  at  the  Soviet  base  Vogelsang,  Germany,  photo  by  Winch  
 
This   project,   in   the   end,   takes   a   significant   ethnographic   lead   from   the   Chicago  

School  of  Sociology.  As  Elijah  Anderson  writes  “At  the  University  of  Chicago  in  the  

1920s  and  1930s,  Robert  E.  Park  encouraged  his  students  to  ‘get  their  hands  dirty  

in  real  research’  by  engaging  in  fieldwork  among  taxi  dancers,  hotel  clerks,  youth  

gangs,   the   residents   of   ‘immigrant   colonies’,   hobos,   and   the   well-­‐to-­‐do”   (Anderson,  

2009b:   371).   The   work   of   the   Chicago   School   (and   the   2nd   Chicago   school,   post  

World   War   II,   of   which   Anderson   is   a   part)   redefined   what   “deep   ethnography”  

45  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

which   accumulates   a   store   of   “local   knowledge”   (Geertz,   1983)   looked   like.  

Sometimes,   as   in   Agar’s   1973   study   of   Heroin   Addicts   (Agar,   1973)   it   looks  

frightening   or   illegal.   Sometimes,   it   just   looked   boring   (if   necessary)   (Schneider,  

1980).   What   it   always   strove   to   be   though   was   an   indissoluble   fusion   of   the  

researcher   and   the   researched   (for   a   fantastic   collection   of   urban   ethnography  

from  the  "new"  Chicago  School  see  Anderson,  2009a).  This  research  is  a  reminder  

of  the  continued  importance  for  researchers  to  “get  their  hands  dirty”.20  

In   terms   of   methodological   technicalities,   many   of   these   earlier   ethnographic  

projects   use   one   “method”   of   recording,   usually   text,   video   or   audio.   Video   and  

audio,   where   they   are   used,   are   most   often   transcribed   into   text.   Visual  

ethnographer   Sarah   Pink   defines   ethnography   as   “an   approach   to   experiencing,  

interpreting   and   representing   culture”   (Pink,   2007:   18),   making   every  

ethnography   an   autoethnography   to   an   extent.   Through   my   shared   experiences  

with   this   group,   I   have   also   myself   become   an   urban   explorer,   now   socially  

embedded   in   this   transnational   enthusiasm   focused   on   exploring   and   recording  

informal   spaces   (Hudson,   2010),   derelict   places   (Edensor,   2005b)   and   hidden  

infrastructure  (Graham  and  Marvin,  2001).  As  a  result,  I  am  implicated  everywhere  

in  this  work.  As  Pamela  Shurmer-­‐Smith  notes,  “ethnographic  work  should  change  

the   researcher”   (Bennett   and   Shurmer-­‐Smith,   2001:   260)   and   there   is   no   doubt   I  

am  not  the  person  I  was  when  I  began  this  research.  By  the  end  of  the  thesis,  as  you  

will  see,  the  UK  urban  exploration  community  would  also  never  be  the  same  after  

what  we  did  as  a  group  and  my  need  to  publish  our  work  together  was  a  point  of  

contention  more  than  once.  

                                                                                                               
20
In terms of experimental ethnography, a post on the Anthropology blog Savage Minds posited that the
HBO Series The Wire was the best modern ethnographic text in the United States today:
http://savageminds.org/2008/02/25/is-the-wire-our-best-ethnographic-text-on-the-us-today (accessed 16th
June 2011).

46  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

As  I  have  shown  in  this  section,  although  ethnography  is  a  recognized  methodology  

in  geography,  sociology  and  anthropology,  the  ways  in  which  we  do  ethnographies  

may   vary   greatly   (Crang   and   Cook,   2007).   Focussing   in   now,   I   will   suggest  

conceptualizing  the  following  section  at  the  intersection  between  what  Crang  and  

Cook   (2007:   167)   term   “autoethnography”   and   what   Sarah   Pink   calls   “video  

ethnography”.  This  thesis  is  therefore,  maybe  slightly  more  broadly,  a  multimedia  

autoethnography.      

 
 
Autoethnography  

Although   the   term   autoethnography   invokes   almost   reflexive   fears   of   solipsism  

(Pile   and   Thrift,   1995),   I   feel   it   necessary   to,   at   least   minimally,   render   my  

positionality   transparent   as   a   component   of   my   method,   given   that   my   research   is,  

at   least   potentially,   about   a   spatial   politic.   But   my   need   to   recognize   my   own  

political,  cultural,  social,  ontological  and  epistemological  foundations  also  extends  

to   my   blatant   recognition   that   I,   though   the   course   of   my   ethnography,   became  

invested  in  this  community  and  intentionally  threaded  myself  into  the  practice  as  a  

subcultural  producer  and  promoter.  More  to  the  point,  I  am  complicit  in  assisting  

Team   B’s   rise   to   international   recognition,   primarily   through   my   website  

www.placehacking.co.uk   and   secondarily   through   documentary   film   production  

(Garrett,   2010a)   and   academic   publications   such   as   articles   in   academic   journals  

(Garrett,  2010a,  Garrett,  2011a,  Garrett,  2011b,  Garrett,  2011c).    

In  short,  I  went  native.  What  I  am  going  to  argue  is  that  there  is  value  in  that.  Doing  

an   ethnography   of   a   subculture   or   a   culture   close   to   the   researchers,   especially  

speaking   the   same   language,   allows   one   to   perhaps   do   a   “deeper”   ethnography  

47  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

with   the   counterbalanced   loss   of   some   potential   objectivity   or   etic   perspective  

(Harris,  1976).  I  contend  that  the  ethnographic  (im)balance  I  was  able  to  achieve  

on   this   project   had   more   strengths   than   weaknesses.   As   I   will   show,   my  

background   was   similar   enough   that   I   was   able   to   gain   acceptance   into   a   very  

closed   community   and   different   enough   that   they   found   my   presence   there  

interesting   and   (I   am   sure   at   times   also   amusing)   as   a   “foreigner”   and   public  

provocateur.   Given   that   ethnographies   are   “as   much   about   the   culture   of   the  

student  as  they  are  of  the  studied”  (Herbert,  2000:  563),  I  think  it  is  important  to  

briefly  outline  my  background.    

   

I   grew   up   in   Southern   California   in   a   violent   (at   the   time)   desert   suburb   of   Los  

Angeles   on   the   cusp   of   gentrification.   My   childhood   was   filled   with   subversive  

activities  including  skateboarding,  building  illegal  low-­‐rider  vehicles  and  running  a  

video   game   pirating   business.   I   came   from   a   middle   class   family   (in   an   American  

sense)  with  English  and  German  origins  wealthy  enough  to  allow  for  these  hobbies  

and   pastimes   but   not   wealthy   enough   to   pay   for   college   in   full.   At   19,   I   opened   a  

skateboard  shop  in  Riverside,  California,  which  I  then  sold  to  my  partner  two  years  

later  to  begin  my  university  education.  

While   my   background   was   similar   to   many   of   the   explorers   I   would   eventually  

meet,  I  knew  nothing  about  urban  exploration  when  I  began  my  PhD  in  2008.  My  

position  as  a  PhD  student  was  an  anomaly  in  the  community  and  my  lack  of  what  

was   seen   as   “gainful   employment”   earned   me   much   ridicule   from   explorers   who  

told   me   I   was   “scamming   the   system”.   Otter   went   so   far   as   to   say   I   was   “wasting  

our  fucking  taxes  on  bullshit  writing”  (Otter,  January  2011).  Marc  Explo  once  also  

told   me   that   “I   might   as   well   be   on   welfare   since   I   don’t   have   a   real   job”   (Marc  

48  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Explo,   September   2010).   My   best   defence   was   claiming   an   active   complacency   in  

the  “scam”  I  was  running  on  the  system  –  essentially  I  was  the  only  person  being  

paid  to  explore.  I  was  both  respected  and  resented  for  this.  

The   problems   in   becoming   an   “insider”   were   rife   from   the   beginning.   I   came   to   the  

community   as   a   filmmaker   (after   doing   viewer-­‐created   content   work   for   Current  

TV  in  San  Francisco)  with  no  experience  in  photography,  the  primary  medium  of  

the  practice.  This  was  initially  treated  with  great  suspicion.  I  began  on  the  world’s  

largest  web  forum,  UER,21  by  posting  the  following  message:  

I   am   a   filmmaker   and   PhD   student   in   London   looking   for   urban  

explorers,   adventurers   and   infiltrators   to   go   for   some   crawls   through  
derelict  spots  in  London.  
 
I  have  a  spot  we  can  explore,  but  I  will  come  to  you  anywhere  the  Tube  
[London  Underground]  goes.  I  would  prefer  groups  of  two  or  more  going  
out  before  Dec.  8th.  I  will  be  back  again  Jan  1st  if  that  does  not  work.  
 
Basically  I  want  to  get  footage  of  exploration  and  do  some  'in  the  field'  
ethnographic  interviews  about  the  motivation  to  explore  in  the  city.  
 
Participation  will  get  you:  
 
1.  On  TV  where  10  million  viewers  will  learn  about  what  you  do  
2.  In  an  article  for  the  journal  Geography  Compass  
3.  Talked  about  at  conferences  all  over  the  world  
4.   In   my   Ph.D.   dissertation   with   some   props   for   being   cool   enough   to  
invite  a  noob  
5.  An  insiders  look  at  my  favorite  location  in  Wandsworth  (pictured)  
5.  To  help  me  advance  my  career  and  inflate  my  ego  
 
If   you   are   interested,   email   me   at   [email protected]   and   I   will   give  
you  more  details.22  
 
The   response   was   incredulous.   Alias   wrote   back   “your   location   in   Wandsworth  

looks  awfull.  I  will  do  the  documentary  if  u  show  me  a  photo  of  you  stood  on  top  of  

Battersea   Power   station.”   Siologen   then   responded   by   saying   “Given   theres   just  
                                                                                                               
21
http://www.uer.ca (accessed 19 July 2011).
22
This message was posted on 17th Nov 2008. The thread can be viewed at
http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthread_archive.asp?fid=1&threadid=61723&currpage=1&pp#post18
(accessed 19 July 2011).

49  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

been  two  articles  portraying  exploration  and  draining  a  negative  light  on  the  BBC,  

this   seems   kinda   sus   [suspect].”   Jondoe   wrote   back   “Point   1.   of   the   Participation  

will   get   you   list   is   more   likely   to   discourage.   I'm   sure   someone   will   offer   a   hand  

though  .  .  .  :/”  and  finally  Otter,  one  of  my  primary  project  participants  two  years  

later,  wrote  back  with  a  scathing  “Jesus  talk  about  a  guy  who  clearly  HASNT  done  

his  research”.  

 
Figure  19.  Kops  brewery,  the  first  location  the  author  explored  in  the  city,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
I   now   realise   that   this   vetting   process   of   “trolling”   new   forum   members   and  

potential  exploring  partners  (noobs)  is  an  important  part  of  culling  those  who  are  

not   wholly   committed   or   who   may   portray   the   community   in   a   negative   light,  

therefore   irreparably   damaging   the   credibility   of   whoever   invited   them   in   the   first  

place  and  potentially  exposing  the  dirty  secrets  of  a  community  built  on  exposing  

secrets,   an   embarrassing   irony.   However,   as   Coleman   and   Golub   (2008)   write  

50  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

about  underground  hacker  communities,  though  they  may  difficult  to  enter,  once  

you   are   offered   friendship   you   are   quickly   taken   in,   shown   secrets,   supported  

(even  when  wrong)  and  not  expected  to  leave.  In  many  ways,  the  organisation  of  

urban  explorer  groups  mirrors  hackers  which  “mirror  those  of  street  gangs,  where  

the  talk  is  of  respect,  attacks,  who  can  be  trusted,  who  the  enemies  are  (usually  law  

enforcement   and   rival   gangs),   whose   ground   belongs   to   who,   and   who   has  

accomplished  what”  (Arthur  and  Halliday,  2011:  np).  

Alias   wrote   me   back   in   a   private   message   later   with   a   note   that   said   “sorry   for  

being  a  cunt  on  the  forums,  but  I  have  a  reputation  to  maintain  you  know”  (Alias,  

November   2008,   via   private   message).   What   may   at   a   glance   appear   to   be   a  

community  of  ego-­‐driven  “keyboard  warriors”  is  actually,  like  most  things  in  urban  

exploration,  a  smoke  screen.  Behind  those  forums,  there  are  groups  of  very  close  

friends   who   are   barraged   almost   weekly   by   media   and   students   looking   to   do  

projects   on   “UrbEx”   as   well   as   police   and   security   posing   as   explorers   to   gather  

information  and  get  access  details  to  locations  so  they  can  be  sealed.  I  have  found  

myself,  three  years  after  posting  that  first  message,  reacting  in  much  the  same  way  

they   did,   amidst   a   constant   barrage   of   various   media   requests   with   a   heavily  

moralised  edge  and  daily  hits  on  my  blog  from  the  British  Transport  Police  –  again  

pointing   to   the   importance,   and   indeed   necessity,   of   insider   knowledge   and  

connections  in  this  research.    

 
 
Visual  ethnography  for  a  visual  culture  

When  I  initially  approached  the  community  offering  to  do  video  work,  I  thought  it  

would  be  seen  as  a  valuable  addition  to  the  photography  work  already  taking  place  

in   the   community.   When   people   in   the   community   made   it   clear   they   were   not  

51  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

comfortable  being  filmed  (especially  with  me  filming  access  details  to  locations),  I  

decided  to  purchase  a  still  camera  so  that  I  could  better  blend  and  at  least  get  some  

photos  for  the  thesis  –  I  settled  on  a  Nikon  D90  DSLR.  With  camera  in  hand,  I  began  

getting   invitations   to   come   out   and   many   of   my   project   participants,   after   seeing  

my   enthusiasm   for   video   as   well   as   photography   (I   eventually   carried   both  

cameras)  not  only  got  excited  about  my  video  production,  they  used  my  equipment  

(and  their  own)  to  take  over  the  production.  In  the  end,  I  unexpectedly  undertook  

a  wide  visual  ethnography,  using  two  still  cameras,  four  video  cameras  and  various  

types  of  note  taking.      

 
Figure  20.  My  equipment  for  fieldwork  during  road  trips,  photo  by  author  
 

While   my   project   participants   taught   me   the   art   of   photography,   they   also   often  

commented  that  I  was  not  photographing  the  same  things  as  them.  LutEx  informed  

me  that  I  was  “always  taking  pictures  of  people  taking  pictures”  (LutEx  2009)  and  

Silent  Motion  told  me  “I  respect  your  photographs  because  they  are  of  us  actually  

52  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

doing  exploration”  (July  2010).  As  Cook  and  Crang  (2007:  112)  write  in  relation  to  

the   work   of   anthropologist   Sol   Worth   “film   (and   photography)   is   not   so   much  

about  what  is  ‘out  there’  and  what  is  ‘in  here’”  (Worth,  1981)  and  while  my  project  

participants  exhibited  carefully  staged  photographs  of  themselves,  I  attempted  to    

reveal   motivations   and   involvement   in   addition   well   as   carefully   staged  

experiential  representations.    

 
Figure  21.  Camera  nerds:  Vanishing  Days,  Marc  Explo  and  author,  Hawkhurst  Mansion,  Kent,  photo  
by  author  
 

While   I   eventually   did   begin   taking   more   “traditional”   exploration   photos  

consisting   of   long   exposures   on   manual   settings,   posed   backlit   people   shots   and  

decaying   architecture,   a   difference   in   my   photographic   practice   always   remained  

which   sometimes   reminded   participants   I   was   documenting   them   as   well   as   the  

places  we  visited.  As  an  example,  to  return  to  the  end  of  our  2-­‐week  road  trip  to  

Poland,   Winch,   Statler,   “Gary”   and   myself   found   ourselves   perched   over   a  

ventilation   shaft   with   a   straight   30   meter   drop   in   Antwerp,   Belgium   at   3am  

53  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

securing  ropes  to  abseil  into  the  never-­‐completed  Antwerp  metro  system.  Winch,  

as   he   was   threading   loops   and   clipping   carabineers,   looked   straight   at   me   and   said  

“will  you  put  down  that  camera  and  help  us  with  these  ropes  mate?”  Never  had  my  

outsider  status  been  so  evident  while  acting  as  an  ethnographic  photographer.    

 
Figure  22.  "Gary"  and  Winch  tying  off  ropes  to  drop  into  the  Pre-­‐metro,  Antwerp,  photo  by  author  
 
Despite  my  preference  for  video,  I  cannot  underemphasize  the  importance  of  the  

role   photography   played   on   this   project.   I  took   over   12,000   photographs   as   part   of  

the  research.  As  a  result  of  my  project  participants  teaching  me  photography  over  

the   course   of   my   PhD,   I   am   able   to   pull   from   multiple   media   for   recall,   video   for  

images   and   audio   as   well   as   field   notes   for   thoughts   while   shooting,   creating   a  

multimodal,  multisensual,  multimedia  ethnography  (Herbert,  2000:  563)  intended  

to  integrate  more  of  the  embodied  experience  of  the  research  process  into  the  final  

product.   The   project   also,   unintentionally,   became   a   participatory   video   project.  

Although   I   am   reluctant   to   call   this   a   “visual   ethnography”,   I   felt   compelled   to  

create   a   document   constructed   of   text,   photos   and   video   because   that   is   a  

54  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

reflection  of  what  this  ethnography  has  been  from  beginning  to  end.  Given  that  the  

form  of  this  thesis  is  somewhat  unique,  I  would  like  to,  in  the  rest  of  this  section,  

put  forth  my  argument  for  the  value  multimedia  ethnography.  

Geography’s   relationship   with   the   visual   (to   begin,   see   Driver,   2003,   Rose,   2003,  

Rogoff,   2000)   is   something   that   has   been   written   about   at   great   length   in   other  

places  and  through  one  turn  or  another,  despite  apparent  fears  of  ocular-­‐centrism  

(Macpherson,   2005)   photography   has   become   an   accepted,   if   not   yet   celebrated,  

geographic   method.   Photography   is   now   practiced   in   numerous   forms   including  

photography   as   experiential   record,   participant   portrait   photography,  

architectural   photography,   archival   analysis   and   photo   elicitation,   with  

geographers   showing   little   reluctance   to   become   photographers   in   the   course   of  

work   on   their   projects.   But   even   “visual   geographers”   seem   to   harbour   some  

reservations   about   photography’s   ability   to   be   singularly   situated   as   a   method,  

usually   viewing   it   as   supplementary   to   text.   This   thesis,   though   it   is   primarily   a  

textual   document,   is   comprised   of   photographs   and   video   as   well,   as   I   feel   they  

each  tell  components  of  this  story  in  unique  and  complimentary  ways.    

Rose,   perhaps   the   most   well-­‐known   visual   geographer,   has   written   that   even  if   we  

choose   to   use   visual   methods   in   our   work,   text   must   be   our   primary   medium  

(Rose,  2001:  250).  This  argument  has  also  been  made  by  anthropologists  who  see  

text   as   necessary   to   “elucidate”   videographic   production   (Hastrup,   1992,   Heider,  

1976:  127,  Fuchs,  1988:  223).  Visual  anthropologist  Sarah  Pink,  on  the  other  hand,  

argues   that   “while   images   should   not   necessarily   replace   words   as   the   dominant  

mode   of   research   or   representation,   they   should   be   regarded   as   an   equally  

meaningful  element  of  ethnographic  work”  (Pink,  2007:  4-­‐5).  As  Mike  Crang  writes  

55  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

in   Cultural   Geographies,   “literature   is…   just   one   creative   ‘media’   through   which  

cultural  ideas  are  produced  and  reproduced”  (Crang,  1998:  81).  

Raw   fieldwork   video   footage   serves   as   an   excellent   record   keeper   and   a   well  

considered,  well  shot,  well  edited  video  becomes  a  rich  web  of  thought,  memory,  

materiality   and   movement;   a   place   making   process   “situated   in   the   interstices  

between   the   collage   of   material   articulations   that   encompass   our   everyday   lives  

and   ourselves”   (Witmore,   2005:   58).   The   photographs   of   our   experiences   serve,   as  

Silent   Motion   said,   as   bookmarkers   to   our   experiences   together,   small   points   of  

memorial   constellation   and   recall.   The   textual   stories   of   our   journeys   together   live  

on   blogs,   forums   and   fragments   of   Facebook   wall   postings   and   email   exchanges,  

comments   on   photos   and   in   private   diaries.   These   media   are   complimentarily  

inseparable.        

As  Sarah  Pink  argues  convincingly,  there  is  some  case  to  be  made  for  obtaining  as  

many  forms  of  record  as  possible,  as  she  did  on  a  walking  tour  of  a  Cittàslow  town,  

collecting   “multi-­‐sensorial   and   multi-­‐modal   experience…   represented   with  

different   intensity   in   different   media”   (Pink,   2008:   190).   One   argument   for   the   use  

of   video   in   these   cases   might   be   the   potential   for   sharing   your   work   with  

participants  who  may  have  interest  in  recordings  for  their  own  personal  archives.  

Footage   or   photos   held   in   the   researcher’s   archive   can   be   grazed   for   virtual  

artefacts   and   visual   heritage,   long   after   the   production   is   complete,   by   either  

yourself   or   your   project   participants   (Omori,   1988).   Winch,   late   in   my  

ethnography,   wrote   on   my   Facebook   wall   “been   reading   some   of   the   old   stuff   on  

Placehacking,  and  damn,  the  memories  are  fantastic”  (Winch,  Facebook  post,  June  

2011)!  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Playing   into   the   idea   of   the   urban   explorer   as   preservationist,   many   times   video  

footage   and   photographs   serve   as   an   (often   unintentional)   record   of   a   particular  

time   and   place,   preserving   visually,   aurally   and   sensually   what   will   inevitably  

change,  such  as  (in  a  more  “public”  sense)  footage  from  inside  the  New  York  World  

Trade  Center  while  the  towers  still  stood  or  of  London’s  Borough  of  Hackney  prior  

to  the  2012  Olympic  Park  construction  (Edensor  et  al.,  2008,  Hill  et  al.,  2009,  Anton  

et  al.,  2011).23  But  what  is  captured  need  not  necessarily  be  on  such  a  large  scale  to  

be  useful.  Video  can  also  capture  small  gestures,  expressions  and  moments  which  

remind  us  of  something  intangible,  something  that  may  have  slipped  from  memory  

otherwise.    

Ethnographic  interviews  are  perhaps  the  most  useful  context  for  video  collection  

and  production.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  video  is  multisensorial,  capturing  sound,  

image,   movement,   gesture,   time   and   place   (see   video   1,   Urban   Explorers).   Again,  

turning   to   classical   geographic   ethnography   work,   Rowles   and   Watkins,   in   their  

work   with   elderly   Appalachian   communities,   used   film   but   then   produced  

“verbatim   transcriptions   of   filmed   interviews”   (Rowles   and   Watkins,   1993:   518).  

Though   that   work   can   and   is   effective   in   many   cases,   budding   technical  

possibilities   allow   researchers   to   share   multimedia   much   more   easily,   increasing  

the  value  of  collected  field  data  as  research  output.    

Photographs,  Hastrup  argues  (1992:  10),  are  a  thin  description,  capturing  form  but  

not  meaning.  Hastrup  goes  on  to  write  that  in  order  for  a  photograph  to  become  a  

                                                                                                               
23
The video can be viewed on the British Library Sports and Society page at
http://www.bl.uk/sportandsociety/legacy/articles/waterways.html (accessed 10th October 2011).

57  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

piece   of   ethnographic   thick   description,   it   must   be   contextualized   by   text,   an  

argument,  as  previously  mentioned,  recently  made  by  Rose  (2001).  This  idea  might  

be  disputed,  given  that  photographs  are  also  mediated  through  filters  of  multiple  

subjectivities   and   may   also   be   “participatory”,   but   video   may   be   more   respectful  

and  accurate  in  terms  of  ethnographic  storytelling,  primarily  because  participants  

gain  visual  as  well  as  aural  influence  over  a  project  and  are  able  to  have  increased  

control  both  over  what  is  seen  and  what  is  said  about  their  images,  especially  in  a  

participatory   video   environment   (Shaw   and   Robertson,   1997,   Sandercock   and  

Attili,  2010).  This  makes  our  work  more  slippery  and  difficult  to  negotiate,  but  also  

potentially  more  rich  and  vibrant.  Video  also  presents  new  problems  however,  as  I  

illustrated  above.  As  Winch  told  me,  “I  worry  much  more  about  someone  shooting  

video   of   me   because   it’s   so   easily   manipulated   in   the   edit,   that’s   why   we   vet  

filmmakers   so   heavily   and   prefer   them   to   already   be   part   of   the   group   before  

shooting  anything.”  (Winch,  January  2012).    

Of   course,   the   explorer’s   desire   to   keep   tight   control   over   their   public   images  

cannot   escape   critique.   The   long-­‐exposure   photography   explorers   produce,   often  

with   a   person   in   frame   looking   smug   about   their   accomplishment,   are   highly  

stylised,   often   reshot   dozens   of   times   to   “perfect”   them   and   look   uncomfortably  

similar   to   traditional   photos   of   Colonial   explorers.   They   also,   as   mentioned   earlier,  

often   have   a   very   masculine   edge,   with   the   explorer   often   doing   something  

“dangerous”  or  “bait”  in  frame.    

On   this   project,   some   of   the   most   emotionally   raw,   intense   moments,   are   when   we  

are   crossing   the   liminal   security   zone   into   a   place.   However,   the   group   is  

particularly   sensitive   about   filming   or   photographing   these   moments,   since   it  

58  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

potentially   “gives   away   access   details”   many   times   causing   locations   to   get  

“sealed”.  As  a  result,  my  initial  fieldwork  footage  always  begins  inside  places  (see  

video   3,   Pyestock   NGTE).   Later   however,   once   I   had   gained   a   certain   level   of  

credibility  as  an  insider,  few  had  a  problem  with  me  filming  entries  and  exits  (see  

video   4,   Luton   Bunkers),   I   was   trusted   to   be   competent   in   multitasking   (i.e.   not  

getting   everyone   caught   to   “get   my   shot”)   and   would   not   post   the   footage  

publically  unless  prior  agreements  were  reached.  By  the  end  of  the  project,  little  of  

what   I   did   was   questioned   as   my   project   participant   knew   I   would   be   sensitive  

about  what  was  posted  where  and  when.  A  few  times  I  overstepped  in  excitement  

and   people   were   quick   to   ask   me   to   take   media   down   or   change   names,   which   I  

almost  always  did.  Because  of  these  prospects  and  difficulties,  the  researcher  must  

be  prepared  to  accept  that  “ethnographic  strategies  are…  shaped  by  the  subjects’  

situations,   their   global   as   well   as   local   perceptions,   and   their   demands   and  

expectations  of  us”  (Josephides,  1997:  32,  referenced  in  Pink  2007:  4).  As  a  result,  

Josephides  argues,  whether  we  are  writing,  recording,  participating  or  observing,  

“there   can   be   no   blueprint   for   how   do   to   fieldwork…   we   have   to   construct   our  

theories  of  how  to  do  fieldwork  in  the  field”  (Pink,  2007:  79).    

In  terms  of  what  constitutes  ethnographic  video,  as  Sarah  Pink  points  out,  “a  video  

is   ‘ethnographic’   when   its   viewer(s)   judge   that   it   represents   information   of  

ethnographic   interest”   (Pink,   2007:   79).   In   this   case,   my   production   of   a   short   film  

about   one   of   our   first   explorations   of   a   nuclear   bunker   in   Luton   caused   LutEx   to  

tell   me   he   was   disappointed   it   wasn’t   longer,   that   it   took   him   right   back   to   the  

bunker.   Being   my   primary   audience,   I   figured   that   was   a   success   (see   video   4,  

Luton  Bunkers).   LutEx   and   Winch’s   comments   about   “going   back”   through   media  

viewing  are  important.  

59  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  23.  Winch  crossing  the  liminal  security  zone  at  NEO  Bankside,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

Although   I   will   not   argue   here   that   video   bridges   the   gap   into   becoming   an  

embodied  viewing  experience  (yet),  it  is  the  medium  which  most  wholly  conjures  a  

multisensual   facsimile   of   experience   which   also   sparks   renewed   consideration   of  

the  tension  between  the  embodied  and  the  visual  (see  chapter  5)  part  of  the  reason  

why  Crack  the  Surface  (video  10)  ended  up  being  such  a  huge  popular  success.    

Eric   Laurier,   upon   reading   Vivian   Sobchack’s   book   Carnal  Thoughts,  Embodiment  

and   Moving   Image   Culture   (Sobchack,   2004)   notes   that   Sobchack   wants   us   to  

realize  that  “cinema  engages  so  much  more  of  our  bodies  than  the  eyes  alone…  a  

film  can  touch  a  viewer  and  elicit  a  viewers’  experience  of  touch”  (Laurier,  2009:  

11).  This  polysensuality  also  allows  one  to  use  film  to  map  the  unseen,  to  record  

emotion  and  memory  –  issues  that  are  well  recognized  as  contributing  significantly  

to   our   perceptions   of   place   (DeSilvey,   2007a,   Edensor,   2005b,   Edensor,   2005a,  

Davidson   et   al.,   2005,   Feld   and   Basso,   1996).   As   Youngs   (1980:   3)   points   out,   “film  

60  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

therefore   can   provide   data   on   at   least   two   levels   of   consciousness   –   tangible   and  

intangible.”   Youngs   goes   on   to   proclaim,   “personally,   it   is   the   latter   that   is   most  

significant”.  

While  I  find  the  embodied  aspects  of  urban  exploration  most  interesting  to  capture  

with   visual   media,   we   would   be   remiss   to   ignore   those   intangible   in-­‐between  

points  as  well.  These  types  of  depiction  were  especially  important  for  this  project  

since   the   practice   is   so   much   about   feelings   in   places.   There   have   been   countless  

instances  of  atmospheric  attunement  (Stewart,  2011)  in  places  that  are,  without  a  

doubt,   beyond   representation   (Lorimer,   2008,   also   see   video   6   –   Prohobo  2.0).   In  

fact,  much  of  what  we  do  as  urban  explorers,  I  would  argue,  is  an  effort  to  tap  in  

the   sensory   surreal   (chapter   5),   that   which   is   beyond   description   or  

documentation.  Video,  given  it  is  a  multisensorial  depiction,  hopefully  “stays  close”  

here  in  an  attempt  to  capture  those  moments  that  are  difficult  to  describe.  Part  of  

this   research   was   an   attempt   to   map   the   inarticulable,   to   test   those   alternative  

forms   of   multisensory   representations   encouraged   by   non-­‐representational  

(Thrift,   2008)   and   more-­‐than-­‐representational   theorists   who   undertake   “diverse  

work   that   seeks   better   to   cope   with   our   self-­‐evidently   more-­‐than-­‐human,   more-­‐

than-­‐textual,  multisensual  worlds”  (Lorimer,  2005:  83).  Video  footage  can  become  

one   avenue   toward   these   alternative   forms   of   experience   beyond,   or   beside,  

written  accounts.  

Anthropologists  using  visual  media  describe  video  as  a  “culture  map”  depicting  a  

“social   landscape”   and   argue   that   video   is   particularly   useful   for   the   creation   of  

“cognitive   maps”   (Crick,   1976   referenced   in   Hastrup   1992:   19),   nomenclature   that  

will   find   a   particular   resonance   with   cultural   geographers   grappling   with   largely  

61  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

intangible   information   about   conceptions   of   place,   landscape,   culture   and  

especially  mobility,  ideas  captured  in  the  work  of  Laurier  (2008),  Spinney  (2008)  

and   Cresswell   (2010),   among   others.   Increasingly,   geographers   are   reaching   into  

intangible  knowledge  (that  is,  not  rooted  in  materiality  but  in  what  might  be  called  

“essences”)   to   construct   narratives   of   place   (Edensor,   2005b,   Edensor,   2005a,  

Edensor,   2005c,   Edensor,   2008,   DeLyser,   1999,   DeLyser,   2004,   Lipman,   2009,  

Holloway  and  Kneale,  2008,  Maddern,  2008,  Maddern  and  Adey,  2008).  This  work  

manifests   itself   in   writings   about   memorial   events,   ghostly   presences,   feelings   and  

emotions  that  embed  themselves  in  places,  hiding  in  dark  corners  to  be  invoked  by  

a  passerby,  places  where  even  a  whisper  shatters  our  perception  of  what  is,  what  

was   and   what   could   be.   Video   is   one   method   of   attempting   to   recall   and   relate  

those  experiences  to  those  who  were  not  present  (see  video  1,  Urban  Explorers).  In  

the   case   of   this   project,   those   types   of   experiment   led   to   us   undertaking   an  

accidental  participatory  video  project  together.    

 
 
Accidental  participatory  videography  

Eventually,   after   becoming   more   interested   in   learning   photography,   I   started  

leaving   my   video   camera   at   home.   One   night,   when   going   into   the   South   London  

sewers   with   Silent   Motion   and   Statler,   Silent   Motion   asked   me   where   my   video  

camera   was.   I   told   him   I   was   leaving   it   at   home   and   he   said,   “then   I’m   taking   it!”  

That  night,  he  prompted  an  accidental  participatory  videography  when  he  made  a  

film  over  the  course  of  two  days  about  our  adventure  (see  video  8,  Sewer  Skank).  

While   he   was   editing   the   film   at   my   flat,   I   mentioned   that   I   thought   it   was   amusing  

he  had  filmed  me  and  he  responded  “well,  you’re  an  explorer  just  like  the  rest  of  

us,   why   shouldn’t   you   be   in   the   film”   (Silent   Motion,   October   2010)?   Working   with  

him   to   iron   out   small   glitches   in   the   production   made   us   closer   friends   because  

62  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

“documentary  filmmaking  is  by  nature  collaborative.  Quite  simply,  it’s  impossible  

to  make  a  film  about  other  people  on  your  own”  (Barbash  and  Taylor,  1997:  74).  

Through   to   the   editing   process   (Laurier   and   Brown,   2011),   one   can   come   to   a  

much   better   understanding   of   what   it   is   that   your   project   participants   value   by  

creating  mediated  work  together  (Laurier,  2009).  

Participatory   video,   or   community   video   (Hastrup,   1992,   White,   2003),   allows  

participants  on  a  project  to  articulate,  in  their  own  words,  what  it  is  they  wish  to  

have  conveyed  and,  ideally,  as  in  this  case,  take  control  of  the  production  process  

from   the   researcher.   This   technique   was   pioneered   by   filmmaker   Jean   Rouch   in  

what  he  called  the  “audiovisual  counter-­‐gift”  (El  Guindi,  2004:  179).  Johansson  et  

al.  (Johansson  et  al.,  1999:  36)  comment  that  they  “cannot  imagine  a  more  effective  

method   to   quickly   comprehend   the   often-­‐complex   perceptions   and   discourses   of  

local  people  than  to  produce,  watch,  discuss  and  analyze  PV  material  together  with  

them”   (Cited   in   Hastrup,   1992:   143).   Despite   desires   to   stay   true   to   your  

informants’  thoughts  and  wishes  in  text,  the  written  word  will  always  be  mediated  

though  your  own  subjectivity,  filtered  through  a  mind  which  has  been  “colonized  

by   the   language   of   academia”   (Bonnett,   1996b:   21).   Participatory   video   gives  

research  participants  the  opportunity  to  voice  their  own  thoughts  and  opinions  in  

their   own   way   which   ideally   concludes   with   all   parties   seeing   the   film   as   an  

“ongoing   process   of   creating   community”   (Sandercock   and   Attili,   2010:   37).  

Although   this   would   of   course   be   possible   through,   for   instance,   collaborative  

writing,   video   work   was   a   short   stretch   for   a   group   already   heavily   invested   in  

photography.    

63  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

There  are  a  number  of  reasons  why  working  in  this  way  would  benefit  geography  

but   of   vital   importance,   in   terms   of   ethnographic   work   in   particular,   is   the   concept  

of   agency.   The   acknowledgement   of,   and   willingness   to   share,   authorship   offers  

increased  agency  to  your  project  participants.  Taken  to  its  logical  conclusion,  this  

will  mean  that  by  handing  over  control  of  your  project  you  “expose  the  wiring”  of  

the   method   (Pearson   and   Shanks,   2001)   and   begin   to   “destabilize   hierarchical  

power  relations”,  shifting  from  doing  work  about  people  to  doing  work  with  people  

(Kindon,   2003:   142,   also   see     Routledge,   2002).   This   type   of   ethnographic   film  

work   was   done   to   great   effect   by   anthropologists   Sol   Worth   and   John   Adair   with  

the   Diné   (Navajo)   people   of   the   American   Southwest   (Worth   and   Adair,   1972)   and  

even   earlier   by   sociologists   Low   and   Snowden   in   the   late   1960s   in   Canada  (Frantz,  

2007).  These  methods  have,  as  of  yet,  not  been  replicated  with  such  effectiveness  

in  a  geographic  context.  I  hope  this  thesis  is  a  stepping-­‐stone  in  that  direction.    

Photographs   also   work   well   in   these   contexts   –   most   people   appreciate   having  

photographs   returned   to   them   that   they   can   use,   distribute   and   archive   and   we  

often  “flipped  though”  photos  of  our  adventures  and  talked  about  them.  It  has  been  

noted  that  “writing,  especially  academic  writing,  flees  the  particular  and  takes  hold  

of   the   abstract,   that   enemy   of   experience”   and   that   “sticking   with   the   particular,  

sticking  close  with  experience,  is,  if  anything,  more  possible  in  anthropological  film  

than   in   writing”   (Devereaux   and   Hillman,   1995:   71-­‐72).   Working   with   video   and  

photography   on   this   project   allowed   me   to   capture   those   embodied   experiences   of  

being   in   places,   the   shared   fear,   excitement,   danger   and   comical   situations   that  

made  up  our  time  together  (see  video  7,  Prohobo  3.0)  and  also  inspired  me,  when  it  

came  time  to  write,  to  share  my  writing  and  offer  co-­‐authorship  in  the  same  way.  

64  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

A  few  months  after  Silent  Motion  made  the  South  London  Sewer  Parties  film,  I  was  

approached  by  Otter,  who  had  in  2008  treated  me  with  such  disdain,  asking  me  if  I  

would   help   film   the   2011   International   Drain   Meet.   Unbeknownst   to   me,   Otter   had  

broadcast   training   and   had   been   making   a   film   with   Johndoe   for   the   past   few  

months.   He   had   already   collected   footage   that   was   far   better   than   anything   I   could  

ever  hope  to  do.  I  accepted  the  invitation  to  collaborate  and  the  video  we  produced  

together   from   the   drain   meet   (see   video   9   –   IDM   2011)   ended   up   being   an  

important   marker   both   in   terms   of   my   final   acceptance   as   one   of   the   group’s  

“filmmakers”  as  well  as  one  of  the  points  of  collaboration  between  different  groups  

of  explorers  in  London  (see  chapter  4).  Since  the  production  of  that  film,  I  have  had  

multiple  people  in  the  wider  community  asking  me  when  “the  PhD  film”  was  going  

to   come   out,   which   ironically,   was   sidelined   so   I   could   learn   photography   and  

continue   to   collaborate   with   Otter   on   Crack   the   Surface,   the   film   he   was   already  

working  on  before  I  met  him  (video  10).    

 
Figure  24.  Author  filming  at  the  2011  International  Drain  Meet,  London,  photo  by  Luca  Carenzo  
 

65  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Expect  the  unexpected  

Throughout  chapters  1  and  2,  I  hope  to  have  given  the  reader  a  relatively  grounded  

idea   of   what   urban   exploration   is   as   a   practice,   who   is   involved,   how   I   gained  

access   and   began   working   with   the   community   and   what   my   fieldwork   method  

consisted   of.   As   you   will   no   doubt   understand   by   this   point,   this   was   no   simple  

process.   My   entanglements   with   the   community,   once   established,   will   never   be  

severed  and  remain,  to  this  day,  the  closest  friendships  I  have.  That  was  what  was  

required  to  be  involved  with  this  group.  

However,   those   close   relationships   allowed   me   to   spend   a   great   deal   of   time,  

usually   during   road   trips   together,   to   drill   down   into   the   community   regarding  

motivations   and   desires.   What   I   expected   to   find   is   not   what   I   learned   in   the   end.   I  

begin,  as  most  explorers  do,  with  an  interest  in  derelict  places  and  the  “historical”  

aspects  of  urban  exploration,  which  is  where  we  will  now  turn  in  chapter  3.  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Chapter  3  –  Assaying  history:  creating  temporal  junctions  

“I have always looked upon decay as being just as wonderful and rich an expression as
growth”.
– Henry Miller (1960: 28-29)
 

Figure  25.  Kasteel  van  Mesen,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  

 
The   departure   point   for   most   urban   explorers   is   an   interest   in   exploring   derelict  

and   disused   space.   These   spaces   are   appreciated   for   their   aesthetic   qualities,  

possibilities   for   temporarily   escaping   the   rush   of   the   surrounding   urban  

environment,  their  enfolding  qualities  where  nature/culture  binaries  are  collapsed  

and   their   ability   to   hint   toward   a   post-­‐human   future   that   reminds   us   of   our   own  

mortality.  For  the  first  year  of  my  fieldwork,  we  explored  many  abandoned  places  

in   London   and   then   began   venturing   in   Continental   Europe   to   find   more,  

eventually  driving  as  far  as  Poland  to  locate  and  camp  in  abandoned  Soviet  military  

bases   and   decaying   industrial   ruins.   It   is   on   one   of   these   “urban   camping”   road  

trips  that  I  begin  chapter  3,  which  can  be  read  in  conjunction  with  my  video  essay  

Urban  Explorers  (video  1)  and  the  Hobohemia  Video  Triptych  (videos  5,  6  and  7).    

67  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

A  life  in  ruins  

“The poetry of history lies in the quasi-miraculous fact that once, on this earth, once, on
this familiar spot of ground, walked other men and women, as actual as we are today,
thinking their own thoughts, swayed by their own passions, but now all gone, one
generation vanishing into another, gone as utterly as we ourselves shall shortly be
gone...”
– (Trevelyan, 1949: 13).
 
At   the   beginning   of   December,   2009,   myself,   Winch,   Silent   Motion   and  
Statler   were   speeding   down   Highway   A18   over   the   French   border   into  
Belgium   as   the   sun   set.   This   was   the   second   time   in   three   months   we   had  
been   on   this   highway.   After   a   year   of   exploring   decaying   architecture   in  
and  around  London,  our  geographic  imaginations  inevitably  expanded  into  
other   places,   our   desires   to   move   further   from   our   experiential   comfort  
zones   became   irresistible.   In   October,   we   spent   a   long   weekend   in   the  
Belgian   countryside   exploring   derelict   castles,   asylums   and   factories,   the  
first   time   we   began   sleeping   in   ruins.   Our   intrepid   planner   and   navigator  
on   both   trips   was   Winch,   a   well-­‐known,   well-­‐respected   camera   nerd   on   the  
London  “B  Team”  with  a  propensity  for  telling  off-­‐colour  jokes  with  just  the  
right  demeanour  to  get  everyone  laughing  until  they  cry.    
 
I   am   in   the   backseat,   staring   out   at   the   passing   landscape   as   we   speed  
towards   Liege   in   a   small   green   sports   car,   Statler   behind   the   wheel,   the  
boot   overflowing   with   camera   equipment,   gas   station   food   wrappers   and  
empty  beer  bottles.  The  landscape,  a  murky  grey  split  by  beams  of  orange  
as   the   sun   disappears   for   the   night,   seems   to   contain   more   derelict  
buildings  than  live  ones.  I  remind  the  crew  that  Rose  Macauley  once  wrote  
“above   and   under   the   earth   [there   are]   far   more   ruined   than   unruined  
buildings”   (Macaulay,   1966:   xvii)   and   they   all   nod   knowingly.   After  
sneaking   into   hundreds   of   decaying   structures   together,   we   are   all   aware  
that  each  new  building  constructed  is  another  building  which  will  one  day  
slip   into   ruination.   These   moments   of   liminality,   the   fragile   point   when   a  
place  seems  like  a  look  would  crumble  it,  are  what  we  search  for.    
 
With  every  derelict  factory  that  we  pass  in  a  blur  of  untamed  foliage,  rust  
and   jagged   metal,   the   energy   in   the   car   increases.   Silent   Motion,   sitting  
next   to   me   and   on   his   first   trip   to   the   continent,   starts   jumping   around   and  
clapping  saying,  “let’s  go  climb  that!”  and  “ooh,  that  looks  old!”  Winch  and  I  
are   drinking   Chimay   that   we   picked   up   at   a   petrol   station   and   he   is,   as  
usual,  scrolling  around  in  Google  Earth  on  his  cracked  Blackberry  looking  
at  an  aerial  view  of  our  next  location  and  photos  on  the  Internet,  trying  to  
find   a   possible   entry   point   into   the   building.   He   turns   to   us   slowly   and   says,  
“So,  you  guys,  we  are  staying  in  a  hotel  tonight…”  Everyone  looks  stunned.  
“That  closed  in  1996!”  causing  the  entire  car  to  erupt  in  a  riot  of  laughter  
(Field  Notes,  January  2010,  Belgium,  see  video  5,  Prohobo  2.0).      
 

68  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  26.  Urban  camping  in  Kasteel  van  Mesen,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 
Urban  explorers  are  fascinated  primarily  in  the  flotsam  of  the  built  environment.  It  

is   a   practice   intensely   interested   in   locating   sites   of   haunted   memory,   seeking  

interaction  with  the  ghosts  of  lives  lived  (Maddern,  2008).  When  these  places  are  

located,   their   fragile   deteriorations   are   captured   in   photos,   “speak[ing]   through  

photography   to   time   itself,   drawing   the   time   before   the   shutter   opened   and   the  

time   afterwards   together”   (Crang   and   Travlou,   2001:   173,   discussing   Derrida's  

photography),   creating   moments   of   temporal   juxtaposition   in   an   “illusion   of  

control  over  eternity”   (Reynolds,  2002:  264)  as  explorers  anticipate  the  inevitable  

transience  of  these  places  (DeSilvey,  2011).  My  role,  as  outlined  in  chapter  2,  was  

to  capture  them  capturing  this  in  addition  to  participating.  From  2008,  when  I  first  

met  Winch,  Marc  Explo  and  others,  we  began  a  systematic  process  of  locating  and  

exploring   all   of   the   derelict   places   we   could   find,   from   abandoned   bunkers   to  

hospitals  to  industrial  sites.    

69  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Through   those   explorations,   we   found   moments   of   encounter   between   the   present  

and   the   past.   Through   the   physical   exploration   of   abandoned   architecture,  

confrontation   with   unexpected   material   traces   flare   up.   These   meetings   have   the  

potential   to   lead   to   emotionally-­‐charged   discoveries   through   an   embodied   praxis  

which  mirrors  the  role  of  the  archaeologist  assaying  surface  material  without  deep  

excavation  to  analyse  the  character  of  places;  a  surface  survey  of  affectation.  As  a  

practice   that   temporarily   inhabits   sites   of   material   history,   urban   exploration  

constructs   assemblages   of   complicated   emotional   and   memorial   attachments   to  

abandoned  places  that  melds  pluritemporal  geographic,  historical  and  experiential  

imaginations   to   assay   history.   Found   material   such   as   personal   notes,   clothing,  

toys,  computers,  tools  and  equipment  as  well  as  buildings  hidden  from  plain  sight  

in   the   middle   of   the   city,   sometimes   buried   deep   under   the   urban   façade,   lead   to  

revelations  that  cracks  in  spatial  and  temporal  structures  can  be  exploited  to  build  

alternative  associations.  These  cracks,  what  I  have  called  glitches  and  Michael  Cook  

(Manaugh,   2009)   calls   vanishing   points,   are   the   inevitable   in-­‐betweenness   of  

urbanity.    

On   a   January   2011   trip   to   Paris   with   Winch,   Marc   Explo,   Dsankt,   Iris,   Olivier   and  

Otter,  Winch  writes  about  the  glitch  in  terms  of  Paris  exploration,  

The glitch here is that you will never secure the system. No subterranean
network of train tunnels can be closed off in its entirety, for there are too
many potential routes in. The passengers take a route in each day, and the
trains surface on the periphery of the routes. These are portals to the
outside, and it is through these differing types of portals that the glitches
can be found. We have realised on this trip that to explore a system like
this is to find the glitch, however that might be. Providing that the
knowledge of the glitch in the system is protected, the system is open.24

                                                                                                               
24
http://www.thewinch.net/?p=1970 (accessed 6th May 2011).

70  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  27.  An  artefact  jumble  at  the  West  Park  Asylum,  Surrey,  photo  by  author  
 
Although   it   can   be   argued   that   this   is   a   shallow   form   of   discovery,   in   terms   of  

historical   interest   (Bennett,   2011),   I   contend   that   urban   exploration   is   as   much  

about   space   as   it   is   about   time,   as   much   about   the   event   as   it   is   about   the  

accumulation   of   knowledge,   as   much   about   “things”   as   people   (Bennett,   2004,  

Bennett,   2010).   In   contrast   to   a   historian   working   deeply   on   one   topic   or   site,  

urban  explorers  have  mental  and  virtual  databases  of  hundreds  of  historical  sites,  

connected   though   experiential   revelation   (see   appendix   B   and   appendix   C).   Luke  

Bennett,  who  did  research  on  urban  explorers  in  the  UK  interested  in  ROC  Posts  –  a  

type   of   subterranean   military   bunker   –   notes   that   “participants   appeared   to   be  

working   something   through,   either   a   retained   childhood   instinct   to   explore,   an  

obsessive   desire   to   catalogue,   or   some   form   of   a   veneration   process”   (Bennett,  

2011:  437).  Bennett  is  correct,  the  dissected,  deteriorating  and  confused  narratives  

these  places  offer  can  indeed  provoke  deep  self-­‐reflection.  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Urban   exploration   gives   agency   to   places   with   an   appreciation   for   the   life   of   an  

architectural   feature   or   system   that   continues   after   abandonment,   with   an  

acknowledgement   that   though   the   capitalist   use   life   of   all   places   will   inevitably  

end,   places   do   not   “die”.   There   seems   to   be   an   assertion   that   there   is   no   wasted  

space,  there  are  no  non-­‐places,  there  are  just  places  cared  for  and  remembered  in  

different   ways.   Where   and   how   to   interpret   these   post-­‐abandonment   stories,  

regardless  of  who  “owns”  them,  in  an  economic  sense,  or  whether  they  are  “true”,  

in  an  empirical  sense,  is  guided  by  the  people  who  are  personally  invested  in  those  

places,   whether   or   not   they   are   invited   to.   RomanyWG   writes   that   “to   be   that  

explorer   at   that   moment   is   to   be   given   back   the   power   to   tell   those   stories   for  

yourself”  (RomanyWG,  2010:  np).  

In   contrast   to   the   “deep   care”   exhibited   by   heritage   managers,   appreciation   of  

history   through   urban   exploration   does   not   normally   invoke   a   material  

preservation   instinct.   Places   are   experienced,   enjoyed,   recorded,   loved   and  

appreciated  in  the  present  but  material  remains  are  not  prevented  from  continuing  

their   mutations   toward   inevitable   material   obscurity   (DeSilvey,   2006).  

Additionally,  steps  are  taken,  in  many  cases,  to  minimize  impact  to  places  during  

visitation   so   as   not   to   impede   decay   or   alter   the   sanctity   of   the   experience   for  

future   visitors.   Some   urban   explorers   attempt   to   impose   this   imperative   with  

vigilance  through  the  enforcement  of  the  “code  of  ethics”  mentioned  in  chapter  1.  

In  our  relationship  with  places,  especially  in  the  context  of  heritage  management,  

we   often   ask   the   question   “what   meaning   shall   we   assign   this?”   or   “why   is   this  

place  important?”  We  rely  on  the  voice  of  a  guide  or  narrator,  an  expert,  to  mediate  

our  relationship,  to  explain  why  it  is  meaningful  –  less  often  do  we  let  places  speak  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

to  us  directly.    However,  “history,  in  the  hands  of  a  professional  historian,  is  bound  

to   present   itself   as   an   esoteric   form   of   knowledge”   (Samuel,   1994:   3).   In   the  

practice   of   urban   exploration,   it   is   “not   the   philosopher   or   the   scientist   who   [do]  

the  pioneering  but  the  solitary,  uninformed  traveller,  setting  out,  hardly  knowing  

why,   in   search   of   a   new   kind   of   knowledge”   (Jackson,   1980:   4).     If   urban   explorers,  

as   Dsankt   tells   me,   “do   it   because   we   want   to   do   it,   not   out   of   a   grand   sense   of  

preservation”   (Dsankt,   January   2011),   what   then   can   we   learn   from   taking   the  

unguided  tour  where  the  important  historical  attributes  of  a  place,  for  instance  the  

intense   working   conditions   experienced   by   employees   over   the   course   of   many  

years   (Milkman,   1997),   is   overwhelmed   by   the   sensory,   emotional,   affective  

experience  of  simply  being  there,  watching  those  histories  slip  into  oblivion?    

It   is   perhaps   the   case   that   in   such   situations,   explorers   are   less   connected   to   the  

histories   of   those   places   than   they   might   like   to   think.   Yet   it   is   not   possible   to  

quantitatively   or   qualitatively   measure   our   affective   relationships,   the   extent   to  

which,   for   instance,   atmospheric   attunements   built   on   concreted   memories   in  

places   have   the   ability   to   effect   us   (Stewart,   2011),   for   many   times   this   registers  

viscerally,   precognitively   and   can   only   be   decoded   in   aftermath.     What   we   can   say,  

for   certain,   is   that   exploration   of   these   places,   in   the   here   in   now,   stretches   the  

histories  of  these  places  into  the  stories  of  these  places  (Lorimer,  2003),  extending  

an   ongoingness   of   place   that   persists   before,   during   and   after   the   exploration  

event.    In  cases  where  we  are  not  likely  to  rely  on  urban  exploration  accounts  to  

relay  the  historic  significance  of  a  place,  the  particular  reverence  that  the  practice  

pays  the  place  itself,  the  small  details,  the  forgotten  traces,  should  surely  be  seen  as  

a  welcome  addition  to  a  heritagescape  rendered  increasingly  banal  by  negotiations  

with  policies  of  economic  relevance.    When  I  asked  Silent  Motion,  on  the  way  out  of  

73  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

an  abandoned  factory  called  Sinteranlage  in  Germany,  whether  he  felt  he  learned  

anything   about   the   place,   he   told   me   “exploration   is,   on   some   level,   always   a  

process   of   becoming   less   ignorant,   you   can’t   have   an   experience   like   that   and   walk  

away  with  nothing.”  

Also   in   contrast   to   “interpreted”   heritage,   urban   explorers   harbour   no   temporal   or  

typological  constraints  to  an  appreciation  of  the  past.  An  urban  explorer  may  find  

as  much  significance  in  an  abandoned  grocery  store  closed  down  last  week  as  in  an  

18th   century   castle   in   Belgium,   pointing,   again,   to   those   intersections   between  

historical   appreciation   and   present   day   experience.   Additionally,   as   I   will   show,  

places  with  beautiful,  amusing,  disturbing  and  dark  histories  are  all  given  space  for  

recognition,   exploration   and   recordation   through   urban   exploration.   I   will   revisit  

each   of   the   concepts   in   turn,   but   let   me   begin   by   discussing   the   relationships  

between  preservation  and  decay  in  the  practice.  

The  preservation  anxiety  club  

“But just wait until now becomes then. You’ll see how happy we were.”
– (Sontag, 1977: 42)

At   interpreted   historical   sites   around   the   world,   we   are   consistently   confronted  

with  the  notion  that  in  order  for  people  to  have  a  sense  of  self,  they  must  have  a  

sense  of  the  preserved  past.  The  English  Heritage  website  proudly  proclaims  that  it  

“exists   to   protect   and   promote   England's   spectacular   historic   environment   and  

ensure   that   its  past  is   researched   and   understood.” 25  Meanwhile,   on   the   US  

National   Park   Service   website,   they   declare   their   willingness   to   work   with   those  

“who  believe  in  the  importance  of  our  shared  heritage  –  and  its  preservation.”26    

                                                                                                               
25
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about (accessed 11th November 2011).
26
http://www.nps.gov/history/about.htm (accessed 11th November 2011).

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  28.  The  abandoned  factory  Sinteranlage,  Germany,  photo  by  author  
 

75  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

When   you   visit   historic   sites   like   Dover   Castle   in   the   UK   or   Bodie   ghost   town   in  

California,   what   you   will   encounter   embodies   the   keywords   outlined   in   these  

statements.  Preservation.  Research.  Understanding.  Heritage.  

These  concepts  are  valuable  and  the  research  that  stems  from  them  is  important,  

but  as  Doreen  Massey  (1994)  suggests,  government  bodies,  working  in  the  interest  

of   national   agendas,   many   times   motivated   by   profit,   are   often   the   entities   who  

define  heritage.  These  places  are  then  used  by  the  state  to  assert  a  moral  right  over  

the  landscape,  subjugating  a  many  times  reluctant  citizenry  to  a  consistent  erosion  

of   rights   to   personal   space   and   freedom   to   decide   for   oneself   which   heritage   is  

retained  as  social  and  cultural  identity  markers  and  which  discarded  as  irrelevant.  

This   can,   at   times,   incite   populist   reaction   against   what   can   be   seen   as   a  

homogenization   of   cultural   identity,   particularly   in   cases   where   visitors   realise  

that   representations   of   history   presented   as   singular   narratives   are   in   fact   more  

complicated   than   they   are   presented.   These   complications   are   often   sidelined   so  

the   historical   narrative   makes   more   sense   or   to   avoid   disturbing   and   dark  

histories.   J.B.   Jackson   writes   “there   is   hardly   an   enterprising   town   located   on   the  

more   popular   tourist   routes   that   does   not   have   some   kind   of   reconstructed  

historical   environment.   Some   are   reasonably   conscientious   attempts   at  

reconstruction,   some   are   entirely   make-­‐believe”   (Jackson,   1980:   90).   Preserved  

Spanish   missions   in   California,   for   instance,   say   little   to   nothing   about   the   murder,  

rape   and   enslavement   of   indigenous   people   that   took   place   within   their   walls  

(Costo   and   Costo,   1987)   although   Native   Americans   make   constant   demands   for  

the  “other”  histories  to  be  remembered  (Garrett,  2009).  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 As   a   result   of   a   desire   to   have   more   personal   investment   in   places,   public   reaction  

to  state-­‐mediated  historical  interpretation  is,  in  many  cases,  disdain.  In  the  course  

of   Dydia   DeLyser’s   work   at   Bodie   ghost   town,   she   spoke   with   two   visitors,   a  

husband  and  wife.  The  wife  told  her  “’we  were  just  in  Virginia  City  [Nevada]  and  

Bodie   is   so   much   better.   This   isn’t   commercial.   Over   there,   every   time   you   walk  

into  a  building,  somebody’s  trying  to  sell  you  something.’  Her  husband  concurred:  

‘This   is   so   much   more   authentic.’”   Other   visitors   DeLyser   later   speaks   to   deem  

Bodie   “inauthentic”   when   they   find   that   “modern”   materials   have   been   used   to  

stabilize   buildings   onsite   (DeLyser,   1999:   617).   A   few   years   after   DeLyser   had   left,  

I  visited  Bodie  and  saw  a  young  girl  standing  behind  a  rope  which  was  preserving  a  

room  in  a  state  of  arrested  decay.  The  girl  was  clearly  frustrated  by  the  barrier,  and  

asked  her  father,  “…but  who  decided  I  can’t  go  in  there?”  

DeLyser’s  work  at  Bodie  suggests  that  while  many  people  want  a  sense  of  history,  

some  are  also  looking  for  more  than  a  “passive  past  constructed  through  a  scripted  

narrative”   (Harris,   2010:   47).   These   individuals   are   looking   for   some   level   of  

authorship   over   and   engagement   with   that   history,   whether   that   calls   for   an  

embodied  engagement  with  a  place  (Edensor,  2007),  a  more  interactive  experience  

(Witmore,   2005)   or   an   opportunity   to   take   part   in   its   interpretation   (DeSilvey,  

2007b).   As   the   urban   explorer   Wolfism   writes,   urban   exploration   gives   you   “the  

opportunity  to  feel  you’re  in  close  touch  with  history,  up  close  as  opposed  to  in  a  

glass   case…   [places]   completely   forgotten   by   history   books”   (RomanyWG,   2010:  

np).  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  29.  A  room  in  a  state  of  arrested  decay,  Bodie  Ghost  Town,  California,  photo  by  author  
 

 
Figure  30.  Something(s)  in  transition,  Salve  Mater  Sanatorium,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 
 

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

One   of   the   places   where   this   sort   of   localized   history-­‐work   can   take   place   is   in  

modern  ruins  (Hell  and  Schönle,  2010),  where  interpretation  can  be  composed  at  

the   confluence   of   embodied   experience,   imagination   and   memory   through  

unsanctioned  exploration.  Exploration  of  this  nature  requires  a  great  deal  of  effort,  

but   feeling   a   sense   of   place   that   resonates   emotionally   sometimes   requires   deep  

investment,   as   Silent   Motion   stated   in   chapter   1.   Through   these   investments,   we  

can   build   a   sense   of   history   that   is   as   much   about   place   as   about   time   (Samuel,  

1994:  viii)  or  as  much  about  connections  as  about  places.    

Through  urban  exploration,  individuals  take  the  opportunity  to  create  memories  of  

places  that  can  sit  alongside,  or  at  times  even  undermine,  official  histories,  creating  

a  symbiotic  exchange  between  body  and  place,  building  a  deep  sense  of  historical  

embodied  engagement  where  explored  spaces  are  “not  architecture  at  all,  then,  but  

something   more   strange   and   inexplicable:   structural   blurs   without   identifiable  

purpose   or   history”   from   a   “semi-­‐toxic   world   of   old   military   equipment   and  

abandoned  shopping  malls  –  wastefully  complex  and  tinged  with  melancholy,  but  

gorgeous  nonetheless”  (Paiva  and  Manaugh,  2008:  6-­‐7).  

   

Gross   (2000:   77)   has   stressed   that   “particular   elites,   groups,   or   institutions   have  

attempted  to  dictate  which  values,  facts,  or  historical  events  are  recalled,  how  this  

information   is   remembered,   and   the   types   of   emotions   attached   to   these  

memories”  (Legg,  2007:  459).  As  space  becomes  increasingly  codified,  especially  in  

terms   that   ensure   a   profitable   “heritage   market”   in   late   capitalist   society,   people  

seek  alternative  ways  to  locate  memorial  thickness,  experience  devoid  of  the  need  

to   empirically   quantify,   rationalise,   or   sell   narratives   to   the   next   passing   cultural  

history  tourist  (DeLyser,  1999,  Crang,  1996,  Edensor,  1999,  Neumann,  2002,  Stone  

79  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

and   Planel,   1999).   In   short,   people   are   looking   for   an   experience   of   the   past   that  

resonates   outside   of   the   commodification   of   late-­‐capitalist   cultural   control   or  

social  expectation.  Harold  Rosenberg  wrote  there  was  a,    

Process of depersonalization and passivity’ brought on by modern social

organization, the extension of ‘the psychic condition of the nineteenth-
century factory worker’ into the totality of twentieth-century society…
[where] …members of every class surrender themselves to artificially
constructed images that promise to restore their links with the past and
future (Marcus, 2001: 43, referencing Rosenberg, 1970).

 
Figure  31.  A  beautifully  toxic  dumping  ground,  La  Cokerie  d'Anderlues,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 
Urban   exploration   weaves   part   of   the   fabric   of   recognition   that   history   is  

constantly  being  made  and  remade  by  a  variety  of  actors  outside  of  those  capitalist  

spectacles  of  History  (with  a  capital  H).  This  work,  often  unsanctioned,  frequently  

comes   with   a   desire   to   fold   the   past   into   the   present,   creating   pluritemporal  

encounters,   “calling   forth   those   memories   that   satisfy   the   needs   of   the   present”  

(Legg,  2007:  458).  In  Civilization  and  its  Discontents,  Freud  writes  about  a  dream  of  

standing   on   the   Palatine   Hill   in   Rome   and   imagining   the   city   as   a   palimpsest,   an  

architectural  parchment  on  which  many  series  of  inscriptions  can  still  be  detected  

80  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

below  the  most  recent  text  written  upon  it  (Pensky,  2005,  Bender,  1998,  Huyssen,  

2003),   all   available   for   psychological   delving,   regardless   of   their   material   or  

immaterial   state.   This   type   of   memory   work   is   as   much   a   freedom   of   thought   as  

action.   Urban   explorers   do   not   argue   that   this   freedom   should   be   offered,  

necessarily,   but   that   where   it   is   not   offered,   it   should   be   taken.   As   Patch   told   me  

during   an   exploration   “what   I   choose   to   do   here   doesn’t   belong   to   anybody,   it’s  

mine.”   Urban   explorers   insists   on   the   right   to  temporarily   reside   in   places   to   enjoy  

them   on   their   own   terms,   creating   “counter-­‐topographies”   (Katz,   2004)   that  

playfully  undermine  hegemonic  discourses  of  globalisation  and  understandings  of  

land  and  buildings  as  simply  property  (Jonker  and  Till,  2009:  307).  

An  iteration  of  this  fragile  stratigraphy  is  described  by  Caitlin  DeSilvey,  who  invites  

us  to  “imagine  a  place  where  the  past  lies  thickly  under  a  layer  of  dust,  and  where  

the   simplest   act   of   retrieval   kicks   up   clouds   of   uneasy   speculation.   Junk   or  

treasure?   Waste   or   artefact”   (DeSilvey,   2007a:   878)?   In   DeSilvey’s   world,   the  

oneiric  qualities  of  the  fragile  ruin  and  irresistible  material  resonances  excite  our  

imaginations.   Jane   Bennett   also   celebrates   this   exchange   in   her   work   on   “thing-­‐

power”  where  she  writes  that  these  types  of  encounters  “entail  the  ability  to  shift  

or  vibrate  between  different  states  of  being,  to  go  from  trash/inanimate/resting  to  

treasure/animate/alert”   (Bennett,   2004:   354).   This   is   the   matter   of   Walter  

Benjamin’s  (1998)  “irresistible  decay”  and  comes  through  in  the  thoughts  of  urban  

explorer  Jeremy  Blakeslee:  

These places become like a drug for some reason. Places of this magnitude
get you high, a combination of the history, the architecture, the light
moving through, the smell of one hundred years of motor oil in the internal
combustion blowing engines all over the floor like blood. And you are just
another layer in the history of the place (Blakeslee quoted in Rapp, 2010:
12).

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure 32. The appeal of industrial decay, Cokerie Zollverein, Germany, photo by author

By   exploring   ruins   of   the   past   on   our   own   terms,   and   allowing   them   to   continue  

their   decay   unimpeded,   we   begin   to   subvert   “a   desire   to   continue   inhabiting  

imaginary   identifications   that   are   out   of   joint   with   present-­‐day   social-­‐symbolic  

realities”   (Steinmetz,   2010:   299).   Investment   in   ruins   as   places   of   alternative  

experiences,  such  as  those  described  in  the  writings  of  Tim  Edensor  (2005b)  have  

challenged  and  complicated  our  ideas  about  not  only  what  constitutes  the  ruin  as  

an   external   imaginary   (Hell   and   Schönle,   2010)   but   also   what   these   places   might  

contain  and/or  offer.  

Back  in  Belgium,  we  have  indeed  stopped  at  the  hotel  that  closed  in  1996.  It  
is   called   Kosmos   and   at   10pm,   in   a   light   rain,   we   are   climbing   around   on  
the  tin  roof  hanging  over  a  cliff  on  the  back  of  the  place,  our  shoulders  piled  
with  our  sleeping  bags,  cameras  and  torches,  looking  for  a  broken  window  
since  we  found  the  first  floor  of  the  place  boarded  up  tighter  than  expected.  
As   usual,   we   eventually   locate   a   smashed   out   window   and   climb   through,  
the   point   of   spatial   penetration   blending   into   the   point   of   historic   access.  
Inside,  we  to  find  a  few  old  vinyl  couches  covered  in  pigeon  feces  and  some  
water-­‐warped   book   shelves   with   a   skyline   view   of   an   anonymous   valley,  
twinkling  lights  mystifying  us  beyond  the  derelict  pool  on  a  lower  terrace  of  

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the  backyard.  We  set  up  tea  lights  in  the  old  bookshelves,  sipping  whiskey  
obtained  on  the  ferry  to  Calais,  thankful  to  have  found  shelter  for  the  night  .    
 
As   we   sat   together   with   the   wind   ripping   broken   glass   out   of   the   twisted  
window  frames,  aurally  tortured  by  some  bit  of  metal  getting  smashed  over  
and  over  again  on  a  part  of  the  roof  we  can’t  reach,  Silent  Motion  tells  us  
that   never   before   has   he   felt   so   wrapped   in   the   fabric   of   a   place.  
Temporarily   living   in   ruins,   what   the   community   came   to   call   “urban  
camping”  (or  going  prohobo)  folded  us  right  into  the  materiality  of  places,  
uncomfortable  as  that  sometimes  was.  
 
In   the   morning,   we   were   walking   out   over   the   cracked   tarmac   of   the  
parking  lot,  hitchhiking  weeds  grabbing  at  out  trouser  legs,  headed  to  the  
car   to   speed   to   the   next   location.   We   briefly   stopped   to   look   back   at   the  
Kosmos   Hotel   and   consider   our   night   there.   I   asked   Silent   Motion   if,   feeling  
like   he   is   now   part   of   the   fabric   of   the   place,   he   would   like   to   see   it  
preserved   in   some   way.   He   laughed   and   said,   “hell   no,   that   place   is   a  
shithole  –  look  at  it”!  I  wrote  in  my  notebook  as  we  drove  on  that  we  are  
less   attached   to   the   places   themselves   than   to   the   history,   memory   and  
experiences   of   these   places,   which   may   remain   even   when   the   material  
remains  are  eradicated.  Nobody  is  nostalgic  about  the  material  remains  of  
the   Kosmos   hotel.   We   felt   that   both   ourselves   and   the   hotel   enjoyed   the  
experience,   it   was   a   fair   exchange,   and   the   memories   began   their  
accretions  (Field  Notes,  Belgium,  January  2010).    
 
Urban   explorers   quarry   material   and   immaterial,   functional   and   fantastical,  

rational   and   irrational   histories   of   places.   They   create   myths   about   places   that  

become   embedded   in   them.   The   stories   of   a   night   spent   sleeping   on   the   decrepit  

vinyl  couches  in  the  screeching  winds  of  a  cold  Belgian  winter  become  just  as  much  

a   part   of   the   place   as   the   stories   from   its   use-­‐life.   At   times,   we   encounter   other  

people   in   places,   especially   the   further   we   get   from   areas   of   relative   economic  

prosperity.   Those   encounters,   sometimes   just   consisting   of   an   apology   while  

turning   to   leave   and   other   times   small   conversations   about   the   place   we   found  

each   other   in,   also   remind   us   that   use-­‐lives   continue   even   where   the   primary  

industry  that  inspired  the  structure’s  construction  has  dissolved.  

   

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Figure  33.  Urban  camping  road  trip,  Kosmos  Hotel,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
   

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Figure  34.  Winch,  the  author,  Statler  and  Silent  Motion  inside  the  Kosmos  Hotel,  photo  by  author  
 
Urban   explorers   seek   to   touch   everyday   lives   in   the   distant   and   near   past   and   to  

celebrate   “a   different   past,   not   the   past   which   history   books   describe,   but   a  

vernacular   past…”   (Jackson,   1980:   94-­‐95).   In   these   forgotten   places,   history   is   “a  

social   form   of   knowledge,   in   any   given   instance,   of   a   thousand   different   hands”  

(Samuel,   1994:   8).   Exploration,   urban   or   not,   is   defined   primarily   by   the  

spontaneous  find  (or  at  least  the  search)  for  the  unexpected.  Assaying  for  the  “the  

random,  the  unscreened,  allows  you  to  find  what  you  don’t  know  you  are  looking  

for,   and   you   don’t   know   a   place   until   it   surprises   you”   (Solnit,   2001:   11).   As  

anthropologist  Keith  Basso  writes,  

Places possess a marked capacity for triggering acts of self-reflection,

inspiring thoughts about who one presently is, or memories of who one
used to be, or musings on who one might become. And that is not all.
Place-based thoughts about the self lead commonly to thoughts of other
things - other places, other people, other times, whole networks of
associations that ramify unaccountably within the expanding spheres of
awareness that they themselves engender. The experience of sensing
places, then, is thus both roundly reciprocal and incorrigibly dynamic
(Basso, 1996: 55).
 

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During   my   research   with   urban   explorers,   it   has   become   clear   that   surprises   can  

exist   around   every   corner,   finding   them   is   just   a   matter   of   adjusting   where   one  

might  look.    

 
Figure  35.  Ruin  infiltration  as  play,  "Gary"  and  author  hiding  from  the  security  patrol,  Spillers  
Millennium  Mills,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

   

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Reimagining  remembered  place  –  the  recent  past  

“I hear the ruin of all space, shattered glass and toppling masonry, and time one
livid final flame. What’s left us then?”
– James Joyce (Joyce, 1990)

Figure  36.  The  author  looking  out  over  the  Sinteranlage  factory,  Germany,  photo  by  author  
 
High   and   Lewis,   in   their   recent   condemnation   of   urban   exploration   as   a   shallow  

spectator   sport   practiced   by   “white,   middle   class   North   Americans   in   their   teens  

and   twenties”   (2007:   63)   contend   that   “urban   explorers   are   more   interested   in  

aesthetics   than   history”   (2007:   55).   The   authors   draw   these   conclusions   in  

contrast   to   their   work   on   industrial   places   in   the   American   Midwest   where   they  

have   located   previous   employees   of   those   places   and   recorded   some   of   the   rich  

personal  memories  connected  to  the  industrial  ruins.  Their  work  is  fascinating,  yet  

it   glosses   over   much   of   what   constitutes   the   ruin,   firmly   establishing   “value”   as  

solely   memorial   rather   than   potentially   experiential   and   clearly   preferencing  

human   over   non-­‐human   elements   of   places.   They   also   singularly   focus   on   the  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

capital  use-­‐lives  of  places,  largely  ignoring  what  those  material  traces  might  mean  

to  groups  other  than  ex-­‐employees  or  property  owners.    

Following   from   that,   what   of   newer   ruins,   modern   ruins,   places   with   shallow,  

comical   or   forgotten   stories?   Unlike   High   and   Lewis   (and   heritage   “experts”   in  

general),   local   communities,   including   urban   explorers,   do   not   select   places   only  

for   their   emotionally   charged   memorial   value,   they   find   excitement   and   intrigue   in  

exploring   ruins   from   all   ages   and   in   piecing   together,   more   archaeologically   than  

historically,  the  rich  and  entwined  pasts  of  those  places.  A  joy  is  found  in  allowing  

those   stories   to   become   reentangled   with   the   biological   world,   “to   resist   that  

punch   line,   to   elide   its   truth,   for   it   inclines   thinking   and   perception   too   much  

toward   the   primacy   of   humans   and   ‘the   subject’”   (Bennett,   2004:   358).   High   and  

Lewis  seem  to  want  to  assert  that  ruins  should  always  be  socially  constituted.  But  

personal,   informal   identification   with   places,   what   happens   during   the   urban  

exploration   “event”,   at   sites   which   are   perhaps   less   historically   inspiring   than  

grand  sanctioned  monuments  are  still  cared  for  in  this  way.  

As   Le   Corbusier   once   wrote,   we   piously   work   to   preserve   the   Coliseum,   yet   we  

allow  the  locomotive  to  rust  in  the  scrap  heap  (Corbusier,  1987:  50-­‐51).  Today,  we  

may   revere   the   locomotive   yet   label   the   pile   of   old   printers   or   stacks   of   floppy  

disks   as   “trash”   or   “waste”   (Hawkins   and   Muecke,   2003).   How   much   temporal  

distance   is   necessary   to   appreciate   a   place   or   the   artefacts   within   it?   For   urban  

explorers,   it   seems   the   answer   is   very   little,   in   contrast   to   nostalgic   norms  

normally  found  in  historic  accounts.  Writing  about  the  urban  explorations  of  Troy  

Paiva,   Geoff   Manaugh   muses   that   “…the   quasi-­‐archaeological   eyes   of   those   poets  

and   artists   [from   the   past]   would   still   be   enraptured   today.   Wordsworth   could  

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very  well  have  gone  out  at  2am  on  a  weeknight  to  see  the  cracked  windshields  of  

car   wrecks   on   the   sides   of   desert   roads,   new   ruins   from   a   different   and   arguable  

more  interesting  phase  of  Western  civilization”  (Paiva  and  Manaugh,  2008:  7).    

 
Figure  37.  History  in  the  making,  University  of  Liege,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 

In  one  instance,  “Team  B”  explored  the  Courage  Brewery  in  Reading  days  after  its  

closure  and  it  was,  by  all  accounts,  a  favourite  site  that  the  group  revisited  many  

times.  Silent  Motion,  climbing  the  brewery  tanks,  declared,  “this  place  is  still  alive  –  

it’s  still  humming  (Silent  Motion,  June  2011)!”  Courage  brewery,  eighteen  months  

later,  was  gone.  For  all  they  know,  the  pictures  the  explorers  took  of  it  (illegally)  

were  the  last  documentation  of  the  place  before  it  was  materially  obliterated.    

Urban   explorers   enjoy   experiences   in   places   from   the   recent   past   as   well   as   the  

distant   past.   Part   of   this   enjoyment   lies   in   the   idea   that   by   visiting   places   that   have  

been   recently   abandoned,   we   encounter   artefacts   of   abandonment   which   are  

familiar  to  us  and  invoke  spectres  of  unexpected  (Holloway  and  Kneale,  2008)  and  

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involuntary   memories,   conjuring   what   Tim   Edensor   calls   “intersecting  

temporalities”   (Edensor,   2005a:   834)   where   the   “past   becomes   available   to,   and  

the  same  as,  the  present”  (Crang  and  Travlou,  2001:  463).  

 
Figure  38.  Artefact?  Place?  Waste?  Art?  Montzen  Gare,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 
Paul  Reyes  worked  with  his  father  in  Miami,  Florida,  just  after  the  2007  financial  

meltdown,  cleaning  out  foreclosed  homes  where  homeowners  were  evicted  or  had  

abandoned  them.  Regarding  his  experience,  he  writes,    

…I can’t help but read a narrative in what has been discarded. I begin to
pick, sweating nearly every item we throw away, creeping among gadgets
and notes and utility bills and photographs in order to decipher who lived
there and how they lost it, a life partially revealed by stuff marinating in a
fetid stillness. It is a guilt-ridden literary forensics, because to confront the
junk is to confront the individuality being purged from the place (Reyes,
2008: 31).
 
Whether   by   human,   botanical   or   animal   intervention,   the   discard   or   destruction   of  

these  objects  will  inevitably  take  place.  A  sense  of  privilege  and  respect  comes  with  

knowing  that  you  shared  time  with  these  things,  somebody  else’s  material  memory  

fragments,   some   animal’s   den   constructed   from   attic   insulation,   some   vine’s  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

contorted   pathway   over   a   control   panel   toward   sunlight   beaming   through   a  

missing  brick  in  the  wall,  before  their  materiality  folded  back  into  the  earth.  This  

sense   is   often   what   is   transmuted   into   the   preservation   instinct.   Notice   how   in  

Reyes’   description   however,   he   does   not   contend   that   these   things   need   to   be  

saved,  just  that  he  is  indeterminably  fascinated  by  them.  His  fascination  does  not  

lead   him   to   feel   as   if   he   has   the   authority   to   decide   whether   or   not   they   are  

important   or   significant;   Reyes   is   reluctant   to   take   control   over   somebody   else’s  

past  at  the  same  time  he  feels  privileged  to  have  glimpsed  it.  

 
Figure  39.  Botanical  intervention,  Cristallerie  du  Val  Saint  Lambert,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 
On   January   2009,   I   was   taken   on   my   first   explorations   in   the   United  
Kingdom   by   spiky-­‐haired   urban   explorer   called   Vanishing   Days.   We  
visited  four  sites  that  day  ranging  from  a  Napoleonic  era  fort  to  a  World  
War   II   battery   to   an   equestrian   centre   closed   down   in   1986,   all   of   which  
he   said   he   visited   frequently.   When   we   stopped   and   sat   on   a   small  
crumbling   brick   wall   in   the   equestrian   centre   to   catch   our   breath  
toward  the  end  of  the  day,  I  asked  him  why  he  came  to  that  place  when  
we   were   clearly   surrounded   by   many   more   historically   “significant”  
sites.    
 
He  told  me  that  he  loved  the  story  of  the  place.  It  was  a  story  about  an  
eccentric   old   millionaire   who   had   begun   building   the   centre   and   who  

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consistently   made   impossible   demands   for   permits   and   strange  

architectural   components,   causing   both   the   local   council   and   the  
construction   company   to   balk.   Finally,   after   years   of   endless   building  
and   rebuilding,   the   millionaire   was   out   of   money.   The   best   part   about  
the  equestrian  centre,  Vanishing  Days  tells  me,  is  that  it  was  only  open  
for   a   few   months   before   being   shut   down   again.   He   was   enchanted   by  
the  ridiculousness  of  the  place.    
 
As  we  entered  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  building,  careful  to  avoid  the  nails  
sticking   out   of   the   floor   where   people   had   been   ripping   the   copper  
piping   out   of   the   planking,   a   wallpapered   mural   of   a   horse   half-­‐peeled  
off   and   flapping   in   the   wind   above   us,   we   found   a   stack   of   pamphlets  
published   by   the   Kent   Visitors   Bureau   from   1985   which   include   the  
failed  equestrian  centre  in  its  list  of  “top  ten  attractions”.    
 
Vanishing   Days   shined   a   light   on   the   pamphlet   so   I   could   film   it   and   told  
me,  “I  just  love  how  sad  this  place  it.  Can’t  you  feel  it?”  In  fact,  I  had  felt  it  
since   we   squeezed   through   the   fence   into   the   grounds,   it   was   sodden  
with  a  prevailing  comical  tragicness  through  and  through  (Field  Notes,  
Kent,  UK,  January  2009).  
 
The  equestrian  centre  is  now  more  memory  than  history,  given  “history  is  posed  as  

the   story   of   the   triumphant   and   the   literate,   whereas   memory   is   the   democratic  

enterprise  of  oral  traditions,  folklore,  and  material  culture”  (Legg,  2004:  481,  also  

see   Taylor   2003)   and   while   I   don’t   contend   that   the   “official”   history   of   the  

equestrian   centre,   wherever   it   exists,   is   invalid,   I   do   contend   that   the   oral  

traditions   and   folklore   that   urban   explorers   (amongst   others)   have   built   around  

the  site  are  just  as  important  (see  video  1,  Urban  Explorers).    

 
From  abandoned  cinemas  to  collapsing  shopping  malls  to  empty  hotels,  my  project  

participants   have   taken   me   to   many   recent   abandonments.   Urban   Explorers   are  

interested   in   both   the   lives   lived   in   those   places,   from   pre-­‐construction   to   post-­‐

abandonment,   and   in   the   life   of   the   building   itself.   They   are   interested   in   the  

aesthetic   qualities   of   architectural   remains   but   realise   the   impossibility   of  

dissecting   them   from   the   people   who   lived   and   worked   in   them,   an   important  

point   made   by   High   and   Lewis   (2007).   Winch,   as   we   walked   around   the   Soviet  

Military   Base   Vogelsang,   exclaimed   “can   you   imagine   this   place   swarming   with  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Soviet  troops,  doing  parades  around  here  and  ferrying  all  this  food  and  materials  

deep  into  a  German  forest  so  far  from  home?  Mental…”  Statler  responded,  “Mate,  if  

we  were  seeing  that,  it  would  be  the  last  things  we  saw,  I  assure  you”  (Winch  and  

Statler,  August  2010).  Clearly,  everyone  in  attendance  felt  honoured  to  see  able  to  

see   the   remains   of   the   desolate   location,   and   also   enjoyed   imagining   this  

alternative  reality,  sneaking  around  in  a  base  full  of  Soviets.  Explorers  are  actors  in  

the   constellation   of   myths   about   places,   whether   or   not   those   myths   are  

historically  (in  an  empirical  sense)  verifiable.  This  sort  of  knowledge  work  is  built  

on  the  idea  that  a  “sense  of  the  past,  at  any  given  point  of  time,  is  quite  as  much  a  

matter   of   history   as   what   happened   in   it”   (Samuel,   1994:   15)   and   these  

complicated   historic   narratives   are   what   create   deep   and   interesting   senses   of  

community,  built  from  the  bottom  up.  The  equestrian  centre  that  Vanishing  Days  

took  me  to,  perhaps  to  the  dismay  of  the  property  owner  who  may  have  seen  it  as  a  

“failure”,  is  very  much  an  integral  part  of  the  character  of  that  community.  

Tom   Vanderbilt   tells   a   story   of   his   myths   being   shattered   as   he   climbed   around  

what   he   thought   was   a   set   of   abandoned   atomic   bunkers   in   the   American  

Southwest:    

As we explored the area around the bunkers, a collection of wood

structures overseen by a rickety observation tower, we would occasionally
find scraps of wreckage jutting out of the pale white sand. It seemed a
trove of modern archaeological history, and as we climbed the tower we
imagined ourselves gazing on the site the way some sentry must have once
done. As I found out later, however, both the aged military surplus sitting
in the sand and the observation tower were traces of not Cold War history
[but] of the film Con Air. We could still find scatterings of weathered
Hollywood paperwork in the various buildings (the tower was later
removed for another film)” (Vanderbilt, 2002: 20).

Vanderbilt’s  experience,  though  perhaps  disappointing  initially,  leads  him  to  invest  

his   own   meaning   in   the   place,   for   which   he   is   gifted   back   a   different   story.   The  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

“authenticity”   of   the   stories   there   are   just   one   component   of   a   rich   assemblage,  

“underpinning   convoluted   time   [that]   is   a   dispersed,   not   a   unifying,   memory”  

(Crang  and  Travlou,  2001:  170).  

 
Figure  40.  A  relief  of  Lenin  at  the  Soviet  military  base  Vogelsang,  Germany,  photo  by  author  
 
Pasts   are   constructed.   They   are   constructed   though   experience,   memory,  

forgetting,   political   agendas,   spontaneous   encounters   and   myth-­‐making   processes,  

all  perspectives  and  encounters  just  as  “valid”  as  another.  When  we  allow  places  to  

teach  us  about  themselves,  when  we  give  agency  to  places,  we  begin  to  build  rich  

tapestries   that   enticingly   rearrange   images   of   our   past   and,   as   a   result,   satisfyingly  

displace  our  images  of  who  we  are,  allowing  us  to  give  a  part  of  ourselves  to  places  

and  “when  you  give  yourself  to  places,  they  give  themselves  back…”  (Solnit,  2001:  

13).   These   entanglements   are   subjectively   constructed   and   appreciated,   adding   an  

ever-­‐increasing   depth   to   our   existence,   encounters   and   interpretations.   In   these  

moments,  individuals  build  history  through  experience  where  “memory  and  myth  

intermingle,   and   the   imaginary   rubs   shoulders   with   the   real   (Samuel, 1994: 6).  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Perhaps  most  importantly  here,  building  on  the  foundational  values  behind  urban  

exploration,  it  is  our  responsibility  to  take  control  of  these  narratives,  to  create  the  

constellation   of   meanings   that   we   would   like   to   see   created   rather   than   wait   for  

those  narratives  and  experiences  to  be  offered.   Urban  explorers  do  not  necessarily  

want   to   create   “problems”   for   bureaucracy   by   complicating   those   agendas   but  

clearly  do  seek  to  create  room  for  their  own  stories  in  places  and  to  be  able  to  open  

gaps   for   others   to   do   the   same.   The   goal   is,   turning   back   to   our   central   notion   of  

place   hacking,   to   turn   place   into   an   open   source   code   that   can   be   recoded  

indefinitely  and  to  recognise  that  despite  appearances  to  the  contrary,  this  was  and  

is  always  the  case.  Even  Disneyland  can  be  decoded.27  

Figure  41.  Sophie  and  the  author  playing  with  a  control  panel  in  Abbey  Mills  Pumping  Station  

 
   

                                                                                                               
27
In 2009, the urban explorer Shane Perez snuck onto to Disney’s abandoned Discovery Island in Florida:
http://shaneperez.blogspot.com/2009/12/discovery-island.html (accessed 7th January 2012).

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Do-­‐it-­‐yourself  interpretation:  past  mastering  dark  histories  

“Understanding the past embraces all modes of exploration.”

– David Lowenthal (1985:  211)

 
Figure  42.  Past  mastering:  the  author  wearing  a  Nazi  soldier  helmet,  Poland,  photo  by  Winch  
 
As   Karen   Till   (1999)   writes,   some   places   are   more   challenging   to   keep   in   sight   and  

memory,   some   places   contain   a   darkness   that   incite   calls   for   their   destruction.  

Other   places   seem   culturally   or   socially   vacant,   leaving   one   with   little   to   visually  

process.  Many  would  seek  to  erase  these  places  from  memory,  including  those  who  

interacted  with  them  during  their  use-­‐life.  Theo  Richmond,  a  developer  from  New  

Hampshire,  was  quoted  in  The  Guardian  as  saying  “preserve  a  steel  mill?  It  killed  

my   father.   Who   wants   to   preserve   that?     (Richmond,   1973   quoted   in   Lowenthal  

1985:   403).   High   and   Lewis   write   about   the   spectacular   explosive   destruction   of  

industrial   spaces   in   the   American   “rust   belt”   and   adjacent   Canadian   factories.   In  

April   of   1988,   over   28,000   people   gathered   to   watch   the   destruction   of   the  

Montreal   Miron   quarry   smokestacks.   The   event,   in   the   words   of   the   authors,  

became   a   sort   of   “secular   ritual”   (High   and   Lewis,   2007:   32),   a   blast   against   the  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

past  to  heal  the  wounds  inflicted  by  the  corporate  entity  that  ran  the  factory  until  

the  doors  were  shuttered  and  at  the  same  time  a  celebration  of  the  memories  that  

filled  the  place.  

In   California,   a   site   called   Manzanar   was   one   of   the   locations   where   the   US  

government   forcibly   interned   120,000   people   of   Japanese   ancestry   during   World  

War   II   (Burton   et   al.,   1999).   As   a   site   of   negative   heritage,   many   wanted   to   see   the  

place   materially   erased.   Local   community   groups,   however,   banded   together   to  

save  the  site  which  in  now  run  by  the  US  National  Park  Service  as  a  location  that  

Carolyn  Strange  might  label  a  place  of  “dark  tourism”  (Strange  and  Kempa,  2003,  

also   see   Dobraszczyk   2010   on   touring   Chernobyl).   In   post-­‐Soviet   Moscow,   Legg  

discuses   “the   actions   of   the   public   in   honouring,   profaning,   or   even   destroying  

statues  allows  them  to  “speak  back”  to  the  state”  (Legg,  2004:  484).    

On   our   third   European   road   trip   in   2010   with   Winch,   “Gary”,   Statler   and   myself,  

when  we  encountered  an  8-­‐foot  statue  of  Lenin  at  an  abandoned  Soviet  base  called  

Nohra  in  Germany,  I  felt  an  inexplicable  need  to  climb  it  (see  video  7,  Prohobo  3.0).  

I  think,  looking  back  on  what  the  other  explorers  seemed  to  think  was  a  reasonable  

reaction,   I   desired   an   embodied   exchange   with   a   Cold   War   history   that   meant   so  

much   to   my   parents   and   so   little   to   me.   We   all   laughed,   slapping   and   assaulting  

Lenin   and   then   sped   off   into   the   forest.   On   some   level,   this   was   just   what   we  

needed   in   the   moment   and   clearly   would   not   have   been   encouraged   inside   a  

heritage  park.    

As  with  small  stories  and  recent  histories,  dark  stories  are  often  more  complicated  

than  they  may  appear  at  first  glance.  Meskell  points  out  that  “as  a  site  of  memory,  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

negative   heritage   occupies   a   dual   role:   it   can   be   mobilized   for   positive   didactic  

purposes  (e.g.  Auschwitz,  Hiroshima,  District  Six)  or  alternatively  be  erased  if  such  

places   cannot   be   culturally   rehabilitated   and   thus   resist   incorporation   into   the  

national   imaginary   (e.g.   Nazi   and   Soviet   statues   and   architecture)”   (Meskell,   2002:  

58).   This   doxic   view   is   a   tired   rehearsal   of   the   Appolonian/Dionesian   modernist  

trope.  Integration  or  annihilation.  Interpret  it  or  blow  it  up.    

 
Figure  43.  Inside  a  Soviet  military  gymnasium,  Soviet  base  Vogelsang,  Germany,  photo  by  author  
 
Urban   explorers   are   one   group   however   that   find   solace   in   the   morphing  

materiality  of  the  ruin,  where,  after  sneaking  past  the  exclusion  zone  of  hoarding,  

palisade,  barbed  wire  security  patrols  and  “no  man’s  land”,  difficult  memories  are  

negotiated  at  a  pace,  time  and  manner  of  one’s  choosing.  The  gradual  enfolding  of  

space,   lacking   societal   and   cultural   expectations   for   assimilation   or   obliteration,  

inspires   a   satisfying   embodied   slow   collapse   of   nature   and   culture,   of   space   and  

time.  Ruin  exploration  can  involve  “reflections  about  history:  about  the  nature  of  

the  event,  the  meaning  of  the  past  for  the  present,  that  nature  of  history  itself  as  

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eternal   cycle,   progress,   apocalypse,   or   murderous   dialectic   process”   (Hell   and  

Schönle,  2010:  1),  a  process  that  creates  “a  heritage  with  which  we  can  continually  

interact,  one  which  fuses  past  with  present”  (Lowenthal,  1985:  410).  

 
Figure  44.  A  continuing  meld,  Château  de  Noisy,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 
It   is   in   these   moments,   like   my   reaction   at   Nohra,   where   we   might   make   the  

decision   to   leave   our   mark,   to   take   more   than   photographs   and   inscribe   a   place  

with   our   own   feelings   and   memories.   Importantly,   that   is   our   choice   to   do   while  

trespassing  in  ruins  and  although  most  urban  explorers  stake  claim  to  an  aim  not  

to  change  the  ruin  in  an  effort  to  preserve  the  liminality  of  decay,  sometimes  this  is  

just  what  is  required.    

As   mentioned   earlier,   urban   exploration   writing   has   been   described   as   a  

“postmodern   version   of   Fodor’s   [travel   guide]”   (Wershler-­‐Henry,   2005   quoted   in  

High   and   Lewis:   42)   for   the   movement’s   focus   on   small   and   fractured   stories  

(Lorimer,   2003),   individual   artefacts   (DeSilvey,   2007a),   embodied   accounts  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

(Edensor,   2007)   and   depictions   of   single   experiences   where   “close,   detailed  

description  seems  to  suit  the  visible  remnant  just  as  photography  seems  to  be  its  

main  medium”  (Hell  and  Schönle,  2010:  7).  

 
Figure  45.  River  Monkey  lying  in  somebody  else’s  coffin,  Salve  Mater  Sanatorium,  Belgium  
 
These   small   stories,   insignificant   as   they   might   seem   staged   against   grand  

narratives,  gradually  stretch  and  erode  boundaries  and  memories  and  are  vital  to  

any   notion   of   a   “living   history”   (Handler   and   Saxton,   2009).   Living   history,   as   I  

have   now   shown,   is   an   important   example   of   the   meld   where   past,   present   and  

future  fuse  and  morph  in  ways  often  beyond  our  control.    

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Figure  46.  The  author,  Silent  Motion,  Winch  and  Statler  camping  at  the  Soviet  hospital  Grabowsee,  
Germany,  photo  by  author  
 

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The   postmodern   origins   of   the   contemporary   urban   exploration   movement   are  

apparent   in   the   rejection   of   a   singular   grand   narrative,   but   also   in   the   playful  

participation   with   history,   in   its   willingness   interrogate   its   own   becoming   (Hell  

and   Schönle,   2010:   7).   Places   are   ventured   to   despite   (or   even   because   of)   the  

danger   or   horror   of   the   experience;   poignancies   and   fallacies   of   sites   (and   the  

practice   itself!)   are   given   equal   attention.   “Gary”,   inside   a   factory   in   Germany,  

called   out   to   me   across   a   room   and   said,   “hey   Brad,   watch   this,   I’m   going   to  

document  some  ‘history’”  (“Gary”  July  2010)  and  took  a  photo  of  a  broken  window,  

laughing.   Reactions   to   encounters   with   these   places   might   appear   uncouth   or   even  

dangerous   at   times   but   in   the   absence   of   mediating   external   forces   like  

preservation   expectations,   those   reactions   are   more   clearly   visceral   and   organic.  

By   the   end   of   our   trip   to   Europe,   we   found   ourselves   encamped   near   Berlin  

barbequing   dinner   over   broken   doorframes   from   an   abandoned   Soviet   military  

hospital,  a  place  we  never  could  have  seen  20  years  ago.  The  irony  was  lost  on  no  

one.    

The   materiality   of   ruins   crumbles   in   our   hands   as   we   touch   them   and   encounter  

“memory   only   in   glimpses,   through   acts   of   imagination   and   empathetic  

identification”   (DeSilvey,   2007a:   892),   an   identification   which   animates   these  

places   with   human   and   animal   blood   and   sweat,   with   noxious   chemicals   and  

vigilant   botanicals   where   “a   fiber   stretches   from   a   human   to   an   animal,   from   a  

human   or   an   animal   to   molecules,   from   molecules   to   particles,   and   so   on   to   the  

imperceptible”   (Deleuze   and   Guattari,   1988:   249);   where   “a   dynamic   flow   of  

matter-­‐energy  that  tends  to  settle  into  various  bodies,  bodies  that  often  join  forces,  

make   connections,   form   alliances”   (Bennett,   2004:   365).   Dirty   needles   on   the  

ground   in   a   ruin   from   some   secret   junkie   history   in   a   Luxembourg   crack   den   we  

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slept   in   inspired   a   terror   that   those   needles   had   already   pricked   us,   infected   us,  

because   part   of   that   place   was   already   inside   us.   This   infectious,   perilous  

engagement   is   the   sort   of   experience   that   disappointed   visitors   to   Bodie   ghost  

town  may  have  been  searching  for,  a  sort  of  historical  “edgework”  (see  chapter  4)  

that  pushes  right  up  against  the  limits  of  those  histories  we  fear  encounter  with.    

In   August   2009,   Marc   Explo   invited   me   to   undertake   an   exploration   of  

the  abandoned  West  Park  mental  hospital  in  Surrey.  We  crept  through  
the  bushes  outside  of  the  site  in  the  early  morning,  hunting  for  a  window  
that  was  not  boarded  up  and  when  we  found  one,  we  crawled  through  it.  
As  soon  as  we  did,  the  air  thickened.  We  encountered  stacked  up  tables  
and   chairs   behind   the   front   door,   obviously   intentionally   placed   there   to  
keep   people   like   us   out.   As   we   hunted   from   one   section   of   the   hospital   to  
another,  we  began  encountering  more  personal  places  and  artefacts.  We  
found  a  padded  cell  which  we  entered  and  sat  in  for  a  while,  a  place  that  
almost   felt   like   it   was   bleeding   with   half-­‐congealed   horrors.   Next,   at   a  
slow  and  respectful  pace,  we  moved  into  the  hospitals  crèche.  
 
Marc   disappeared   down   a   corridor   as   I   sat   down   on   the   broken   and  
bending   floorboards,   slumped   in   a   pile   of   decaying   toys,   wondering  
where   the   children   who   played   with   them   were   today.   Were   they   my  
age?  Were  they  doing  okay?  As  I  stumbled  across  a  pair  of  tiny  shoes,  I  
almost   had   a   panic   attack.   All   I   could   think,   over   and   over   to   myself   was  
“whose  shoes  are  these”?  Soon  after,  I  found  a  burned  doll  with  mouldy  
skin  sitting  in  a  small  chair  (likely  placed  there  by  another  explorer)  and  
stopped  to  take  a  photo.  The  moment  burned  slowly  as  the  wind  whistled  
through   the   broken   panes   of   glass   and   the   light   in   the   room   slowly  
shifted  with  the  passing  clouds  above.  It  felt  like  someone  had  increased  
the  existential  volume  of  the  place.  Though  the  history  here  was  spectral  
on  some  level  and  my  curiosity  perhaps  a  bit  morbid,  the  impact  of  that  
moment  was  revelatory  (Field  Notes,  Surrey,  UK  August  2009).  
 
 
High   and   Lewis   condemn   urban   exploration   as   “analogous   to   the   sport   of   hunting”  

and,   in   regard   to   one   urban   exploration   website,   argue   that   explorers   “say   very  

little   about   the   history,   function   and   physical   layout   of   the   [buildings]   being  

explored”  (2007:  54).  What  the  authors  fail  to  recognize  is  that  “[memories]  don’t  

go  in  a  particular  sequence…  They  are  just  bits  poking  up  here  and  there”  (Christie,  

1992   quoted   in   Lowenthal   1985,   208),   and   tapping   into   them   can   be   more   assay  

than  excavation.  What  is  needed  is  room  for  experience  within  inspiration.  In  their  

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empirical  rationalism,  the  authors  seek  to  order  the  disordered,  to  align  form  and  

meaning   in   places   which   are   in   a   natural   state   of   rational   uncertainty.   The  

disordered   spaces   they   encounter,   for   them,   symbolise   a   distant   landscape   and  

urban   exploration   a   type   of   sociological   dark   tourism,   consuming   without  

rationalizing  as  they  might  prefer.    

But  what  is  dark  is  of  course  also  socially  and  culturally  relative.  In  many  ways,  the  

motivations   of   the   authors   to   preserve   stories,   details,   locative   information   and  

“real”   memories   is   fetishistic   and   rooted   in   a   Western   empirical   tradition   that   also  

deserves  to  be  challenged.  This  Western  material  bias  was  pointed  out  to  Carolyn  

Gilman,   a   material   culture   curator   who   was   having   a   dispute   with   a   Native  

American   community   over   reburial   of   some   indigenous   remains.   Carolyn   was  

arguing   that   by   reburying   them,   knowledge   might   be   lost.   A   community   member  

responded   “‘why   do  you  white  people  need  to  know  all  this  stuff?  Why  can’t  you  

just  let  it  go?’”  Carolyn  writes  that,    

Listening, I had such a visceral reaction of horror, I knew we had hit on

something very sacred to my culture. The thought of deliberately letting
knowledge perish was as sacrilegious to me as the thought of keeping
one’s ancestors on a museum shelf was sacrilegious to the Indians in the
audience (Gilman quoted in Lowenthal, 1998: 29-30).

When   demolition   at   West   Park,   the   asylum   I   explored   with   Marc   Explo,   finally  

began   in   2010,   Patch   said,   “good,   now   we   can   stop   photographing   that   fucking  

place”  (Patch,  November  2010).  While  the  statement  may  imply  that  Patch  didn’t  

care   about   the   hospital,   Winch   later   told   me,   as   we   were   standing   at   the   fence  

around  the  empty  lot  that  used  to  be  the  Cane  Hill  Asylum,    

Look, these places are probably better documented photographically than

most heritage sites, it’s sad but we can let them go. There will always be
new places to explore, new experiences to be had. And hey, if they turn
this into social housing or something, that would be great for the
community too (Winch, December 2009).
 
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Figure  47.  A  child's  shoes  left  behind  in  the  West  Park  Asylum,  Surrey,  photo  by  author  
 

 
Figure  48.  A  decrepit  doll,  West  Park  Asylum,  Surrey,  photo  by  author  
 
 
 
 
 

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Every   time   you   log   on   to   the   urban   exploration   web   forums,   there   seems   to   be  

some   “breaking   news”   about   one   of   these   derelict   asylums   around   London   being  

demolished.   London   explorers,   some   of   whom   are   flippantly   called   “asylum  

seekers”,   love   these   asylums   for   their   unique   and   sad   histories,   aesthetic   and  

affective   qualities   and   often   on   weekends   you   can   find   multiple   groups   roaming  

their  corridors  taking  pictures.  The  mourning  process  that  they  go  through  when  

sites   are   lost   (Patch   later   said   he   just   wanted   the   hospital   to   “die   in   a   dignified  

way”)  indicate  the  deep  attachment  they  have  with  places,  even  if  they  recognize  

other   functions   they   might   serve.   A   few   exploration   locations   have   been   turned  

into  squats  or  smashed  up  by  raves  (see  Ingham  et  al.,  2007,  Townsend,  2010),  but  

those   events   are   mostly   celebrated   as   just   another   way   to   participate   in   what  

Winch   calls   “this   alternative   urban   experience”   (Winch,   September   2011),   another  

indicator   toward   the   underlying   liberal   politic   of   freedom   and   personal  

responsibility  in  the  urban  exploration  community  (Garrett,  2011c).    

 
Figure  49.  The  West  Park  Asylum,  Surrey,  photo  by  author  
 

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Two   years   into   my   research,   after   the   destruction   of   Cane   Hill   was   complete   and  

West   Park   was   being   demolished,   I   began   to   consider   the   seriousness   of   urban  

explorer’s   role   as   documentarian   when   these   places   disappear   with   little   or   no  

formal   documentation.   I   also   began   to   consider,   building   upon   my   revelations  

inside  West  Park,  how  the  anticipated  transience  of  places  affects  our  experiences  

while   in   them,   moving   our   experience   of   the   presented   past   into   an   imagined  

future,   where   these   places   no   longer   exist.   Winch,   in   his   free   time,   maintains   a  

website   devoted   to   the   Cane   Hill   Asylum.28  The   website,   which   contains   many  

archival   photographs   as   well   as   Winch’s   own   photos   of   the   place   during   serial  

trespasses  over  many  years  documenting  its  slow  decay,  has  received  thousands  of  

visits   and   has   earned   him   thanks   from   workers   and   patients   of   the   demolished  

asylum,   who   suggested   to   Winch   that   neither   the   National   Health   Service   (NHS)   or  

the   government   had   much   interest   in   preserving   its   memory.   Recently,   he   was  

contacted   by   the   British   Library   with   a   request   to   archive   the   site   in   its   entirety.  

Despite   Winch’s   admonishment   that   he   was   okay   with   letting   the   hospital   go,   he  

was  clearly  pleased  that  the  memories  of  the  place  would  be  preserved,  placing  the  

urban   explorer   in   the   rare   role   of   the   well-­‐respected   amateur   archaeologist/photo  

journalist.    

With   rumours   swirling   about   the   imminent   destruction   of   West   Park   at   the   time  

Marc   Explo   and   I   explored   it,   reinforced   by   the   loss   of   the   Cane   Hill   asylum,   I  

considered   the   fact   that   this   exploration   might   be   my   first   and   last   visit   to   it.  

Although   it   was   bittersweet,   my   awareness   was   heightened,   creating   an   impetus  

for   appreciation,   an   affectual   poignancy,   which   may   not   otherwise   have   been   as  

sharp.    

                                                                                                               
28
http://www.canehill.org (accessed 8th January 2012).

107  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Anticipated  transience  and  architectural  agency  

“What heresy! To show such zeal over these rotten scraps…”

– Jean-Paul Sartre (2009)
 

 
Figure  50.  Time  is  happening  right  now,  Cristallerie  du  Val  Saint  Lambert,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 

 
Figure  51.  Notes  from  another  time  now,  La  Cokerie  d'Anderlues,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 

108  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Caitlin   DeSilvey   has   used   the   term   “anticipated   transience”   to   discuss   stretched-­‐

out   stories,   experiences   in   fragile   ruins   as   braided   strands   of   past,   present   and  

future   (DeSilvey,   2011).   Working   linearly   through   these   three   concepts,   we   can  

first  imagine  that  we  go  to  ruins  to  read  their  histories.  Sometimes  this  is  actually  

literal.  In  my  visits  to  derelict  asylums,  factories,  power  stations  and  military  bases,  

I   have   found   countless   ledgers,   notepads,   pamphlets,   medical   records   and  

newspapers  that  gave  me  personal  recollections  from  employees,  dates  and  story  

fragments  from  people  who  dwelled  in  these  places.    

Images   of   bodies   are   often   conjured   up   in   ruins,   particularly   by   people’s   jettisoned  

clothing   and   empty   chairs.   But   these   artefacts   also   reveal   that   these   ghosts   had  

minds.  Notepads  with  logs  of  playtime  activities  in  the  crèche  at  West  Park,  along  

with  the  toys  I  found,  remind  us  that  this  was  a  workplace  for  some  and  a  site  of  

childhood   memories   for   others.   Do   these   people   still   live?   Do   they   think   of   this  

place?   Are   their   memories   inscribed   in   the   walls,   peeling   off   with   the   puke-­‐

coloured   yellow   lead   paint?   Would   these   artefacts   that   I   am   photographing   be  

important   to   them?   Remnants   of   edible   rubbish   dragged   around   the   place   indicate  

a  non-­‐human  architectural  life  just  as  vibrant.  These  are  the  affectual  qualities  of  

the  materiality  that  Reyes  described  earlier,  the  need  to  pull  meaning  out  of  “stuff”  

“marinating   in   fetid   stillness”.   Through   DeSilvey’s   meditation   on   anticipated  

transience,  in  combination  with  my  shared  experiences  with  urban  explorers,  we  

experience   “memory   materialised   in   the   body,   in   movement,   it   ceases   to   be   pure  

memory:  it  is  lived  in  the  present”  (Game,  1991:  97).  

In  this  past  informed  present,  we  might  begin  to  think  about  our  experience,  not  in  

contrast   to,   but   interwoven   with,   these   residual   emotions   and   fleeting   memories.  

109  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

We   go   to   these   places   to   attempt   to   read   the   inscriptions,   to   have   bodily  

encounters   that   challenge   or   reconfigure   our   conception   of   everyday   experience  

and   to   eventually   begin   writing   ourselves   into   places   by   photographing  

them/photographing   ourselves   in   them.   But   we   can   also   imagine   the   tendrils   of  

emotion  that  we  leave  behind,  the  shared  moments  of  fear  and  excitement  that  are  

left   floating   in   corners   like   twisting   smoke   in   a   room   full   of   stagnant   air.   A   security  

guard   on   site   at   West   Park   told   the   Badman,   another   of   my   project   participants,  

upon   catching   him   in   the   ruin   that   “every   time   he   enters   the   asylum,   he   says   a  

prayer”   (Godwin,   2010).   This   everyday   ritual   goes   beyond   the   materiality   of   the  

site,   though   it   also   reinforces   the   agency   of   place   by   reifying   its   ability   to   relay  

meaning   in   the   present   with   or   without   human   interpretation,   knowledge   of   the  

formal  histories  of  the  location,  or  even  our  presence.  

Part  of  our  enjoyment  of  these  places  is  clearly  a  regard  for  their  mutable  qualities  

–  every  time  we  go  back  to  a  place  in  decay,  it  is  different.  The  how  is  many  times  

unknown.    An  explorer  moved  an  old  typewriter  a  centimetre  to  get  better  lighting  

on   it   for   a   photo,   some   youth   tagged   the   walls   up,   a   group   of   kids   had   a   party   here,  

a  security  guard  put  up  a  new  board  on  a  window,  a  fox  dragged  the  outside  in,  the  

rain   finally   saturated   the   roof   beams   to   the   point   of   collapse.   We   get   glimpses   of  

nature  doing  its  slow  but  relentless  work,  ivy  creeping  though  the  windows,  mould  

taking  down  the  walls,  trees  pushing  through  the  floorboards,  rain  slowly  picking  

at  the  roof  tiles.    

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  52.  Whittingham  Asylum,  Lancashire,  December  2007,  photo  by  Winch  
 

 
Figure  53.  Whittingham  Asylum,  Lancashire,  July  2009,  photo  by  Winch  
 
 

111  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Our   excitement   registers   when   we   see   and   feel   these   changes;   we   imagine   a   future  

memory  forgotten,  anticipate  the  inevitable  transience  of  existence  –  not  just  ours  

but   the   buildings,   leaving   us   “haunted   by   the   threatening   aura   of   ruins,   by   their  

oppressive   interlocking   of   past   and   present,   nature   and   culture,   death   and   life”  

(Huyssen,   2010:   26).   Anticipating   transience   gives   us   an   image   of   ourselves  

written  into  this  decaying  future  memory,  a  glimpse  of  our  footprints  in  the  dust,  

as  we  muse  about  what  would  have  been  missed  if  we  hadn’t  been  brave  enough  to  

take  that  first  step  into  the  “unknown”  and  the  “frightening”.  

This  is  what  I  argue  urban  explorers  have  to  teach  those  who  look  after  interpreted  

historic   spaces   and   managed   heritage   sites   dutifully   maintained   in   a   state   of  

arrested  decay  –  something  is  missing  where  we  cannot  anticipate  the  transience;  

where   material   and   memorial   trajectory   is   regulated.   We   cannot   see   ourselves  

written  into  their  futures  because  we  are  not  “allowed”  to  inscribe  them.  The  act  of  

preservation   of   a   ruin,   if   the   intention   is   to   preserve   the   aesthetics   of   decay   (Trigg,  

2006),  is  ultimately  self-­‐defeating  because  the  essence  of  that  decay  is  lost  with  the  

effort  to  stall  it  (Roth,  1997:  8).  

We   can’t   dance   with   arrested   decay   because   it’s   a   corpse.   We   also   can’t   save   every  

place   and   preservation   is   not   always   the   best   option.   Ruins   appreciated   for   their  

beauty   in   the   present,   combined   with   a   feel   for   their   role   in   an   ephemeral   past,  

activate   places   because   they   are   recognized   as   living,   breathing   sites   of   memory  

and  experience.  Arrested  decay  is  misinterpreted  love  for  ruins  when  it  becomes  

nostalgic   for   a   cryogenically   frozen   past.  An   embodied,   living   history   begins   not  

with  the  site  but  with  the  visitor,  whoever  or  whatever  the  visitor  might  be.  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  54.  Stepping  into  the  unknown,  St  Josefsheim  Monastery,  Germany,  photo  by  author  
 

 
Figure  55.  Sleeping  in  Soviet  base  Vogelsang,  Berlin,  photo  by  author  
 
 
 
 
 

113  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

On   the   25th   of   April,   2009,   LutEx   and   I   went   to   explore   Severalls   Asylum.    
After  sneaking  through  a  hole  in  the  chain  link  fence,  we  ran  into  4  other  
explorers   inside   the   main   gate,   still   in   the   courtyard   looking   for   a   way  
over  the  palisade  fencing.  This  was  the  day  I  met  Dangerous  Dave,  Patch  
and  Statler.      
 
The   5   of   us   found   a   ladder   in   one   of   the   periphery   buildings   and   Lutex  
took   the   lead   on   putting   the   ladder   over   the   fence   so   that   we   could   all  
safely   climb   over.   What   was   a   frenzied   pace,   once   inside,   immediately  
slowed   down   and   everyone   walked  quietly  from  the  beautifully  decaying  
admin   building   to   the   burned   out   x-­‐ray   wards,   at   one   point   running  
when   someone   spotted   a   high-­‐vis   vest   hanging   in   a   room   they   thought  
was  a  security  guard.  At  the  end  of  the  day,  after  filming  and  replaying  
the   days   events   as   we   all   laughed   in   the   car,   Dangerous   Dave   said   “I  
think  it’s  great  you’re  filming  this  stuff  so  people  get  an  idea  of  what  it  is  
we   do,   not   just   what   we   produce.”   On   the   train   ride   home,   Patch   and  
Dave  ran  off  with  little  notice  to  explore  another  hospital  they  knew  was  
in   the   area   that   still   had   on   operating   table   they   could   lay   on   (Field  
Notes,  Colchester,  UK,  April  2009).    
 
High  and  Lewis,  in  Corporate  Wasteland,  correctly  recognize  that  the  distance  that  

leads   to   “tourism”   begins   with   the   body   in   place,   with   sensory   experience  

(Edensor,   1998)   and   that   memories   can   also   be   built   from   the   present,   but   then   go  

on  to  separate  the  present  from  the  past,  situating  the  liminal  zone  of  crossing  at  

the   border   of   the   ruin,   contending   that   “to   enter   an   abandoned   site   is,   in   some  

small  way,  to  cross  an  imaginative  divide  separating  the  perceived  post-­‐industrial  

present   from   the   industrial   past”   (High   and   Lewis,   2007:   58).   When   I   asked   Winch  

about   this   distinction   as   we   walked   though   the   abandoned   Soviet   military   base  

“Vogelsang”  in  Germany  at  the  tail  end  of  our  first  7-­‐day  urban  camping  road  trip,  

he   recognized   the   liminal   boundary   of   the   ruin   as   a   place   of   imposed   spatial  

distinction  but  refuted  the  temporal  divide  asserted  by  High  and  Lewis.  He  told  me  

that   a   building’s   closed   life,   its   afterlife,   was   just   as   much   a   part   of   its   history   as   its  

open   life   or   working   life   and   that   these   phases   both   contradict   and   complement  

each  other.    

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  56.  The  post-­‐industrial  present?  Cristallerie  du  Val  Saint  Lambert,  Belgium,  photo  by  author.  
 

 
Figure  57.  A  continuing  life  of  heavy  industry,  Schwermaschinenbau,  Germany,  photo  by  author  
 
 

115  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Winch’s   proposition,   interestingly,   gives   the   architecture   agency   and   recognizes  

that  the  building,  although  it  has  a  human  history,  continues  that  history  after  the  

point   of   abandonment,   with   or   without   our   presence,   the   presence   of   homeless  

people,  drug  users,  graffiti  artist,  geocachers,  squatters,  film  crews,  security  guards  

or   troupes   of   children   looking   for   imaginative   play   space,   though   these  

components   almost   always   do   exist.   Winch’s   primary   distinction   between   the  

phases   of   a   building   are   based   on   its   use   value   in   terms   of   capital   function   and  

recreational  function,  both  of  which  are  overlapping,  neither  of  which  is  prioritized  

or   necessary   for   the   building’s   life   or   significance.   We   may   appreciate,   ignore,  

despise   or   even   destroy   the   ruin,   but   the   ruin   continues,   with   or   without   us  

(Weisman,  2007).  

As   I   have   demonstrated,   the   urban   exploration   community   many   times   protects  

the   fragile   derelict   materiality   of   sites   by   minimising   impact   and   not   disclosing  

their   locations   so   that   these   mutations   can   endure,   so   those   secret   histories  

continue   to   be   revealed   in   whispers   and   through   spontaneous   embodied  

discovery,   acting   as   safe   keepers   of   extraordinary   affects   in   a   world   rendered  

increasingly  mundane.  The  constant  exploration,  discovery  and  re-­‐discovery  of  the  

urban  environment  betrays  the  fact  that  material  culture  is  a  renewable  resource  

(Holtorf,   2005).   Urban   explorers   constantly   rework   this   resource   by   assaying  

histories   in   new   and   unexpected   ways   that   inspire   a   past   open   to   rewrite   and  

contestation  where  “all  time  -­‐  past,  present  and  future   -­‐  coexists  simultaneously”  

(Borges,  1971:  189).  However,  they  also  protect  the  sites  as  reservoirs  of  affect  to  

be   tapped   as   needed   based   on   accumulated   esoteric   knowledge.   Becoming  

safekeepers  of  that  rare  knowledge  can,  of  course,  contribute  to  the  elitist  attitudes  

of  explorers,  where  they  live  out  personal  heroic  fantasies  in  strange  places.  

116  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Post-­‐human  imaginaries:  mortal  architecture  

“The ruins of a now outlived urban dream revealed, more clearly than ever before,
the phantasmagoric nature of the artefact and the hidden scripting of their
making.”

– (Kaika and Swyngedouw, 2000: 132)

Figure 58. Author at the post-apocalyptic Burton Brewed Bitter site, London, photo by author

As   I   wrote   in   chapter   one,   while   urban   exploration   appears   novel   in   its   global  

cohesiveness  or  community  aspects,  the  practice  itself  is  not.  Romantic  accounts  of  

ruin   exploration   in   the   last   2000   years   abound.   As   we   anticipated   their   transience,  

ruins,  like  dreams,  pull  us,  in  one  direction,  toward  our  innermost  yearnings  and,  

in   another,   towards   a   life   beyond   the   constraints   of   the   real   (Pile,   2005:   29).  

Clearly  part  of  our  attraction  to  derelict  space  also  has  a  darker  component  of  an  

imagined  ruined  future,  a  Ballardian  formulation  of  urban  apocalypse  (see  videos  

5,  6  and  7,  Hobohemia  Triptych).  

117  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  59.  Imagined  ruins  of  John  Soane’s  Bank  of  England,  by  Joseph  Michael  Gandy  (1830),  image  
via  Wikimedia  Commons  

Many   18th   and   19th   century   depictions   of   ruins   were   built   around   the   ethos   of  

artists  such  as  Robert  and  Panini  who  painted  European  dereliction  with  a  healthy  

dose   of   nostalgic   romanticism.   Famously,   in   1830,   the   artist   Joseph   Gandy   was  

commissioned   by   John   Soane,   the   architect   of   the   Bank   of   England,   to   create   a  

painting  of  what  the  bank  would  look  like  in  ruins  before  it  was  built.  Later,  Hitler’s  

architect   Albert   Speer   wrote   the   Theory  of  Ruin  Value   (see   Speer,   1970)   in   which  

he   sought   to   manufacture   the   greatness   of   the   Third   Reich   through   the  

construction  of  buildings  which  would  decay  beautifully.  Speer  was  assisted  by  the  

political  geographer  Karl  Haushofer  who  insisted  that  German  imperial  imaginary  

would  be  bolstered  by  “ruin  gazing”  (Haushofer,  1934  quoted  in  Hell  2010,  Stead,  

2007).   These   representations   have   deep   connections   to   people’s   perceptions   of  

what   the   “use”   of   ruins   might   be,   an   imagination   that   retains   an   Imperial   taint.  

These  examples,  despite  not  being  necessarily  common  knowledge,  have  served  as  

models   for   many   contemporary   perceptions   of   ruin   aesthetics   (Trigg,   2006).   The  

result   is   a   situation   in   which,   following   from   the   writings   of   Walter   Benjamin  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

(1998)   “the   metaphorical   power   of   ruination   is   as   relevant   today   as   it   was   in   an  

ostensibly  more  Romantic  era”  (Rapp,  2010:  20).    

Nietzsche   contends   that   this   type   of   nostalgic   longing   is   emotionally   crippling,  

creating   a   society   so   rooted   in   preserving   some   legacy   of   itself   that   it   fails   to  

appreciate   moments   of   existence   in   the   present;   present   moments   are   lived  

through  a  lens  of  historical  consciousness.  As  a  result,  Nietzsche  quips  that  “every  

past  is  worth  condemning”  (Nietzsche,  2006:  21).  Slightly  less  polemically  perhaps,  

I   suggest   urban   exploration   offers   an   important   model   for   intersections   of  

historical  encounter,  present-­‐day  experience  and  post-­‐human  future  imagination.  

As   Ninjalicious   (1997:   2)   argues,   in   that   post-­‐apocalyptic   future,   what   we   need   are  

not   wilderness   survival   skills   but   “urban   survival   skills.   Fence   climbing.    

Lockpicking.   Breaking   and   entering.   Wall   scaling.   Trap   detection.   Building  

navigation.   Hole   avoidance.   Where   better   to   foster   such   skills   than   in   abandoned  

buildings?”  

Paul   Dobraszczyk   writes   of   a   trip   taken   to   the   exploded   nuclear   reactor   at  

Chernobyl   which   “incorporated   elements   of   both   dark   tourism   and   urban  

exploration”   (2010:   372)   as   he   searched   for   what   Susan   Sontag   referred   to   as  

confrontations  with  “inconceivable  terror”  (Sontag,  1965:  52).  Dobraszczyk  writes,  

“coupled  with  a  century  or  more  of  apocalyptic  visions  of  ruined  cities  in  literature  

and   cinema   and   a   recent   emphasis   on   realistic   visions   of   urban   destruction   in  

many   post-­‐apocalyptic   films   and   computer   games,   the   links   between   real   and  

imagined   ruination   are   becoming   increasingly   blurred”   (Dobraszczyk,   2010:   371,  

reading  Davis,  2002:  5).  

119  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  60.  Silent  Motion  and  Marc  Explo  in  the  urban  training  ground,  Wolfsschlucht  II,  near  Paris,  
photo  by  author  

This   imagination,   as   Dobraszczyk   found,   is   an   undeniable   part   of   the   allure   of  

urban  exploration,  normally  tied  to  cold-­‐war  imaginaries.  We  can  find  resonances  

in  the  writing  of  W.G.  Sebald  where  he  explores  the  derelict  Orford  Ness  military  

installation:  

…the closer I came to these ruins… the more I imagined myself among
the remains of our own civilization after its extinction in some future
catastrophe. To me too, as for some latter-day stranger ignorant of the
nature of our society wandering about among the heaps of scrap metal and
defunct machinery, the beings who had once lived and worked here were
an enigma, as was the purpose of the primitive contraptions and fittings
inside the bunkers, the iron rails under the ceilings, the hooks of the still
partially tiled walls, the showerheads the size of plates, the ramps and
soakaways (Sebald and Hulse, 1998: 237).  

Jonathan   Veitch   (2010),   in   the   compilation   Ruins   of   Modernity,   tours   the   Nevada  

Atomic   Test   Site   where   he   finds   not   the   expected   response   of   melancholy   or  

nostalgia  upon  entering  the  ruins  but  Baudelaire’s  Satanic  laughter,  a  terror  that  is  

120  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

so   visceral   the   only   possible   response   is   humour,   as   if   the   emotions   have   been  

short-­‐wired  by  the  horror.    

Figure  61.  Urban  exploration  often  reveals  the  disturbing,  The  Horror  Labs,  Belgium,  photo  by  
author  

The   experience   of   being   overwhelmed   by   the   environment   or   situation   that   is  

clearly   “out   of   control”   is   becoming   less   and   less   prevalent   in   a   society   which  

prides  itself  of  maintaining  order,  as  youliveandyouburn  wrote  in  chapter  1,  which  

robs   the   individual   of   agency   over   their   existential   trajectory   in   the   same   way   that  

regulation  of  ruins  many  times  precludes  the  possibility  of  writing  our  own  stories  

into   them.   Yet   despite   losing   control   over   actions   on   a   everyday   basis,   Lyng   (1990:  

873)   writes   that   “as   several   scholars   have   noted   (Lasch,   1978,   Erikson,   1976),  

increasing   numbers   of   people   in   modern   postindustrial   society   feel   threatened,  

both  physically  and  mentally,  by  forces  entirely  beyond  their  control,  for  example,  

threats   posed   by   toxic   chemicals   in   the   environment,   nuclear   war,   financial  

instability,  the  general  instability  of  personal  relationships,  and  so  forth”.  And  so,  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

developing   an   embodied   situational   tactic   for   coping   with   a   dystopic   future  

imagination,  developing  the  proficiency  of  the  self  and  community  to  persevere  in  

the  face  of  utter  catastrophe,  seems  a  logical  extension  of  the  inability  to  cope  with  

modern  society.  

In  Clapham,  South  London,  there  is  a  system  of  deep  shelters,  three  in  total,  under  

Clapham   South,   Clapham   Common   and   Clapham   North   Tube   stations.   We  

systematically   gained   access   to   each   of   these   shelters   and   explored   them   as   a  

group.  The  crew  also  held  a  leaving  party  for  me  in  one  of  those  bunkers  when  I  

left  to  write  up.  At  the  party,  Statler  joked  with  me,  saying,  “if  there’s  ever  a  nuclear  

attack   or   something,   I   know   where   I’m   headed.”   Drainpipe,   who   I   brought   with   me  

to  the  party,  told  me  “I’m  staying  close  to  you,  you  clearly  have  the  keys  to  the  city”  

(Statler   and   Drainpipe,   February   2011),   implying   that   in   an   event   of   a   disaster,   I  

would   know   just   where   to   go.   Feeling   that   I   had   this   “insider”   urban   knowledge  

was   empowering.   This   process   of   empowerment   though   living   out   fantasy   is  

written  about  by  Marc  Explo  on  his  blog  Ejectable,  

As a kid I used to watch superheroes, detectives, and undercover agents on

TV. Then, as a teenager, video-games got me involved deeper into these
virtual adventures. In comparison reality was dull. It wasn't my fault, I was
in the wrong place at the wrong time: unbelievable stories always happen
in the past, in the future, or in parallel universes. My only hope was to
become a cop or a secret spy. I took an office job. It was less exciting but
sounded like a safer career plan. Years later, I had nearly surrendered my
dreams when I stumbled upon a few individuals who refused to let
adventure die. Since I joined them my life hasn't been the same and there's
no way back. We climb churches and bridges, we infiltrate into buildings
from the service tunnels underneath, we throw parties underground and at
the top of high-rise towers. We have superpowers.29

                                                                                                               
29
http://ejectable.net (accessed 12th January 2012).

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  62.  The  author  descending  into  the  Clapham  South  bunker,  London,  photo  by  author  

123  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  63.  The  author  inside  the  Clapham  North  bunker,  London,  photo  by  author  

Thinking   back   to   the   discussion   in   chapter   2   of   demographics,   involvement   and  

exclusion   within   this   practice,   a   critical   reading   of   Marc   Explo’s   description   of  

how   he   got   involved   can   quickly   become   problematic.   His   comments   suggest   that  

his  desire  to  explore  was  a  reaction  to  middle  class  boredom.  Perhaps  as  well,  it  is  

a  very  boyish,  childish  desire  for  adventure  that  compels  him  to  explore.  Finally,  

he   appears   mildly   delusional   over   what   he   may   accomplish   through   urban  

exploration.  Looking  back  over  my  images  included  in  the  thesis,  similar  critiques  

can  be  made  of  my  photography,  particularly  Figure  63.  Am  I  here  attempting  to  

replicate  the  culture  under  study  or  a  victim  of  my  own  delusion?    

Clearly  part  of  the  reason  explorers  enjoy  sneaking  into  decaying  architecture  is  

rooted  in  an  imagination  of  a  post-­‐apocalyptic  future.  These  places  are  viscerally  

enticing   in   their   wretchedness,   in   part,   because   imagining   ourselves   populating  

them   during   futures   filled   with   heroism   and   adventure   (here   again   the   daring  

male  questing  for  authenticity  of  experience)  is  so  improbable  that  it  forces  one  

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to   meditate   on   the   surreal   nature   of   the   past   that   has   led   us   to   this   most  

improbable  junction  in  time.  Writing  of  Pripyat,  one  contributor  to  the  new  book  

Beauty   in   Decay  which  represents  these  sites  with  burning  gothic  intensity  notes  

that   Pripyat  “continues   to   whisper   of   a   ‘post-­‐human’   earth   which,   in   the   end,   may  

be  the  strongest  fascination  of  them  all”  (RomanyWG,  2010:  np).

In  our  explorations  of  the  ruins  of  Eastern  Europe  between  2008  and  2010,  we  all  

took   guilty   pleasure   in   witnessing   the   remains   of   the   failed  Soviet   Union   (Lusito  

and   Conte,   2009)  and   Nazi   Germany,   reacting,   at   times,   absurdly   to   it   as   I   did   at  

Nohra   when   I   assaulted   the   Lenin   statue.   The   experience   left   us   in   a   distinctly  

different   state   than   ruin   exploration   in   the   United   Kingdom,   the   reverence   for  

actual   state   failure   (rather   than   imagined   post-­‐capitalist   or   “site-­‐specific”   failure)  

making   our   explorations   both   more   poignant   and   more   guilt-­‐ridden   (see   video   10,  

Crack  the  Surface,  14:20).   If,   as   Dylan   Trigg   writes   in   The  Aesthetics  of  Decay  (Trigg,  

2006),  a  derelict  factory  testifies  to  a  failed  past  but  also  reminds  us  that  the  future  

may  end  in  ruin,  what  does  the  ruin  of  a  failed  state  say  to  us?  

Henry   James   (James,   1968   [1909]:   222)   writes   in   Italian  Hours,  “to   delight   in   the  

aspect   of   the   sentient   ruin   might   appear   a   heartless   pastime,   and   the   pleasure,   I  

confess,   shows   a   note   of   perversity”.   This   perversity   takes   on   a   different   form   as  

you   leave   “home”.   The   nostalgia   wears   a   dark   mask   of   exotic   fetishism   that  

beckons  the  days  of  Empire,  even  surrounded  by  the   possible  beginning  of  the  end  

of   capitalism   and   the   nation   state   at   home.   Of   course,   these   expeditions   are  

markedly   less   decadent   than   those   of   ages   past   but   even   speaking   English   marks  

us   as   a   potentially   dark   and   exploitative   party   even   as   we   seek   to   avoid   being  

“tourists”  by  following  Steve  Pile’s  advice  that  “in  order  to  get  at  some  of  the  real  

(really   operative)   processes   in   city   life,   attention   should   be   paid   to   those   things  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

that  appear  marginal,  or  discarded,  or  lost,  or  that  have  disappeared  or  are  in  the  

process  of  disappearance“  (Pile,  2005:  48).  

 
In   explorations   of   subterranean   features   such   as   utility   tunnels,   catacombs   and  

bunkers   like   the   ones   in   Clapham,   there   is   a   fantasy   being   played   out   of  

someday  taking   refuge   here.   Whether   from   drought,   famine,   nuclear   attack   or   a  

zombie   infestation   is   never   articulated,   yet   it’s   often   implied   that   this   sort   of  

scenario  would  almost  be  a  blessing,  the  explorers  could  then  exert  the  full  force  of  

their  knowledge  and  skills;  they  could  finally  be  the  heroes  they  believe  they  are.    

 
Figure  64.  Almost  forgotten,  University  of  Liege,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 
As   Leary   (2011:   np)   writes,  these   ruins   appear   to   be   “a   potent   symbol   of   decline  

and  the  inevitable  cycles  of  capitalist  booms  and  busts.”  Susan  Buck-­‐Morss   writes  

in  The  Dialectics  of  Seeing  (1991:  164)  that  throughout  Benjamin’s  Arcades  Project  

(1999),   “the   image   of   the   ‘ruin’   is   emblematic   not   only   of   the   transitoriness   and  

fragility   of   capitalist   culture,   but   also   its   destructiveness.”   Imaginations   are  

bolstered   by   the   thought   we  are   seeing   ghosts   from   a   future   yet   to   come   (Pile,  

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2005).    In  exploring  the  ruins  of  a  failed  past  after  hearing  the  stories  of  workers  

being  shut  out  of  factories  after  30  years  of  dedicated  corporate  service  (Cowie  and  

Heathcott,  2003:  15,  also  see  Milkman,  1997),  explorers  don’t  just  experience  that  

surreal   collapse   of   time   and   space   that   exist   within   the   ruin   –   they   remind  

themselves  that  everything  is  transience  and  that  anything  we  think  we  can  hold  

onto  is  illusion  (DeSilvey,  2011).    

 
Perhaps,  on  some  level,  this  creates  apathy  toward  history  that  can  be  translated  

as   memorial   disinterest,   or   even   generational   selfishness,   but   it   also   reminds  

explorers   that   we   must   take   responsibility   to   prepare   for   the   next   inevitable  

economic   failure.   Derelict   site   location   knowledge   and   access   acts   as   a   post-­‐

apocalyptic  insurance  policy.  

 
Figure  65.  Marc  Explo,  Statler,  Silent  Motion,  Winch  and  the  author  sleeping  in  the  quarries  of  Paris,  
photo  by  author  
 
 

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Urban   explorers   are   largely   ambivalent   about   national   economic   prosperity   –  

however,   as   I   have   mentioned,   there   is   an   identifiable   strain   of   libertarianism  

throughout  the  community,  connected  to  the  notion  of  personal  responsibility  for  

risk-­‐taking   (High  and  Lewis,  2007:  61,  RomanyWG,  2010:  np).  Explorers  enjoy  the  

excesses   of   capitalism,   the   construction,   the   development,   the   spoils,   yet   also  

celebrate  economic  and  capital  failure  by  exploring  ‘ruin’  space  and  by  imagining  

themselves   as   the   keepers   of   secrets   that   would   put   them   at   an   advantage   in   a  

dystopic   future.   While   this   would   technically   be   the   case,   given   that   explorers  

know  intimately  the  infrastructural  networks  of  cities,  including  places  like  nuclear  

bunkers,  and  have  access  to  these  places  in  a  way  the  general  populace  does  not,  

urban   explorers   also   like   to   imagine   themselves   as   being   more   heroic   than   they  

are,   as   if   being   gatekeepers   to   that   information   already   makes   them   postmodern  

superheroes   (thinking   back   to   Marc   Explo’s   post).   Of   course,   given   the   surreal  

nature  of  the  experiences  explorers  have,  some  of  which  I  have  described,  it  may  

not   be   shocking   to   imagine   the   lines   between   fantasy   and   reality   in   the   practice  

often  become  blurred  and  my  blog,  over  the  course  of  the  project,  became  a  perfect  

example  of  that  delicious  delirium.  

These   future   dystopic,   post-­‐climate   catastrophe   and/or   post-­‐apocalyptic  

imaginaries  are  evident  all  over  popular  culture,  from  films  like  Mad   Max,  28   Days  

Later   (which   the   UK   urban   exploration   forum   is   obviously   named   after),  12  

Monkeys,  The  Postman,  A  Boy  and  His  Dog,  The  Book  of  Eli  and  in  novels  like  After  

London   (Jefferies,   2010   [1885]),   World  Made  by  Hand  (Kunstler,   2008),  The  Road  

(McCarthy,   2006),  Earth   Abides   (Stewart,   2006   [1949]),   The   Stand,   (King,  

1986)  or  The  Plague   (Camus,   1991)   and  even   in   video   games   like   Bioshock,   Silent  

Hill  and  Rage.  

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Figure  66.  The  author  commandeering  a  disused  military  vehicle  in  a  former  NATO  bunker,  near  
Paris,  photo  by  author  
 
In   all   of   these   depictions,   though   the   future   may   be   bleak   and   dystopic,   there   is  

some   underlying   euphoria   behind   the   freedom   that   comes   with   being   released  

from  the  state,  social   life  and   cultural   expectation   that   has   an   obvious   relationship  

to   the   off-­‐the-­‐grid   spaces   that   urban   explorers   go   into.   Dsankt,   when   I   raised   the  

issue,  disagreed  that  urban  explorers  were  anywhere  near  “off  the  grid”,  

…to  me  the  typical  urbex  experience  and  the  life  of  someone  living  off  the  
grid   only   overlap   in   their   location.   Most   explorers   I   know   are   middle  
class,  work  9-­‐5  or  study,  have  a  phone,  car,  bank  account,  maintain  an  
internet  presence,  pay  rent  etc,  all  things  attaching  them  heavily  to  the  
grid.   It's   their/our   position   and   wealth   on   the   grid   which   allow   us   to  
treat  these  places  as  a  playground  and  participate  in  this  decay  tourism,  
rather   than   see   them   as   a   means   to   an   end   -­‐   survival.   It's   something  
heavily   discussed   on   a   recent   trip   through   the   Balkans…   where   we  
passed   through   and   treated   areas   of   suffering   and   poverty   like  
playgrounds.  In  retrospect  I  feel  a  little  guilty  for  taking  pictures  of  the  
decaying  husk  of  a  concrete  factory  which  the  current  inhabitants  utilise  
to   store   farming   equipment   they   use   to   scratch   out   an   existence.   A   life  
which   in   western   Europe   would   be   considered   very   poor.   Momentarily  
stepping  off  the  grid  to  satisfy  our  desire  for  a  taste  of  the  other  side  is  a  
tiny   step   compared   to   what's   needed   to   shift   our   perception   of   these  
places   from   ones   of   recreation   to   ones   of   shelter   and   survival,   and  
answer   all   the   other   questions   that   come   with   giving   up   a   life   on   the  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

grid.   It's   a   very   romantic   notion   and   one   I   loved   during   the   time   I   was  
squatting   but   I   never   considered   myself   to   be   off   the   grid,   I   was   both  
connected  to  it  and  dependent  on  it.  The  homeless  guys  I  passed  everday  
who   slept   on   the   street   were   off   the   grid   I   guess,   but   were   still   reliant   on  
it  for  they  dug  in  the  trashcans  and  took  donations  from  others.  Can  you  
imagine  your  average  urban  explorer  selling  their  prized  DSLR  to  buy  a  
load  of  bread,  or  a  tent  for  the  winter  when  they're  forcibly  evicted  from  
their  squat?30    
 
Dsankt   makes   important   points   here   –   perhaps   our   imaginations   of   these   dystopic  

futures   just   feels   like   they   are   becoming   increasingly   realistic   as   our   faith   in   the  

state   to   take   care   of   us   is   eroded;   as   we   see   the   world   collapsing   around   us  

politically,  environmentally  and  socially  (Fukuyama,  1992)  and  if  we  actually  had  

to  deal  with  a  state-­‐level  failure,  explorers  would  not  find  themselves  at  any  sort  of  

advantage.  Now  that  may  be  obvious.  What  isn’t  obvious  is  that  explorers  like  the  

idea   to   some   extent.   Many   explorers   want   society   to   implode,   to   see   how   they  

would   fare   in   a   world   not   regulated   by   health   and   safety,   to   see   what   might   be  

achieved   when   confronted   with   the   most   basic   challenges   of   finding   food,   water,  

shelter,  defence  and  community.  

I   argue   that   the   urban   explorer’s   interest   in   post-­‐apocalyptic   imaginaries   is  

nothing   less   than   an   interest   in   trying   to   get   back   to   what   we   have   lost   in   late  

capitalism,  a  sense  of  place,  a  sense  of  community,  a  sense  of  self  –  as  Marc  Explo  

tells  me,  “we  want  to  be  a  part  of  a  tribe  again,  where  relationships  matter”  (Marc  

Explo,   October   2011).   And   although   urban   exploration   passes   through   places  

rather  than  staking  them  out  in  any  permanent  way,  it  can  also  act  as  a  vital  bridge,  

a  gateway,  because  it  finally  makes  the  move  from  imagination  to  action.  When  we  

explore,   we   take   a   small   step   off   the   grid.   Perhaps   it   is   only   one   more   to   start  

peeking  into  that  other  side  that  Dsankt  mentioned.    

                                                                                                               
30
The full conversation can be accessed at http://www.placehacking.co.uk/2010/11/16/urban-apocalypse
(accessed 16th November 2010).

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Temporal  junctions:  the  past  and  imagined  future  in  the  present    

“You should create your own icons and way of life, because nostalgia isn't glamorous...
live your life now.”
– Marilyn Monroe, Press Conference, Hollywood 1956
 

 
Figure  67.  Marc  Explo  in  NGTE  Pyestock,  Farnborough,  photo  by  author  
 
In   this   chapter,   I   have   shown   that   urban   explorers   are   interested   in   quarrying  

spontaneous   finds   through   embodied   experience   in   derelict   and   abandoned   places  

to   create   enticing   embodied   temporal   juxtapositions.   I   have   shown   that   urban  

explorers  are  aware  that  “each  time  we  enter  a  new  place,  we  become  one  of  the  

ingredients   of   an   existing   hybridity…”   (Lippard,   1997:   5-­‐6)   and   are   prepared   to  

care   for   historic   sites   and   to   let   them   disappear   at   the   same   time   they   might  

imagine   residing   in   rather   than   passing   through   them.   Again,   I   am   not   implying  

that  one  view  of  the  past  is  more  important  or  more  significant  than  another.  What  

I   want   to   argue   is   that   there   is   a   place,   a   need   and   a   desire   for   embodied  

experiences   of   the   past,   dreams   of   alternative   pasts,   for   localized   historic  

interpretation   and   for   unregulated   decay   because   “a   ruin   can   point   much   more  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

powerfully   than   a   restored   building   to   its   historical   and   social   genesis”   (Steinmetz,  

2010:   317)   and   because   unregulated   experiences   in   ruins   tell   us   as   much   about  

ourselves  as  about  the  places  we  explore.  

I   have   also   demonstrated   that   in   these   explorations,   stories   of   places   are  

constructed   though   interaction   with   the   materiality,   myths   and   dreams   of   places  

experienced,   on   personal,   sensual,   memorial   and   aesthetic   terms,   folded   into   the  

multiple  narratives  of  our  social  lives,  the  lives  of  those  who  have  come  before  us  

and   the   lives   of   those   human,   non-­‐human,   ghostly   and   architectural   entities   also  

involved   with   sites   of   past,   present   and   future   memory.   Regardless   of   the   eventual  

fate   of   the   places   themselves,   by   understanding   places   on   terms   of   our   choosing,  

we   have   the   opportunity   to   construct   rich,   lively,   ever-­‐morphing   narrative  

encounters  that  collectively  begin  to  complicate  and  transform  the  ways  in  which  

we  respond  to  urban  space  and  our  understandings  of  the  values  of  places.  

Ruins   may   be   decaying   but   they   are   not   dead,   they   are   places   filled   with  

possibilities  for  wondrous  adventure,  inspiring  visions,  quiet  moments,  peripatetic  

playfulness,   dystopic   preparation   and   artistic   potential.   We   could   of   course   take  

this   sense   of   aesthetics,   these   small   stories,   these   dark   memories   and   darker  

imaginaries  and  fold  them  into  a  larger  narrative  about  the  historical  significance  

of   these   places.   But   I   would   also   suggest   that   we   reconsider   the   possibility   that  

ruins   have   agency   beyond   representation   and   human   engagement,   they   are   sites  

for   performative   events,   encounters   between   beings,   places   where   material   and  

immaterial,  human  and  animal,  animate  and  inanimate  begin  to  fall  away.  Although  

they   might   be   partially   subterranean,   trapped   in   some   measure   and   protected   in  

an   archaeological   soil   matrix,   in   many   cases   they’re   not;   they   sit   on   the   earth,  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

exposed   to   weathering   elements   that   constantly   assault   them   and   mark   their  

surfaces   with   smoothness   and   striation   that   cannot   be   artificially   produced.   As  

these  assaults  begin  to  morph  them,  their  narratives  of  capital  “progress”  begin  to  

peel   back   to   reveal   a   skeleton   of   rust,   cogs,   switches,   dials,   utility   tunnels,   circuit  

boards,   and   mouldy   pieces   of   paper   outlining   modes   of   production,   things   to  

remember,  forgotten  photographs  and  festering  memories,  indicating  an  iterative  

architectural  formulation  has  begun  yet  again,  perhaps  one  that  even  lies  outside  

the  fertile  imaginations  of  urban  explorers.  When  we  pass  through  these  places,  we  

tap   into   those   multiple   mutabilities,   revealing   the   slipperiness   of   our   own  

existence  as  much  as  theirs.  

 
Figure  68.  Slippage  at  the  abandoned  University  of  Liege,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 
This   slippage   between   signifier   and   signified   is   where   Derrida   (1981)   finds  

meaning,   in   the   complicated   intersections   between   what   we   expect   and   what   we  

find  in  what  we  might  call  a  hauntological  moment.  Nowhere  is  this  truer  than  in  

ruins  which  are  inherently  spectral  due  to  their  temporal  and  spatial  disordering  

133  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

where   “the   spectral   above   all   confounds   settled   orders   of   past   and   present.  

Spectrality   effects   in   place,   and   differentially   in   different   placings,   an   unsettling  

complication  of  the  linear  sequence  of  past,  present  and  future”  (Wylie,  2007:  172).  

 
Exploring   ruins   reveals   a   different   temporal   pace   and   scale   that   challenges   us   to  

increase   our   awareness,   concentration   and   participation.   Through   these  

explorations,  we  enter  an  intensely  emotional  courtship  with  place.  The  meaning,  

the   desire,   built   through   those   courtships   is   something   that   shouldn’t   be  

underestimated,   it   festers   and   ferments   into   a   geography   of   love   (Wylie,   2009)  

folded   right   back   into   the   fabric   of   places   to   be   discovered   and   rediscovered,   the  

explorers  and  the  explored  both  becoming  revenant.  In  essence,  as  Holloway  and  

Kneale   (2008:   303)   write,   “what   we   are   dealing   with   when   a   space   becomes  

haunted   is   the   disruption   or   dislocation   of   normalized   configurations   and  

affordances   of   materiality,   embodiment   and   space.”   Urban   explorers,   while  

searching  for  ghosts,  also  become  spectres  on  the  margins.    

Urban  exploration  experiences  pasts  in  what  might  be  unexpected  ways.  As  I  have  

shown   in   this   chapter,   practitioners   are   interested   in   small   stories   and   local,  

immaterial,  fantastic  and  whimsical  histories.  The  practice  does  not  exclude  dark  

pasts   and   does   not   (usually)   shy   away   from   destruction   and   loss   of   the   places   that  

these  stories  are  found  in.  Exploration  also  fosters  an  imagination  of  the  past  and  

experience  of  the  present  informed  by  a  cautious  curiosity  about  what  the  future  

may   hold   as   people   begin   to   loose   faith   in   current   government   and   financial  

systems.   Perhaps   this   the   reason   the   practice   is   taking   on   a   rapidly   increasing  

social   relevance,   as   people   become   more   curious   about   what   a   post-­‐capitalist  

world  would  look  like  –  urban  explorers  can  supply  those  imaginative  depictions.  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Most   importantly   though,   I   hope   to   have   shown   that   while   urban   explorers   may  

appear   naïve,   superficial   spectators   or   an   exploitative   groups   of   privileged  

teenagers,   they   are   also   temporal   alchemists,   undertaking   (at   times)   important  

documentation  and  churning  the  past,  present  and  to  some  extent  the  future,  into  

new  and  exciting  forms  that  I  believe  we  can  all  learn  from.  

 
Figure  69.  Time  churning,  Barenquell  Brewery,  Berlin,  photo  by  author  
 
In  the  next  Chapter,  we  move  increasingly  from  places  of  history  into  places  of  fear  

and   excitement.   During   2010,   London   “Team   B”,   after   our   urban   camping   road  

trips   in   Europe   and   “rinsing”   of   derelict   locations   in   and   around   London,   largely  

moved   on   from   ruin   exploration  into  infrastructural  infiltrations  of  London’s  drain  

and   utility   network,   cranes   and   skyscrapers,   and   eventually   the   London  

Underground   and   underground   government   installations.   As   we   did   so,   our  

geographical   imaginations   underwent   a   radical   vertical   reconfiguration,   even   as  

our  skills  grew  alongside  our  expectations  of  what  was  possible  in  the  city.    

   

135  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Chapter  4  –  The  rise  of  an  infiltration  crew  

“What you can do or think you can do, begin it. For boldness has magic, power and
genius in it.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1909: 20)

 
Figure  70.  Jules  in  the  Clapham  North  Bunker,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

The   global   community   of   urban   explorers,   as   much   as   there   is   one,   generally  

ascribes   to   the   unspoken   “code   of   ethics”   I   outlined   in   chapter   1,   recording   and  

often   defending   marginal   and   ruin   space   to   preserve   the   types   of   experiences  

described   in   chapter   3.   However,   in   this   chapter,   I   discuss   the   ways   in   which  

particular   urban   explorers   and   groups   of   explorers   rise   to   prominence   by,  

predictably,   being   the   first   to   explore   “new”   and   elusive   locations   and   by  

undertaking   the   most   difficult   and   often   dangerous   explorations   of   urban  

environments,  striving  for  the  discovery  of  what  urban  explorers  call  “Holy  Grails”.  

Often,   in   order   to   obtain   “Grails”,   the   code   of   ethics   has   to   be   bent   to   particular  

needs.   Many   of   the   world’s   most   well-­‐respected   explorers   often   find   themselves   at  

odds  with  “forum  communities”  when  the  desire  to  reveal  new  locations  surpasses  

the  desire  the  seek  community  approval,  causing  social  fracturisation.    

 
The  tipping  point  –  cracking  the  Ministry  of  Defence  

“There is no one hacker ethic. Everyone has his own. To say that we all think that
same way is preposterous.”
– Acid Phreak (Coleman and Golub, 2008)

At   the   beginning   of   what   was   to   be   a   long,   cold   winter   in   2009,   we  

received   information   that   a   Ministry   of   Defence   (MOD)   nuclear   bunker  
underneath   an   active   military   base   in   Corsham,   Wiltshire,   had   been  
breached.  Eight  of  us  arrived  in  two  cars  that  night  to  be  directed  by  a  
local  explorer  called  Tommo  in  the  appropriate  direction.  We  passed  our  
bags  through  a  hole  in  the  gate  to  Spring  Quarry,  an  abandoned  system  
which,   we   could   see   from   maps   Patch   had   obtained,   abutted   the  
underground  MOD  base.  

We   worked   for   hours   into   the   night,   checking   the   walls   for   newly   dug  
tunnels   to   gain   access   to   the   bunker,   finally   coming   to   the   conclusion  
that  the  only  entrance  was  though  a  massive  blast  door  that  was  sealed  
tightly.   Either   we   had   been   given   bad   information   or   the   bunker   had  
been  re-­‐sealed  in  between  the  time  we  received  it  and  our  arrival.  

The   eight   of   took   a   brief   moment   to   discuss   our   options.   If   we   were   to  

subscribe  to  the  UE  “code  of  ethics”,  this  trip  would  be  over,  finding  no  
entry   that   didn’t   require   force.   If   we   forced   the   door,   we   could   never  
speak   about   it   or   face   social   banishment.   We   had   had   come   to   a  
crossroad   that,   I   would   later   realise,   would   change   the   way   our   crew  
137  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

operated   forever.   We   voted   to   pry   open   the   blast   door.   As   the  

ethnographer   for   the   group,   they   were   particularly   sensitive   about   my  
feelings  on  the  issue.  When  I  agreed  I  would  participate,  they  asked  if  I  
would   be   happy   to   not   film   or   write   about   how   we   gained   access.   Again,  
I  agreed.  

We  found  two  large  metal  bars  in  the  quarry  and  two  of  us  wedged  them  
into  the  blast  door  at  the  top  and  bottom.  Applying  pressure  to  the  door,  
we   finally   moved   it   back   from   the   wall   enough   that   we   could   unscrew  
the   large   wingnut   on   the   back   that   was   holding   the   door   shut.   The  
wingnut   fell   to   the   ground   along   with   the   two   explorers   prying   the   door  
and   it   flew   open   with   a   rusty   scream.   We   stood   in   front   of   the   freshly  
cracked  Ministry  of  Defence  bunker  in  plain  view  of  a  very  large  security  
camera.   A   panicked   discussion   ensued.   Figuring   we   had   already   been  
seen  and  praying  that  no  one  was  actually  watching  the  cameras  (often  
the   case),   we   pulled   masks   over   our   faces   and   pushed   forward   into  
Burlington,  the  UK  government’s  underground  city,  all  scared  witless  but  
determined  to  reveal  what  was  inside.    

What   was   contained   within   Burlington   was   not   just   a   fantastic   material  
discovery,   it   was   a   reconfiguration   of   our   boundaries   as   explorers.   We  
had  breached  the  UE  code  of  ethics  to  gain  access;  when  we  found  a  set  
of  electric  carts  in  the  base  we  decided  to  push  it  further.  We  hotwired  
them   and   drove   around   all   night   long,   skidding   around   turns,   taking  
photographs  and  laughing,  everyone  terrified  and  utterly  drunk  on  the  
terror.   It   was   not   night   the   Urban   Infiltration   Scene   was   born;   the   night  
Team  B  went  pro.  (Field  Notes,  London,  December  2010  –  written  after  
Burlington  went  “public”).    

Figure  71.  The  first  steps  into  Burlington  bunker,  Wiltshire,  photo  by  author  

138  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  72.  Burlington  was  an  archaeological  treasure  trove,  our  personal  museum  for  a  night,  
Burlington  bunker,  Wiltshire,  photo  by  author

Figure  73.  Team  B  reviewing  maps,  planning  our  exploration  of  Burlington  bunker,  Wiltshire,  photo  
by  author

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Alan  Rapp  writes  that  the  practice  of  urban  exploration  “provides  a  tart  reminder  

that   the   areas   that   we   have   regular   access   to   are   not   just   quotidian,   but   also  

normative,  if  not  repressive.  The  patterning  that  we  can  infer  from  the  sanctioned  

environment  is  absent  from  the  spaces  that  urban  explorers  go;  they  have  been  

deprogrammed”  (Rapp,  2010:  31).  

In  the  same  way  the  “the  techniques  dérive  and  détournement  offer  the  possibility  

to   explore   spaces   in   new   ways,   and   to   rearrange   existing   aesthetic   elements   into  

new  forms  of  expression”  (Barnard,  2004:  114),  urban  exploration  also  fits  Alastair  

Bonnett’s   description   of   offering   “a   new   form   of   geographical   investigation   that  

can   enable   the   revolutionary   reappropriation   of   the   landscape”   (Bonnett,   1989:  

136),  even  if  this  reappropriation  lasts  only  for  a  night,  as  it  did  in  Burlington.  

As   I   pointed   out   in   Chapter   3,   there   is   a   strong   strand   within   mainstream   urban  

exploration  of  righteous  preservationism  –  a  sense  that  without  the  help  of  urban  

explorer  “documenting”  these  places,  they  would  slip  into  eternity  without  notice.  

Behind   the   scene   though,   as   we   eventually   found,   almost   all   infiltration   and  

exploration   of   “new”   locations   builds   on   the   back   of   those   willing   to   transgress   the  

“code”   or   reliance   on   somebody   else   (kids,   graffiti   crews)   opening   a   location   so  

explorers  can  follow.  

Although  every  explorer  is  aware  this  is,  or  at  least  may  be,  the  case,  it  is  largely  

not  to  be  spoken.  As  Oxygen  Thief,  the  administrator  of  28  Days  Later  wrote  in  a  

thread  on  the  forum,    

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  74.  Silent  Motion,  Neb  and  Statler  figure  out  how  to  start  the  "Burly  buggies",  Burlington
bunker, Wiltshire, photo by author.

 
Figure  75.  A  temporary  public  reapproriation  of  military  resources,  Burlington  bunker,  Wiltshire,  
photo  by  author.  
 

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Everybody from the DP (Dark Places) / early 28DL (28 Days Later) days
knows the score. We just decide not to say anything and toe the public
image line. It's the HDR kiddies and noobs that don't know what really
happens out there (Oxygen Thief, November 2011).31

Two   months   after   cracking   Burlington,   I   prematurely   posted   the   photos   on   my  

blog.32  At   the   time,   I   said   that   it   was   a   rash   decision   made   in   drunken   haste.   It  

wasn’t.   I   wanted   to   test   the   boundaries   of   individual   freedom   within   the  

community   and   to   probe   the   power   of   the   supposedly   informal   “code   of   ethics”.  

Essentially,   I   wanted   to   know   who   would   attempt   to   enforce   it.   I   also,   of   course,  

wanted   “Team   B”   to   get   the   recognition   they   deserved   for   putting   in   the   effort  

required  to  access  the  bunker,  taking  the  greater  risk  for  the  greater  reward.  It  was  

at  this  point  that  I  realised  how  deep  I  actually  was  in  my  research  –  I  really  was  

drowning  in  my  ethnography.  I  oscillated  wildly  between  thinking  it  was  my  duty  

as   part   of   the   crew   to   promote   our   exploits   and   thinking   that   as   an   ethnographer   I  

had   no   right   to   make   such   decisions   on   behalf   of   my   project   participants.   Soon  

after  though  Silent  Motion  told  me  that  I  needed  “to  stop  thinking  you  have  to  be  

one  or  the  other,  you  will  always  be  both”  (Silent  Motion,  November  2010)  and  the  

thought   that   I   could   possibly   play   this   double   game   both   excited   and   frightened  

me.    

The   Burlington   blog   post   did   indeed   become   a   target   of   rage   for   members   of   28  

Days  Later  and  Dark  Places,  who  claimed  that  we  had  exploited  information  which  

they   “handed   to   us   on   a   plate”.   Orangemike   wrote,   “you   make   it   sound   like   you   are  

pioneers.  Many  of  us  have  been  in  and  out  of  here  for  years.  The  only  difference  is  

the  rest  of  us  haven't  crowed  about  it  in  a  way  that  ensures  increased  security  (and  

                                                                                                               
31
http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=66190 (accessed 11th November 2011, thread
deleted as of January 2012).
32
http://www.placehacking.co.uk/2010/12/05/infiltrating-ministry-defense (accessed 12th April 2010).

142  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

probably  official  interest).  Well  done  you  pretentious  Prat.  Place  hacked?  Well  yes  

hacked,  damaged,  ruined.”  

Oxygen  Thief,  the  administrator  for  28   Days   Later  whom  I  had  never  met,  banned  

me  from  the  forum  for  life  and  called  me  on  my  mobile  phone,  telling  me  that  if  I  

didn’t  take  the  post  down  I  would  “fucking  regret  it”  and  that  he  would  “sick  the  

MOD  (Ministry  of  Defence)  Squad  on  us”  (Oxygen  Thief,  November  2010).  I  refused  

and   he   mobilised   people   on   the   forum   to   attack   me   in   the   comments   section   of   the  

blog   posting.   It   became   clear,   eventually,   that   his   primary   motivation   for   the   ban  

and   personal   threats   had   more   to   do   with   the   fact   that   we   had   taken   credit   for   our  

successful   exploration   publicly,   though   the   explorer   Speed,   who   was   part   of   a  

different  explorer  group,  had  already  discussed  the  site  publically.  My  effort  to  find  

out   who   was   enforcing   this   mythic   “code”,   painful   as   it   was,   proved   fruitful,   “the  

ego…  called  forth  in  a  dramatic  way”  (Lyng,  1990b:  860).      

Indeed,   the   whole   Burlington   episode   revealed   the   pretensions   and   politics  

involved   in   the   UK   urban   exploration   scene,   the   testosterone-­‐fuelled  

competiveness  and  feelings  of  ownership  (the  preservation  instinct)  built  around  

exploration   locations   that   underlies   much   of   the   work   that   takes   place.   As   I  

steadily  received  phone  calls  and  messages  of  support  from  other  explorers,  it  was  

obvious  that  many  people  in  the  community,  at  some  point  or  another,  had  become  

the   target   of   a   mob   attacking   them   for   a   “mistake”   they   made.   The   thread   on   28  

Days   Later   turned   into   a   heated   battle   site   between   those   attacking   and   those  

defending  me.  Luckily  for  me,  a  number  of  people  including  Dsankt,  Siologen  and  

“Gary”   came   to   my   defence   while   I   monitored   the   discussion   via   an   alter   ego   and   a  

VPN  client  that  hid  my  IP  address.  The  mob  eventually  lost  interest  over  the  course  

of   a   few   weeks.   Dsankt   emailed   me   in   the   meantime,   telling   me   “there's   something  

143  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

just   so   inherently   cowardly   about   the   lynch   mob   that   forms   whenever   someone  

gets  their  hate  on.”  He  went  on  to  say  that  “reasoned  logical  resolution  of  problems  

doesn't   even   seem   to   occur   to   them”   (Dsankt,   December   2010).   As   much   as   the  

episode  served  to  sever  us  from  the  rest  of  the  UK  scene,  it  also  solidified  us  as  a  

crew  as  my  friends  rallied  to  my  support.    

Figure  76.  Banned  for  life  from  28  Days  Later,  screenshot  via  author  

While   it   would   be   easy   to   link   the   group’s   attitudes   towards   control   over  

information   sharing   to   the   mostly   male   demographic   and   an   associated  

competitive   alpha-­‐male   complex,   I   think   it   also   just   as   much   to   do   with   the  

existential   philosophical   and   libertarian   political   beliefs   that   most   explorers  

subscribe  to.  In  other  words,  rather  than  seeing  this  episode  as  an  example  of  the  

exclusionary   nature   of   the   practice,   I   argue   that   it   is   inclusionary   only   when   a  

possibility  for  individual  and  group  gain  is  threatened.  Siologen  later  told  me  “shit  

doesn’t   operate   like   this   with   the   Cave   Clan   in   Australia,   you   guys   in   the   UK   are  

weirdly  competitive”  (Siologen,  November  2010).  Although  I  never  had  a  chance  to  

144  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

explore   in   Australia,   I   don’t   doubt   for   a   minute   that   the   internal   political   turmoil  

caused   went   hand   in   hand   with   the   deeply   political   nature   of   social   life   in   the  

United  Kingdom  (I  have  since  been  made  aware  of  similar  situations  in  the  United  

States).   As   Patch   said   later   about   our   success   at   Burlington,   most   explorers   “didn’t  

understand   it   being   hypocritical   to   tell   people   off   for   breaking   into   places   when  

our   shared   pastime   revolves   around   breaking   rules”   (Patch,   October   2010).   He  

went  on  to  say  that  the  urban  exploration  community  claim    

…they don't condone causing damage or committing criminal offences to

gain access, and they don't do it themselves. But they also refuse to admit
that it wasn't for someone tankcatting [forcing] their way around and no
‘explorer’ being willing to do it, then basically none of the classic asylums
or industrial sites would have ever been done (Patch, October 2010).

While   it   is   true   that   most   places   are   opened   by   somebody   who   has   come   before,  

our  night  in  Burlington  brought  renewed  vigour  to  the  group  and  created  an  even  

more   intense   bond   between   friends,   now   liberated   from   association   with   the  

larger   3,000   person   plus   UK   community,   a   move   that   would   inadvertently   connect  

us   to   a   larger   swath   of   the   global   “elite”   of   urban   exploration   (defined   by   the  

quality,   quantity   and   geographic   range   of   their   explorations).   After   years   of  

shedding   one   set   of   rules   (society   at   large)   only   to   feel   we   had   adopted   another  

(the   UE   code   of   ethics),   we   finally   started   writing   our   own.   It   was   the   “rebirth   of  

the  rebellious  subjectivity”  (Lyng,  2004:  371).  

In   time,   our   now   vehemently   cohesive   crew   became   increasingly   adept   at   locating,  

sneaking   into,   and   even   temporarily   residing   in   marginal   spaces,   cracking   those  

which   hovered   on   the   edge   between   urban   exploration   and   infiltration.   While  

doing   so,   we   were   all   aware   that   Snappel,   Siologen,   Zero   (Otter)   and   a   few   other  

had   been   sneaking   into   the   city’s   infrastructure.   These   infiltrations   being  

undertaken   by   “London   Team   A”   consisted   of   five   primary   components   –  

145  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

construction  sites,  electricity  and  cable  tunnels,  deep  shelters,  the  city’s  drain  and  

sewer   network   and   what   many   of   us   saw   as   the   most   daunting   challenge   –   the  

city’s   transportation   network   including   the   London   Underground   (Tube).   As   our  

appetite   for   new   experiences   grew,   the   musings   of   Ninjalicious   became  

increasingly   poignant   where   he   said   in   an   interview   with   Dylan   Trigg   in   2005   that  

“I   wouldn't   say   what   [urban   explorers]   are   looking   for   is   the   beauty   of   decay   so  

much  as  the  beauty  of  authenticity,  of  which  decay  is  a  component”  (Trigg,  2005).  

Team   B   was   running   on   overdrive   and   ready   to   go   to   great   lengths   to   find   that  

authenticity  and  to,  as  Silent  Motion  said  in  chapter  1,  do  whatever  was  necessary  

to  connect  with  the  city.    

To   my   surprise,   the   Burlington   episode   earned   us   some   admiration   from   Team   A   –  

perhaps   as   much   for   the   lifetime   ban   as   for   the   success   at   accessing   the   sealed  

location.   Months   later,   when   myself   and   a   few   other   explorers,   including   some  

from   “Team   A”   threw   a   birthday   party   for   Marc   Explo   on   the   29th   floor   of   King’s  

Reach   Tower,33  other   prominent   members   of   Team   A,   mutual   friends   of   Marc  

Explo,   showed   up.   Siologen   announced   he   was   leaving   the   country   and   he  

suggested  that  we  should  all  start  exploring  together,  now  that  we  had  taken  our  

first  public  bruising  and  begun  carving  our  own  path  outside  the  restrictions  of  the  

web   forums.   What   followed   was   the   collapse   of   the   two   top   London   crews,   now  

reformed   as   the   London   Consolidation   Crew   or   LCC,   an   infiltration   crew  

concentrated  on  cracking  London’s  infrastructure.  

                                                                                                               
33
For video footage of the party see: http://vimeo.com/17033526 (accessed 12th November 2012).

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  77.  Marc  Explo's  29th  birthday  in  King's  Reach  Tower:  the  formation  of  the  LCC,  photo  by  
Otter  
 

 
Figure  78.  Marc  Explo  in  the  GLC  pipe  subways,  one  of  our  first  live  infiltrations,  London,  photo  by  
author  
 

When   I   asked   “Gary”   during   this   time   about   our   move   into   infiltration   he   said,  

“ruins   are   great   and   I   will   keep   exploring   them   but   they   are   kind   of   ‘outside’   the  

147  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

city.  I  like  doing  [infrastucture]  because  it’s  inside  the  city”  (Gary,  December  2010).  

Like  ruins,  we  found  that  “…urban  networks  in  the  contemporary  city  are  largely  

hidden,   opaque,   invisible,   disappearing   underground,   locked   into   pipes,   cables,  

conduits,   tubes,   passages…   Once   completed,   the   networks   became   buried  

underground,   invisible,   rendered   banal   and   relegated   to   an   apparently   marginal,  

subterranean   urban   underworld.”   (Kaika   and   Swyngedouw,   2000:   121,   Graham  

and   Thrift,   2007).   Revealing   them   was   part   of   finding   that   urban   authenticity   we  

desired,  a  way  of  connecting  ourselves  to  the  city  through  nightly  body  work.  As  I  

will  show,  this  sometimes  involved  removing  locks,  copying  keys,  disabling  alarms,  

popping  pins  off  hinges,  climbing  with  ropes,  removing  loose  boards  of  metal  slat  

in   ventilation   systems,   carrying   screwdrivers,   hex   and   drain   keys,   scaling   barbed  

and  razor  wire,  climbing  through  air  ducts  and  generally  thinking  of  the  city  more  

as  a  puzzle  that  could  always  be  taken  apart  piece  by  piece.  Most  often,  we  could  

put   it   back   together   as   well.   However,   once   we   moved   beyond   ruin   exploration,  

exploring  was  no  longer  simply  a  matter  of  climbing  through  an  open  window  or  

avoiding  a  lone  security  patrol  in  a  massive  derelict  site.        

Our   move   from   urban   exploration   to   infiltration,   framed   in   terms   of   increasingly  

vertical   movement   above   and   below   street   level,   became   an   “’extravagant   passage’  

through  the  city  in  an  attempt  to  discover  and  remake  it”  (see  Knabb,  1981,  Sadler,  

1998   quoted   in   Dickens   2008a:   16).   Following   geographer   David   Pinder’s  

thoughts,   Luke   Dickens   writes,   “the   Situationists   [also]   sought   to   counter   the  

contemplative   and   non-­‐interventionist   power   of   the   spectacle   ‘by   intervening   in  

the   city   and   experiencing   its   spaces   directly   as   actors   rather   than   spectators’”  

(2005b:   149,   quoted   in   Dickens   2008a:   16)   and   urban   infiltration,   following  

“Gary’s”  comment,  increasingly  felt  like  we  were  building  a  deep  relationship  with  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

the   city.   Part   of   this   process   was   of   course   becoming   more   criminal   minded,  

embracing   our   hacker   ethos   in   chasing   our   interests   wherever   they   led.   Although   I  

had  initially  intended  not  to  write  about  those  activities,  thinking  them  outside  the  

remit   of   my   research   interests   in   alternative   and   populist   histories,   when   I  

returned   to   sociological   literature   from   the   “new”   Chicago   School,   I   was   again  

reminded  that  as  difficult  as  it  might  be  politically  and  academically  to  defend  our  

live   infiltrations,   those   parts   of   this   story   were   also   a   vital   component   of   the  

ethnography.   Instead   of   searching   for   other   people’s   histories   in   places,   we   had  

begun   revealing   histories   and   places   no   one   had   ever   formally   documented.   My  

field   notes   from   the   time   revealed   my   feeling   that   what   we   were   doing   was   not  

taking  things  off  in  a  novel  direction  but,  in  effect,  bringing  urban  exploration  back  

to  its  roots.    

 
I  really  think  the  core  of  urban  exploration  has  always  been  infiltration.  
The   practice   is   about   going   places   you're   not   supposed   to   go,   seeing  
places   you're   not   supposed   to   see.   Some   of   the   earliest   popular   accounts  
of   urban   exploration   are   about   sneaking   into   hotel   pools,   climbing  
bridges,  going  into  city  infrastructure  and  exploring  construction  sites.    
 
The   scene   here   in   the   UK,   and   Europe   in   general,   has   really   been  
hijacked  by  ruin  fetishists  in  the  past  five  years  who  actually  don't  take  
many   risks   and   have   veered   the   practice   away   from   it's   more   political  
roots   where   the   need   for   planning,   scoping   and   building   tactical   skills  
such   as   lock   picking,   alarm   disablement   and   abseiling   have   been  
sidelined  in  favour  of  more  artistic  pursuits.  This  has  partially  to  do  with  
the  current  economic  climate  and  the  increasing  number  of  abandoned  
places  in  Europe,  leaving  a  lot  of  ruins  to  explore,  but  I  think  it's  also  a  
capitulation   to   the   culture   of   fear   that   keeps   us   from   doing   what   we  
really   want   to   do.  Of   course,   if   people   are   happy   just   exploring   and  
photographing   abandoned   places   more   power   to   them,   but   I   see   room  
for  sustained,  comprehensive  work  hacking  urban  architecture.    
 
What   the   LCC,   as   an   infiltration   crew,   is   doing   now   is   to   pare   the  
practice  right  back  to  it's  core,  cracking  the  most  difficult  boundaries  for  
the   highest   rewards   and,   in   the   process,   making   an   important   political  
statement   about   the   porousness   of   urban   security,   despite   constant  
assertions   to   the   contrary.   The   practice   demonstrates   a   love   and   a  
passion   for   a   city   that   is   rendered   increasingly   mundane   by   neoliberal  
forces.   We   make   it   clear   that   London   is   still   full   of   opportunities   for  

149  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

adventure  and  sublime  experience  for  those  who  make  the  effort  to  find  
it  (Field  Notes,  London,  February  2010).  
 
Turning   to   Stephen   Lyng   discussing   the   work   of   Jack   Katz   (1988),   in   familiar  

language,   we   find   in   their   analysis   of   criminal   behaviour   that   “some   criminal  

actions  are  experienced  as  almost  magical  events  that  involve  distinctive  ‘sensual  

dynamics’.   These   criminal   pursuits   often   take   on   a   transcendent   appeal,   offering  

the   criminal   an   opportunity   for   a   passionate,   intensely   authentic   experience”  

(Lyng,   2004:   361).   This   language   of   authenticity   obviously   has   it’s   own  

complications,   again   connected   to   the   earlier   problematized   semantics   of  

exploration,   and   even   early   academic   language   of   anthropologists   searching   for  

“authentic”   culture.   However,   I   think   the   fact   that   the   explorers   were   decoding  

their   own   places,   their   own   culture,   gave   us   more   latitude   to   interpret   it   as   a   quest  

to   “authentically”   connect   with   our   city,   to,   as   Silent   Motion   told   me,   “find  

something  to  be  passionate  about  again”  (Silent  Motion  January  2011).    

While  my  actions  at  Burlington  and  beyond  as  an  academic  researcher  may  have  

become   ethically   questionable,   following   Silent   Motion’s   assertion   that   “I   was  

both”,  I  had  to  contend  that  the  sociological  literature  on  criminal  activity  pointed  

directly   to   that   “authentic   experience”   that   Ninjalicious   highlighted   in   2005.   We  

were,  as  Dsankt  had  implored,  “beyond  the  ruin  fetish”,  the  place  where  the  more  

lascivious   and   exciting   tales   of   urban   exploration   reside   where   Statler   finally  

articulated,  on  a  night  of  particular  legal  murkiness,  that  “there's  no  more  rules  to  

exploration,  there's  just  what  your  morals  fit,  people  who  aren’t  confortable  with  it  

don’t  need  to  come  along”  (Statler,  February  2011).    

   

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Getting  high  

“I wonder why progress looks so much like destruction.”

– John Steinbeck (1997: 138)
 

 
Figure  79.  Atop  Strata,  Elephant  &  Castle,  London,  photo  by  Silent  Motion  

151  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Like   the   famous   Night   Climbers   of   Cambridge   who   undertook   illicit   night-­‐time  

climbing   (what   we   now   call   buildering)   in   the   1930s   (Whipplesnaith,   2007),   we  

looked   to   the   tall   structures,   scaffolding,   rooftops   and   skyscrapers   as   well   as   the  

churches   and   cathedrals   of   Paris   for   unsanctioned   views.   Heron   Tower,   Strata,  

King’s  Reach  Tower,  Temple  Court,  New  Court,  the  Canary  Wharf  skyscrapers  and  

eventually  The  Shard,  perched  over  the  Thames  on  wind-­‐swayed  iron  cranes  and  

cement  counter-­‐weights  became  our  new  nocturnal  playgrounds.    

Soon  after  completing  the  New  Court  crane,  I  put  up  a  post  on  my  blog,34  which  at  

the   time   was   full   of   pictures   of   derelict   buildings   and   had   not   received   much  

attention  (aside  from  the  Burlington  fiasco).  The  next  morning  I  awoke  to  find  that  

Web  Urbanist  had  run  a  feature  on  my  post  titled  “hack  this”35  and  I  had  received  

hundreds   of   hits,   inspiring   me   to   consider   for   the   first   time   about   the   potential   for  

urban   exploration   to   go   beyond   our   experiences   of   places   and   actually   have  

broader   influence   over   creative   and   critical   spatial   practice   in   cities.   It   also  

occurred   to   me   that   London   Consolidation   Crew   had   potential   for   gaining   even  

more  recognition  now  that  we  were  building  the  rules  of  the  game  according  to  our  

group  desires  rather  than  the  broader  social  community  expectations.    

At  the  height  of  my  involvement,  we  were  going  out  almost  every  night  and  my  list  

of   project   participants   doubled   with   the   collapse   of   the   teams   (see   Appendix   A).  

Otter,  originally  from  Team  A  and  now  an  important  member  of  the  LCC,  told  me  at  

one  point  that  he  “just  fucking  gave  up  on  a  normal  life  and  became  nocturnal”.  

                                                                                                               
34
http://www.placehacking.co.uk/2010/02/13/lust-for-london (accessed 14th February 2010).
35
http://weburbanist.com/2010/04/14/hack-this-eerie-abandoned-roof-tunnel-hacking-pics (accessed 14th
February 2010).

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Figure  80.  The  author  climbing  the  crane  on  New  Court,  City  of  London,  photo  by  author  
 
On  a  trip  to  Paris,  we  explored  so  many  places,  from  catacombs  to  utility  tunnels  to  

Paris   Metro   to   drains   to   cranes,   staying   up   for   almost   three   days   straight,   I  

collapsed  on  a  road  island  in  the  middle  of  an  intersection  while  Marc  Explo  was  

dragging   open   yet   another   sewer   lid   and   cried   “please,   I   have   to   sleep,   I   can’t   do  

this  anymore!”  sobbing  into  the  grass.    

Some   within   the   original   “Team   B”   were   initially   reluctant   to   undertake   these   new  

forms   of   exploration.   Some   stopped   participating.   I   was   also   reluctant,   given   that  

my  initial  interest  in  these  places  had  stemmed  from  my  desire  to  find  moments  of  

populist   and   “authentic”   archaeological   and   historical   encounter   building   on  

previous  research  (Garrett,  2009).  But  the  more  time  I  spent  climbing  skyscrapers,  

churches   and   cathedrals,   learning   ropes,   lock   picking   and   new   skills,   committed   to  

following   the   ethnography,   the   more   our   conversations   convinced   me   of   the  

similarities  and  overlaps  between  these  seemingly  disparate  interstitial  spaces.  In  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

one  instance,  while  climbing  the  scaffolding  on  the  St-­‐Sulpice  Chapel  in  Paris  which  

was   under   renovation,   I   asked   Marc   Explo   why   he   felt   drawn   to   these   building   and  

renovation   sites,   pointing   out   that   this   was   just   somebody   else’s   workspace   the  

majority  of  the  week.  He  responded,    

Brad, a construction site is like a ruin because it’s in a constant state of

transition and part of the enjoyment of the experience comes from being
witness to that in-between moment. It’s all about getting a glimpse of
places normally not seen by the majority of the city’s inhabitants (Marc
Explo, September 2010).

 
Figure  81.  Infiltrating  the  Paris  Metro  system  with  Marc  Explo,  Paris,  photo  by  author  
 
It   was   true   that   these   glimpses   were   impossibly   intoxicating,   far   above   the   city’s  

skyline,  on  top  of  derelict  tower  blocks  and  on  cranes  where  a  slight  wind  caused  

the  jib  to  shake  seductively  hundreds  of  meters  above  the  city;  where  there  was  a  

constantly   light   mist   as   you   floated   in   the   clouds,   causing   camera   autofocus  

problems.  They  were  certainly  sights  most  people  would  never  see,  there  was  no  

arguing  with  that.  Ironically,  as  Otter  told  me  in  this  anecdote,  these  spaces,  where  

one  is  clearly  not  supposed  to  be,  are  often  where  one  has  the  most  freedom,      

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  82.  Above  Paris,  St-­‐Sulpice  Cathedral,  Paris,  photo  by  author  
 
We were all climbing on a crane on a building and Alias was down on the
pavement taking photos of us with a telephoto lens. We saw the cops pull
up and ask him why he was photographing the crane. We laughed but it did
actually prove to me that we are safer up here than in the street (Otter,
September 2011).
 
As   a   crane   operator   points   out   in   the   2010   documentary   Solitary   Life   of   Cranes  

(Weber,   2009),   it’s   incredible   really   that   so   few   people   ever   look   up   in   the   city,  

aside   from   children.   From   the   perspective   of   the   crane,   people   on   the   street  

become  urban  flow  and  rhythm  (Lefebvre,  2004)  and  the  sounds  of  the  city,  often  

so   intrusive   and   abrasive,   become   a   quiet   music   in   the   background.   As   Marc  

commented  when  we  were  sitting  on  top  of  the  Shard,  which  was  at  that  point  76  

stories   high,   “at   this   height   the   train   lines   going   into   London   Bridge   begin   to  

resemble  the  Thames,  it’s  all  flow”  (Marc  Explo,  January  2011).    

Silent   Motion,   sitting   with   me   on   the   edge   of   the   King’s   Reach   Tower,   watching   the  

new  Crossrail  construction  at  Blackfriars,  told  me,  “I  keep  coming  back  because  I  

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feel   so   alive   up   here.   It’s   more   real   than   real   life.”   Part   of   the   allure   of   being   this  

high   is   clearly   to   bond   –   there   is   a   particular   type   of   deep   bonding   that   takes   place  

when   you   trust   each   other   with   your   lives   when   climbing   buildings   but   we   also,  

more  personally,  fed  on  the  adrenaline  rush  of  living  dangerously.  On  the  rooftop  

of   Temple   Court   when   we   heard   the   laughter   of   pub-­‐goers   returning   home   at   3am,  

Tigger  told  me,  “if  they  only  knew  how  good  they  could  feel  climbing  this  building  

they   have   probably   never   noticed   before,   they   might   never   go   to   the   pub   again”  

(Tigger,  February  2009).    

These  shared  discoveries  and  feelings  of  existential  superiority  bonded  the  crew  in  

an   emotive   embrace,   tendrils   of   affect   conjured   by   collective   fear   and   excitement  

where   “…emotions   can   be   conceptualized   as   the   felt   and   sensed   reactions   that  

arise   in   the   midst   of   the   (inter)corporeal   exchange   between   self   and   world”  

(Hubbard,  2005:  123).  These  types  of  experiences  were  new  to  me,  being  hard  to  

locate   in   many   modern   city   spaces   which   Guy   Debord   argued   “eliminate  

geographical   distance   only   to   produce   a   new   internal   separation”   (Debord,   2006b:  

94).  Although  we  were  more  “in”  the  city  than  ever  before,  being  literally  inside  its  

most   prominent   and   costly   construction   projects,   we   could   sit   quietly   and   talk  

together,   paradoxically   more   capable   of   having   a   intimate   conversation,   than   on  

the  streets.  Gary  later  said,  “it  doesn’t  matter  if  you’re  not  doing  anything  up  here,  

even   boring   stuff   is   fun   sitting   in   a   crane   cab”   (“Gary”,   February   2011).   I   even  

wrote  some  of  this  thesis  in  that  same  crane  cab  on  a  construction  site  above  the  

Aldgate   East   Tube   station,   twisting   my   everyday   life   into   an   entirely   new  

formation.   The   trade   off,   however,   came   at   a   high   price.   Once   we   realised   what   we  

could   get   away   with,   the   adrenaline   addiction   became   completely   debilitating   to  

everyday   life   and   I   felt   myself   becoming   increasingly   distanced   from   all   of   my  

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friends   who   did   not   explore.   I   was   the   worst   dinner   party   guest   imaginable,  

opening  conversation  with  lines  like  “so  yesterday  we  were  in  the  sewer…”  Yet  it  

was   the   first   time   I   ever   felt   that   life   was   as   it   should   be:   everyday   was   more  

exciting  than  the  last.  Increasingly  I  didn’t  care  about  social  expectation  outside  of  

our  primary  group  and  embraced  my  privileged  masculinity,  dedicating  almost  all  

my  time  to  learning  infiltration  techniques,  drinking,  taking  photos,  exploring  and  

writing   our   stories.   The   lifestyle   satisfied   my   compulsive   nature   and   brought   out   a  

side   of   me   that   I   didn’t   know   existed,   a   side   that   was,   as   Marc   Explo   said   was  

“ready  for  Action!”  

One  night  while  driving  around  Paris  exploring  Metro,  Patch  said  to  me,  “hey  Brad,  

in  terms  of  your  demographics  section,  have  you  ever  considered  how  many  of  us  

are   fucked   up?   I   mean,   you’re   really   OCD   and   I   think   there   are   a   really   high  

percentage  of  people  with  Asperger’s  exploring  –  you  know,  I  think  is  satisfies  that  

weird   compulsion   to   collect   things,   make   lists,   speadsheets   and   maps,   organise  

gear   and   understand   the   technicalities   of   photography.   Just   a   thought…”   (Patch,  

December  2011).  He  was  completely  right  of  course  and  it  made  we  wonder  if  the  

gender   imbalance   in   the   community   had   as   much   to   do   with   our   collective   social  

awkwardness   and   collector   compulsions   as   it   did   with   “masculine”   attitudes.        

Marc   Explo   later   told   me   in   response   “I   started   exploring   because   I   thought   it  

would  get  me  girls,  you  know  they  would  be  impressed  with  my  accomplishment  

and   I   could   take   them   on   top   of   cathedrals   to   have   wine   or   whatever.   But   that  

didn’t  work  so  I  just  carried  on  exploring”  (Marc  Explo,  December  2011).  

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Figure  83.  Marc  Explo  climbing  the  Shard,  London  Bridge,  photo  by  author  
 

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Despite   the   ways   in   which   we   were   becoming   increasingly   socially   marginalised,  

even  within  the  wider  UK  explorer  community,  the  work  the  crew  was  doing  was  

of  critical  importance  to  discussions  about  the  politics  of  space.  We  were  melding  

Debord’s  “internal  separation”,  though  embodied  investigation  of  informal  spaces,  

liminal  zones,  and  high  profile  construction  projects.  The  process  was  splicing  the  

zones   of   in-­‐between   into   the   fabric   of   the   rest   of   the   city   by   dulling   the   boundaries  

of  can  and  can’t,  seen  and  unseen,  imagined  and  experienced,  done  and  not  done  

everytime  we  posted  a  photo  online  and  people  realised  we  had  cracked  another  

site  together.  Those  feats  never  could  have  been  accomplished  alone.    

Despite  the  ways  in  which  urban  explorations  may  be  seen  as  transgressive  from  

the   outside   in,   they   may   also,   in   this   sense,   be   seen   as   a   strategy   to   heal   human  

connections   through   shared   experiences   of   peaked   emotions   (Cahill   and   McGaugh,  

1998)   that   build   stronger   bonds   of   community   through   collaborative   risk-­‐taking,  

what  I  came  to  call  the  “edgework”  we  undertook  together  (following  Lyng,  1990a,  

Lyng,   1990b).   Here,   again,   urban   exploration’s   lineage   stretches   back   into   those  

Surrealist  experiments  in  Paris  where  David  Pinder  writes  they  sought  to  “[open]  

up  the  ‘marvellous’  that  they  believed  was  buried  within  the  everyday”  just  as  the  

situationists   valorised   “sites   that   were   out   of   time   with   the   city   as   spectacle…”  

containing  “hidden  meanings  and  associations  in  the  city”  (Pinder,  2000:  379).  

The   desire   to   explore   for   the   sake   of   exploring,   to   take   risks   for   the   sake   of   the  

experience  with  little  thought  to  the  “outcome”  is  something  that  runs  deep  in  us  

when  we  are  children.  Urban  explorers  are,  in  one  sense,  rediscovering  and  forging  

these   feelings   of   unbridled   play,   staying   up   all   night,   uselessly   wandering,   plotting,  

having  substantial  conversations  during  spontaneous  encounters,  all  of  which  lead  

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to   the   creation   of   very   thick   bonds   between   fellow   explorers   where   “play  

represents   a   way   to   de-­‐emphasize   the   importance   of   work   and   consumption   and  

their   pervasive   monetary   components”   (McRae,   2008:   i).   In   places   beyond   the  

reach   of   those   flows;   “the   city   is   rendered   a   site   of   play   and   pleasure,   surprise   and  

critical  possibility”  (Dickens,  2008a:  20).  Again,  as  Lyng  (1990a:  870)  notes,    

 
Figure  84.  On  the  roof  of  Temple  Court,  City  of  London,  photo  by  author  
 
Research on play (Huizinga, 1950, Caillois, 1961, Wilson, 1981) suggests
that this realm of human action often possesses characteristics that directly
oppose the experience of people under conditions of alienation and
reification. Play is characteristically spontaneous, impulsive, creative, and
intrinsically rewarding and, for many people, gives rise to the “flow”
experience (see Csikszentmihalyi, 1981).
 
Although  I  will  unpack  this  in  more  detail  in  the  following  chapter,  the  increasing  

risk  that  the  crew  undertook  to  satisfy  an  ever-­‐growing  tolerance  for  risk  would  be  

familiar  to  those  who  had  freedom  to  play  and  imagine  as  children  –  the  realisation  

of   dreams   and   fantasies   eventually   taking   on   a   scale   that   may   have   at   one   time  

seemed  unreasonable  or  incalculable.  After  months  of  constant  play  and  discovery,  

feeling  that  we  could  get  away  with  almost  anything,  my  field  notes  began  to  look  

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rabid,   loosing   all   sense   of   descriptive   narrative   and   gaining   an   unmistakable  

present-­‐tense  “authenticity”.  

 
Figure  85.  The  author  and  Hydra  dancing  on  the  roof  of  the  Gillette  factory,  London,  photo  by  Silent  
Motion  
 
Desire   was   everywhere   when   we   stepped   off   the   plane   at   Charles   de  
Gaulle.  We  nipped  and  yelped,  scurrying  into  the  city  wearing  rags  and  
muddied   bags,   dragging   tripods   down   the   walls   of   Métro   tunnels   like  
Freddy  Krueger.  The  thirst,  after  weeks  of  depraved  scholarship,  endless  
perverted  workdays  and  inert  meetings  over  coffee,  had  concretised  into  
the   force   of   a   tsunami.   The   wave   broke   at   times   around   tall   objects,  
splitting   and   climbing   for   a   moment   before   splashing   down   again   in   a  
liquid   slump   of   ecstasy.   At   other   junctions,   it   snaked   into   infrastructural  
gaps  too  small  for  bodies.  We  followed  the  water  to  find  the  glitches  in  
the   system,   trying   out   various   keys   and   tools   for   which   the   original  
intended   purpose   was   never   understood,   lost   artefacts   from   another  
time,  rediscovered  by  our  nomadic  band  of  forgotten  disciples.  We  bled  
and   drank,   crawling   into   our   sleeping   bags   when   we   could   smell   the  
bread  baking,  the  delicious  olfactory  beacon  warning  us  the  City  of  Light  
had  switched  on  for  the  day.  

Life  was  “lived  on  the  level  of  surging  affects,  impacts  suffered  or  barely  
avoided.  It  takes  everything  we  have.  But  it  also  spawns  a  series  of  little  
somethings   dreamed   up   in   the   course   of   things”   (Stewart,   2007:   9).  
Exploited,   those   affects,   glitches,   errors   in   lines   of   code,   paired   to   the  
desires   to   find   them,   become   the   preeminent   domain   of   the   urban  
explorer,   the   skateboarder,   the   street   artist   and   all   children   while   they  
are  still  conscious,  before  society  batters  them  into  submission,  huddled  

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in   the   corner   of   an   overcrowded   classroom   where   they   are   forced   to  

recite  the  national  anthem  repeatedly.  

Desire   wasn’t   purchased,   nor   did   we   try   to   sell   it.   At   the   same   time,   it  
was  a  profitable  endeavour,  an  investment  in  the  communication  of  the  
incommunicable,   a   necessary   departure   from   direct   economic  
production.    

Urbanity   is   codified   by   a   set   of   rules   which   creates   spirals   of   economic  

‘prosperity’,   where   relentless   velocity   must   be   maintained   to   preserve  
the  perpetual  accumulation  of  wealth,  resources  and  labour.  The  result  
is   a   system   which   reproduces   itself   in   ceaseless   iterations   like   a   demonic  
fractal  art  project,  even  (or  even  especially)  when  those  accumulations  
are  superfluous  or  unnecessary,  until  it  pops.  

“At   its   most   extreme,   capitalism   encourages   a   kind   of   generalised  

schizophrenia,   a   shatteringly   intense   fracturing   of   subjectivity.   On   the  
other  hand,  to  survive  it  has  to  contain  these  effects  through  oppressive  
fictions   like   the   nuclear   family   and   psychiatry,   which   attempt   to  
‘reterritorialise’   desire:   to   put   it   safely   back   inside   the   home   and   to   keep  
it   there”   (Shatz,   2010   discussing   Deleuze   and   Guattari).     Night   after  
night   in   Paris   on   this   trip,   we   took   the   secret   desires   from   home   and  
mind  into  streets  and  practice.  While  the  Marxists  sit  in  Starbucks  with  
their   coffees   crying   for   the   overthrow   of   the   system   and   the   anarchists  
fight  each  other  in  squats,  condemning  comrades  as  sexists  and  fascists,  
we   are   creating   desire.   We   are   coercive   machines   that   produce   breaks  
and  mobilise  flows,  nude  in  sewers,  hanging  from  cranes,  in  love  with  the  
endless   accelerations   of   material   layering   that   keep   cracking   open  
underneath  the  weight  of  7  billion  human  bodies.  

The   result?   An   endless   stacked   stratigraphy   of   created  

miscommunications,  abortions  and  aberrations,  interminable  confusion  
about   what   could   and   should   have   been,   sparkling   smiles   as   the  
successful   accumulation   is   directed   into   personal   coffers,   suicide   from  
bridges  where  it  does  not.  What  sprawls  all  around  us  everyday,  whether  
we   are   in   London,   Milan,   Paris   or   Los   Angeles   is   a   capitalist   monstrosity  
that   regrows   heads   as   you   slice   them   off.   Our   only   advantage   against  
this   unkillable   and   utterly   beautiful   beast   is   its   immensity,   for   it   is   this  
very   horrific   attribute   that   allows   us   to   run   underneath   unnoticed   while  
it  spews  poison  in  the  Siene.  

Urban   explorers   are   the   result   of   inevitable   urbanic   schizophrenia.  

While  the  dragon  spews  its  poison,  wagged  by  its  own  tail,  we  urinate  on  
its  leg,  chuckling  as  our  playfulness  conjoins  deterritorialised  resources  
and   temporarily   appropriates   the   surplus   from   their   reterritorialised  
conjunctions   in   nice   little   packages   of   pixels   to   print   and   mount   illegally  
in   a   derelict   barge   on   the   Thames   we’ve   occupied.   “To   each   moment,   we  
cling  with  all  our  heart,  knowing  it  is  unique  and  irreplaceable  –  and  yet  
we   wouldn’t   lift   a   finger   to   prevent   it   from   being   annihilated”   (Sartre  
and   Baldick,   2000:   59).   We   will   play,   in   this   form   and   others,   in  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

imaginative   permutations   of   superhumanity   that   don’t   yet   exist,   again  

and  again,  until  we  are  dead  (Field  Notes,  Paris,  January  2011).  

I   include   this   excerpt   not   to   make   any   specific   point,   not   in   the   least   in   a   scholastic  

sense,   but   to   relay   the   utter   euphoria   I   was   experiencing   at   the   pinnacle   of   our  

spatial  liberation.  I  truly  felt,  as  Marc  Explo  asserted,  like  some  sort  of  monstrous  

postmodern  superhero.  I  knew  the  others  were  feeling  similarly  and  we  all  began  

to  “crowd  the  edge”  (Lyng,  1990b:  860)  grabbing  at  the  desire  leaking  all  over  the  

place.    

Figure  86.  Patch  in  the  Barbican  utility  tunnels,  London,  photo  by  author  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  87.  The  author  at  play,  St  Josefsheim  Monastery,  Germany,  photo  by  author  
 

   

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Doing  edgework  

“We entered, by this hidden path to fare

To the bright world, from out of the place of doom,
Nor cared to rest upon the arduous stair,
He first, then I, till saw I in the gloom,
Through a round opening, as though through prison bars,
Heaven’s lovely harvest fields, and, from our tomb,
We issued forth again to see the stars.”
– Dante Alighieri (1920: 393)
 
After   balancing   on   a   girder   in   any   icy   wet   wind   atop   Heron   Tower   in   the   City   of  

London,  Silent  Motion  wrote  on  his  blog  that,  “sometimes  I  just  desire  the  edge.  It’s  

not  about  adrenaline  or  ego  or  any  of  that  bullshit;  it  just  happens,  as  if  drawn  by  

the  reins  held  by  some  deeper  level  of  consciousness”.36  In  the  moment  this  photo  

was   taken,   it   seemed   to   me   that   Silent   Motion   was   issuing   a   distinct   challenge   to  

those   who   would   seek   to   disembody,   sanitise   and   commodify   our   personal  

experiences,   those   who   would   turn   the   city   into   a   mausoleum   of   spectacles   of  

sights  to  be  seen  rather  than  places  to  be  touched;  he  had  hacked  reality  and  found  

his  edge.  All  of  us,  it  seemed  to  me,  were  dangerously  close  to  letting  desire  reign  

unchecked   and   getting   caught   in   a   spectacular   way   –   we   were   beginning   to   feel  

invulnerable  and  the  edge  was  getting  closer.    

Edgework   was   a   term   first   used   by   gonzo   journalist   Hunter   S.   Thompson   in   his  

book  Fear  and  Loathing  in  Las  Vegas  to  describe  the  necessity  some  people  find  in  

pushing  boundaries  for  fulfilment.  The  idea  is  to  work  as  close  to  the  “edge”  as  one  

can   without   getting   cut   (or   at   least   not   too   deeply).   For   Thompson,   this   meant  

putting  himself  in  perilous  situations  such  as  doing  ethnographic  research  with  the  

notorious   Hell’s   Angels   biker   gang,   ingesting   hallucinogenics   to   the   point   of   near  

overdose  and  taking  drugs  of  unknown  origin  in  unexpected  combinations.  

 
                                                                                                               
36
www.nocturn.es (accessed 1st December 2010, site down as of February 2012).

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  88.  Doing  our  edgework,  Silent  Motion  on  Heron  Tower,  City  of  London,  photo  by  Silent  
Motion  
 
 

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When   Thompson   tried   to   describe   “the   edge”   of   edgework   in   his   2003  

autobiography,  he  wrote,    

The Edge... There is no honest way to explain it because the only people
who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. The others-
the living- are those who pushed their luck as far as they felt they could
handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down, or did whatever they had
to when it came time to choose between Now and Later.

But the edge is still Out there. Or maybe it's In (Thompson, 2003: 530).

 
The   sociologist   Steven   Lyng   appropriated   the   term   edgework   in   the   1990s   as   a  

blanket   term   for   anyone   who   “actively   seek[s]   experiences   that   involve   a   high  

potential   for   personal   injury   or   death”   (Lyng,   1990a:   851-­‐852,   also   see   Olstead,  

2011,   Fletcher,   2008).   Lyng   goes   on   to   explain   edgework   as   a   negotiation   between  

“life   and   death,   consciousness   and   unconsciousness,   and   sanity   and   insanity”  

(Lyng,   1990a:   857)   and   describes   how   and   why   his   project   participants  

approached  the  edge,      

The mundane everyday world provides the boundaries and edges that are
approached. And it is the very approach to the edge that provides a
heightened state of excitement and adrenaline rush. The thrill is in being
able to come as close as possible to the edge without detection… (Lyng,
1990b: 53)
 
Many   urban   explorers   not   only   feel   the   need   to   test   those   limits,   but   to   actually  

change  the  collectively  perceived  limits  of  possibility,  to  move  the  edge.  Edges  are  

found  in  drain  systems,  where  the  obvious  risk  comes  from  flooding,  drowning  and  

(less   likely)   cave-­‐ins   to   abandoned   buildings   which   have   both   short   term  

(collapse)   and   long   term   (respiratory   problems,   cancer)   perilous   impacts   on   our  

bodies   to   high   places,   where   falling   is   always   a   possibility.37  In   these   locations,  

unregulated   by   health   and   safety,   urban   explorers   are   free   to   do   edgework,  

                                                                                                               
37
In 2009, Downfallen, a prominent London urban explorer and BASE jumper, fell to his death while
BASE jumping in Switzerland (see http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=2414). The next year
a 13-year old Swedish boy fell into an underground canal in Stockholm (see
http://www.oursisthefury.com/2010/the-fall-of-urban-exploration/). Then in 2010 the explorer Solomon
fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Thailand http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/26/urban-
explorer-hotel-death-fall (all accessed 8th November 2010).

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(re)locating   boundaries   by   hanging   from   cranes,   balancing   on   edges   of   long   drops,  

precariously   tiptoeing   over   weak   floors   and   scrambling   under   collapsing  

structures.38  Neb,  when  I  asked  him  why  he  insisted  on  swinging  from  every  high  

thing  we  climbed  (including  jibs  of  cranes)  with  ropes  and  a  harness  he  carried,  he  

told   me,   “well,   I   want   the   rush   and   I   figure   if   I   fall   at   least   I’ll   be   dead   and   not  

disabled”  (MC  Nebula,  July  2011).  

 
Figure  89.  "Gary"  doing  his  edgework,  abseiling  30  meters  into  the  pre-­‐metro  ventilation  shaft,  
Antwerp,  photo  by  author  
 
William   Gurstelle   (2009:   np)   writes   that   “done   artfully   and   wisely,   living  

dangerously   engages   our   intellect,   advances   society   and   even   makes   us   happier.”  

While   creating   strong   bonds   of   trust   between   exploration   partners,   edgework   also  

reaffirms  individual  subjectivity  and  creative  potential;  “to  think  of  the  subject  as  

an  autonomous  self…  authorizes  the  fear  that  if  the  boundaries  are  breached  at  all,  

there  will  be  nothing  to  stop  the  self’s  complete  dissolution…  when  the  human  is  

seen  as  part  of  a  distributed  system,  the  full  expression  of  human  capacity  can  be  

                                                                                                               
38
http://www.nopromiseofsafety.com (accessed 9th November 2010).

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

seen   precisely   to   depend  on  the  splice   rather   than   being   imperiled   by   it”   (Hayles,  

1999:   290,   italics   mine).   Where   we   spliced   self   and   place,   where   we   invoked   the  

meld   uninvited,   we   created   new   vibrant   urbanisms   the   likes   of   which   we   may  

never  have  known  existed  otherwise.  

It   was   a   crisp   night   outside   London   Bridge   station.   It   was   still   but   our  
breath   curled   in   the   2am   air.   Marc   Explo   and   I   were   standing   on   a  
temporary  wooden  walkway  looking  through  a  viewing  window  into  the  
ground   level   construction   yard   of   the   largest   skyscraper   in   Europe.  
“Gary”   walked   up   behind   us   and,   with   a   pat   on   our   shoulders,   also  
peered   through.   “One   security   guard   looking   after   the   Shard   huh?”   he  
said   and   we   chuckled.   We   waiting   for   the   guard   to   finish   his   current  
round  and  go  into  his  hut.  It  took  a  few  minutes  of  lingering  before  the  
walkway   was   clear   of   people   –   we   grabbed   on   to   the   scaffolding   pipes  
and   swung   off   the   bridge.   Hanging   on   the   freezing   pipes,   we   pulled  
ourselves  on  top  of  the  walkway  and  laid  down  out  of  view,  waiting  for  a  
reaction  in  case  anyone  had  seen  or  heard  us.  It  didn’t  seem  so.    
 
Staying   low,   we   then   descended   the   other   side   of   the   scaffolding,   right  
behind  the  security  hut  where  we  could  see  the  guard  watching  TV,  not  
the   cameras.   Quickly,   we   scampered   across   the   yard   and   found   the  
central   stair   case,   again   pausing   to   see   if   there   was   any   reaction   from  
the  yard,  phones  ringing  or  doors  opening.  It  was  silent.    
 
First  we  took  the  stairs  two  at  a  time.  All  three  of  us  were  in  pretty  good  
shape  and  could  do  25  or  30  floors  like  that.  But  by  the  31st  floor,  I  was  
sweating  heavily.  Knowing  that  the  sweat  would  sting  when  we  emerged  
onto  the  roof,  I  tried  to  pace  myself  and  breathe.  By  floor  50,  my  calves  
burned  horribly  and  I  was  having  to  stop  every  once  and  a  while  to  let  
them   pulse   a   bit   and   untighten.   When   at   floor   70   the   cement   stairs  
turned  into  metal  ones,  indicated  we  were  near  the  top,  I  was  ecstatic.  I  
final   burst   of   enthusiasm   took   us   from   metal   stairs   to   wooden   ladders.  
We   threw   open   on   last   hatch   and   found   ourselves   on   top   of   the   Shard   at  
76  stories.  
 
As  I  climbed  up  on  the  counterweight  of  the  crane,  my  breath  caught.  It  
was  a  combination  of  the  icy  wind  and  the  sheer  scale  of  the  endeavour  
that  shocked  me.  Slowly,  I  pulled  myself  to  the  end  of  the  counter  weight  
and   peered   over   the   edge   down   to   the   Thames.   We   were   so   high,   I  
couldn’t  even  see  anything  moving  at  street  level.  No  buses,  no  cars,  just  
rows   of   lights,   train   lines   that   looked   like   converging   river   systems,   a  
giant  circuit  board.    
 
We   found   the   cab   of   the   crane   open   and   sat   down   inside.   “Gary”   pointed  
to  a  green  button  on  the  control  panel  and  said  “watch  this,  I’m  going  to  
build   the   Shard!”   and   pretended   to   press   the   button.   We   only   lasted  
about   half   an   hour   on   top   before   our   muscles   were   seizing   up   and   we  

169  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

were  actually  yearning  for  the  stair  climb  down.  Which  is  always  much  
easier  than  coming  up.  
 
Later,  standing  next  to  the  Thames  and  staring  up  the  Shard  at  the  little  
red  light  blinking  on  top  of  the  crane,  it  seemed  unimaginable  that  I  had  
my   hands   on   that   light   just   hours   earlier.   Ever   after,   whenever   I   see   that  
Shard   from   anywhere   in   the   city,   I   can’t   help   but   smile   (Field   Notes,  
London,  February  2011)            
 

 
Figure  90.  "Gary"  "builds"  the  Shard,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
Urban  exploration,  like  street  art  (Dickens,  2008b),  skateboarding  (Borden,  2001)  

and  parkour  (Mould,  2009,  Saville,  2008),  is  a  practice  which  reappropriates  urban  

space  for  an  unintended  or  unexpected  use  that  may  result  in  bodily  harm.  One  of  

the  common  reactions  to  people  choosing  to  take  unnecessary  risks  is,  of  course,  

suspicion  that  these  people  are  acting    “transgressively”  (Cresswell,  1996).  But  as  

Christopher   Stanley   has   written,   “these   subcultural   events   [could]   assume   the  

status   of   resistant   practices   not   in   terms   of   ideology   but   rather   in   terms   of  

alternative  narratives  of  dissensus  representing  possible  moments  of  community”  

(Stanley,  1995:  91).    

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  91.  The  author  on  top  of  the  Shard,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

171  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Those   moments   of   both   individual   accomplishment   and   collective   identification  

come  from  the  notion  that  explorers  are  doing  “…work  carried  out  on  ourselves  by  

ourselves   as   free   beings”   (Foucault   and   Rabinow,   1984:   47).   Skydivers   have  

espoused  similar  notions  during  ethnographic  interviews  conducted  by  Lyng.  One  

jumper  said,    

While we're riding in the airplane on the way to jump altitude, I always
feel scared and a little amazed that I'm fixing to do this bizarre thing-jump
out of an airplane! But as soon as I exit the plane, it's like stepping into
another dimension. Suddenly everything seems very real and very correct.
Free-fall is much more real than everyday existence (Lyng, 1990a: 861).
 
The  release  of  adrenaline  clearly  becomes  addictive,  causing  participants  to  spend  

an   increasing   amount   of   time   and   energy   chasing   the   release.   In   Belgium,   we  

actually   entered   a   live   blast   furnace   in   the   middle   of   the   day   and   snuck   around   the  

grounds,   running   up   stairwells   when   workers   had   their   backs   turned.   When   I  

asked   Statler   whether   he   thought   he   was   addicted   to   the   adrenaline   rush   we   got  

from   those   sorts   of   infiltrations,   he   told   me   “well   everything   else   was   boring  

anyway,  so  I  guess  I’d  rather  be  addicted”  (Statler,  August  2010).    

As   Lyng   rightly   points   out,   “risk   taking   [is]   necessary   for   the   well-­‐being   of   some  

people”   (1990a:   852,   emphasis   in   original)   as   individuals   work   to   “develop  

capacities   for   competent   control   over   environmental   objects”   (see   Klausner,   1968:  

156)  inspiring  edgeworkers  to  “sometimes  speak  of  a  feeling  of  ‘oneness’  with  the  

object   or   environment   while   undertaking   these   risks”   (Lyng,   1990a:   861).   Silent  

Motion   told   me   that   the   places   he   felt   he   had   the   deepest   relationship   with   were  

where  risks  had  been  taken,  social  codes  broken,  and  new  social  templates  drawn  

up   from   desire   and   the   recognition   and   transcendence   of   fear.   In   those   places,  

urban   explorers   have   bonded   not   only   with   Lyng’s   “object   and   environment”   but  

also  with  friends  who  shared  those  risks.  Similar  to  what  Saville  (2008:  891)  found  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

in   his   work   on   parkour,   participants   are   “trying,   experimenting,   and   gradually  

learning  to  be  in  places  differently”  (Saville,  2008:  891)  and  many  find  that  process  

liberating.   It   is   a   rare   moment   when   “‘knowings’   and   skills   of   the   body   organize  

action   in   the   absence   of   the   social   mind”   (Lyng,   2004:   360),   an   embodiment   of  

individual  subjectivity  that  gives  agency  to  the  actor  by  allowing  them  to  submit  to,  

or  indeed  create,  a  moment  outside  of  normative  everyday  space  (see  chapter  5)  

and  revisit  it  on  terms  of  one’s  own  choosing.    

If  we  follow  Sanders’  claim  that  where  “the  body  and  its  pleasures  [are]  a  locus  of  

political  meaning,  a  site  of  both  political  repression  and  liberation  and  we  can  see  

that   criminal   pleasures   also   incorporate   forms   of   political   resistance   and   escape”  

(1995:   314),   the   transition   from   urban   exploration   to   infiltration   to   edgework   and  

place  hacking  is  a  move  deeper  into  the  libertarian  notions  of  freedom  that  many  

explorers   embrace.   Clearly,   where   “freedom   is   what   you   do   with   what's   been   done  

to   you”   (Sartre   quoted   in   Wright,   2008:   98),   the   desire   to   explore   subterranean  

and  aerial  urban  space  could  be  seen  as  a  reaction  to  a  growing  existential  angst  in  

urban   inhabitants   built   on   a   feeling   of   frustration   where   “…the   desire   for  

alternative  options  starts  with  disappointment  and  anxiety”  (Rapp,  2010:  38).  This  

frustration   is   on   public   display   in   a   manifesto   for   draining   by   the   Cave   Clan  

member   and   avowed   anarchist   Predator   where   he   says,   “we   enjoy   thumbing   our  

noses  at  petty  bureaucrats  and  puerile  legislators,  and  their  half-­‐baked  attempts  to  

stop   us   going   to   the   places   where   we   go...   places   they   built   with   our   tax   money”  

(Predator,  ND:  2). 39  Predator  demanded  public  access  to  public  works  and  drains  

were  his  favourite  targets.  It  is  to  draining  we  turn  next.  

                                                                                                               
39
http://www.infiltration.org/observations-approach.html (accessed 12th November 2010).

173  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

The  sub  in  subterranean  –  sneaking  under  the  city  

“Public access to public works!”

– Predator, Sydney Cave Clan (ND: np)
 

 
Figure  92.  The  author  in  the  Colossus  of  the  South  (COTS)  drain,  Brighton,  photo  by  author  

174  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

As  Graham  (2000:  271)  has  written,    

 
The expanding subterranean metropolitan world consumes a growing
portion of urban capital to be engineered and sunk deep into the earth. It
links city dwellers into giant lattices and webs of flows which curiously are
rarely studied and usually taken for granted.
 
Through   these   new   infiltrations,   the   group   became   gatekeepers   to   an   intimate  

spatial   knowledge   about   the   urban   environment   most   of   the   city’s   inhabitants  

ignored,   a   role   both   empowering   and   exciting.   Again,   Ninjalicious   stated   it  

beautifully   when   he   wrote   that   “rather   than   passively   consuming   entertainment,  

urban   explorers   actually   strive   to   create   authentic   experiences,   by   making  

discoveries   that   allow   them   to   participate   in   the   secret   workings   of   cities   and  

structures”   (Ninjalicious,   2005:   3).   These   secret   workings   were   evident   not   just  

from   the   dazzling   heights   above   the   city   where   we   did   our   edgework   but   from  

below  street  level  where  pumping  bass  from  nightclubs,  the  sounds  of  rolling  tyres  

over   manhole   lids   and   high   heel   clicks-­‐clacks   drifted   down   to   us   as   we   walked  

single  file  through  urban  cable  networks  and  drain  systems  in  stunned  rapture,  the  

waste   of   our   fellow   inhabitants   flowing   over   our   fishing   waders.   We   excitedly  

revealed   the   extent   to   which   the   city  was   interconnected,   where   “buildings   extend  

into  the  ground,  connecting  directly  with  a  city’s  arterial  systems  of  transportation,  

communication  and  resource  distribution”  (McRae,  2008:  17).  But  these  networks  

connect  people  as  well  as  places.    

In   the   book   Divided   Cities,   a   sewage   worker   in   Cyprus   tells   the   authors   "all   the  

sewage  from  both  sides  of  the  city  is  treated…the  city  is  divided  above  ground  but  

unified   below”   (Calame   and   Charlesworth,   2009:   121).   While   London   and   Paris,  

our   two   primary   locations   for   exploration,   are   not   divided   quite   in   the   way   Cyprus  

is,  it  was  the  unveiled  interconnectivity  we  didn’t  even  know  existed  that  excited  

175  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

many   of   the   explorers.   At   times,   we   could   quiet   literally   find   the   boundary   point  

between,  for  instance,  a  government  bunker  and  the  London  Underground,  putting  

our  ears  to  the  brick  wall  separating  the  two  and  listening  to  Northern  Line  trains  

fly   by.   Empowerment   came   in   knowing   that   in   three   hours   with   a   hammer   and  

chisel,  we  could  reconnect  two  subterranean  networks,  rework  space  as  we  chose.    

 
Figure  93.  Neglected  public  information,  the  post-­‐war  infrastructural  layout  of  the  City  of  London,  
photo  by  author  
 
When  Winch,  Otter  and  myself  went  to  visit  Marc,  Dsankt,  Iris,  Olivier  and  Kat  in  

Paris  in  January  2011,  we  entered  a  sewer  lid  in  a  side  alley  and  walked  for  some  

time  underneath  the  city  before  finding  a  side  channel  in  which  there  was  a  ladder.  

Climbing   the   ladder,   we   found   ourselves   on   top   of   a   metal   mesh   walkway   going  

over   a   highway.   Following   it   further,   I   gasped   when   I   realised   we   were   walking  

over  the  Seine  in  some  sort  of  maintenance  area  inside  the  bridge,  totally  invisible  

and  inaccessible  from  the  road  on  top.  Halfway  across,  we  dropped  down  onto  one  

of   the   bridge   supports.   Dsankt   and   I   then   climbed   out   onto   the   bridge  

infrastructure   over   the   swirling   Seine   and   sat   on   a   beam   for   a   photo.   Continuing  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

along   the   bridge,   we   found   that   it,   strangely,   placed   us   inside   a   power   station,  

which  we  also  explored.  At  the  end  of  the  night,  we  had  “cubed”  the  location  and  

ended   up   moving   miles   across   Paris   having   traversed   sewers,   utility   tunnels,  

bridges   and   a   power   station,   the   connections   to   which   would   have   never   been  

obvious   from   the   view   of   “everyday   space”.   Of   course,   importantly,   once   we   had  

taken   the   route,   learned   the   connections,   and   knew   that   it   existed,   it   become   a  

viable   way   to   move   across   the   city,   changing   our   perception   of   traversable   space  

indelibly.   It   was   also,   ironically,   probably   a   safer   route   than   crossing   the   bridge  

over  the  Seine  by  foot  from  a  purely  physical  standpoint.    

Just   as   ruins   offer   up   enticing   juxtapositions,   “conventional   accounts   of   the  

uncanny   suggest   that,   in   passing   from   the   world   above   ground   into   that   below,   we  

are   entering   a   new   intensity   of   zones   between   the   rational   and   irrational,   nature  

and   culture,   male   and   female,   the   visible   and   invisible”   (Gandy,   1999:   34).   When  

entering   the   sewer   networks,   this   became   clear   as   we   passed   through   a   literal  

threshold   (the   sewer   lid   in   the   street)   into   a   world   where   the   only   social  

expectations   to   be   found   were   the   ones   we   chose   to   bring   with   us.   In   Paris,   the  

networks   urban   explorers   have   discovered,   negotiated   and   built   are   so   extensive  

that   we   can   traverse   the   city   underground   at   times   more   efficiently   than  

aboveground.   The   underground   culture   of   “cataphiles”   is   so   enticing   many  

Parisians  spend  more  time  living  under  the  city  by  candlelight  than  in  the  “City  of  

Lights”  above  (Garrett,  2011b,  Shea,  2011).    

In  a  sense,  the  explorations  of  the  crew  became  less  about  the  places  themselves  

and  more  about  the  freedom  to  choose  to  spend  time  as  they  saw  fit,  choosing  how  

to  interact  with  the  environment  and  experiencing  the  “pleasure  and  excitement  of  

177  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

being   drawn   out   of   one’s   secure   routine   to   encounter   the   novel,   the   strange,   the  

surprising”  (Sandercock,  2003:  403).  We  stored  that  information  in  our  brains  and  

hard   drives,   making   us   more   active   and   participatory   citizens   in   the   way   we  

contently   acted,   reacted   to   and   caused   reaction   in   the   city.   However,   I   felt   these  

explorations   were   becoming   more   about   boundaries   than   sites,   more   about   the  

hack  than  the  place.    

 
Figure  94.  Breaching  the  threshold,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
Here   we   make   an   important   connection   again   to   the   work   of   Tim   Cresswell   who  

argues  that  “although  ‘out  of  place’  is  logically  secondary  to  ‘in  place’,  it  may  come  

first   existentially.   That   is   to   say,   we   may   have   to   experience   geographical  

transgression   before   we   realize   that   a   boundary   even   existed”   (Cresswell,   1996:  

22).   When   I   asked   Statler   about   our   transformation   into   an   infiltration   crew,   he  

responded,  “when  you  become  obsessed  with  pushing  these  boundaries,  you  move  

from  urban  exploration  to  infiltration”  (Statler,  October  2010)  and  once  you  cross  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

that   boundary,   it’s   very   hard   to   go   back,   each   success   marking   a   new   boundary   we  

could  then  cross  with  relative  immunity.  

Although   we   might   be   tempted   to   make   connections   to   transgressive   mobilities  

like  those  undertaken  by  the  American  Beats  (Cresswell,  1993),  urban  exploration,  

as  well  as  being  transgressively  empowering,  also  creates  a  group  dynamic  of  deep  

investment  in  the  places  we  hacked  where  “various  objects  constitute  the  basis  of  

an  ‘imagined  presence’  carrying  that  imagined  presence  across  the  members  of  a  

local   community.”   (Urry,   2005:   80).   Urban   explorers   know   and   love   cities   inside  

and   out   because   in   many   cases   they   learn   cities   inside   then   out.  Rather   than  

directly   resisting   through   transgression,   urban   explorers   are   investing   through  

subversion,   even   as   those   moments   of   investment   are   indebted   to   the   modern  

legacy   of   transgression   (graffiti,   punk,   hacker   and   beat   culture,   etc.),   by   their   (at  

times)   complete   disregard   for   what   is   socially   expected   or   acceptable.   But   the  

libertarian   philosophy   behind   much   of   the   motivation   is   not   to   be   mistaken   for  

anarchism.  Again,  Marc  Explo  makes  the  point,  

I believe we are an apolitical movement. I would not like to associate, for

instance, with a group who protests against the waste of empty space in
prime locations. I don't think we are against the system, we're just pointing
out its limits. And as soon as the authorities realise we do, the boundaries
evolve; that’s the game (Marc Explo, September 2011).
 
Of  course,  these  games  do  involve  those  outside  the  community  and  explorers  are  

also   interested,   though   this   remains   largely   unspoken,   in   mental   shifts   they   can  

inspire  not  only  in  themselves  but  also  in  the  urban  inhabitants  who  witness  our  

spatial  hijacks.    

179  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  95.  Light  painting  a  bunker  in  Dover,  photo  by  Vanishing  Days  and  author  
 

 
Figure  96.  Playful  lighting,  Rubix,  River  Effra,  South  London,  photo  by  Silent  Motion,  Statler  and  
Author  
 
 

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

As   Luke   Dickens   writes   about   street   artists,   “there   is   a   good   deal   of   evidence   to  

suggest  that  various  publics  seem  to  view  some  of  these  alternative  inscriptions  as  

a  beneficial  and  desirable  part  of  living  in  the  “creative  city”  (Dickens,  2008a:  26).  

Physical  display  of  action,  rather  than  a  virtual  representation  of  potential  action,  

was  often  seen  as  valuable  in  “awakening”  the  people  around  us,  again  highlighting  

the  importance  of  embodied  knowledge  and  grounded  potential.  Each  exploration  

has  the  potential  to  open  a  new  urban  ludic  space  (Stevens,  2007)  where  we  can,  

for  instance,  playfully  decorate  places  with  light  during  long  exposures.  

As   John   Hollingshead   noted   in   1862,   “there   is   a   fatal   fascination   about   sewers,   and  

whenever   an   entrance   is   opened,   a   crowd   is   sure   to   gather”   (Hollingshead,   2009  

[1862]:   60).   In   these   instances,   in   contrast   to   covert   exploration   of   ruins,  

emergence   from   infrastructure   into   public   space   encouraged   bystanders   to  

question  the  urban  environment  around  them,  much  to  the  explorer’s  delight.  An  

excerpt  from  my  field  diary  illustrates  the  point:  

Tonight   Statler,   “Gary”   and   I   infiltrated   some   utility   tunnels   under  

Bloomsbury   dressed   as   construction   workers.   We   had   entered   a   lid   in   the  
middle   of   the   street   at   around   9pm   and   when   we   returned   to   the  
entrance  at  close  to  midnight  (also  the  only  exit)  we  could  hear  a  crowd  
of   people   outside.   We   all   decided   just   to   get   out   quickly,   not   knowing  
what   was   happening   above.   As   we   emerged,   people   started   screaming  
and  laughing  and  we  realized  the  nearby  theatre  had  just  gotten  out  and  
everyone  around  us  was  dressed  smart  and  holding  drinks.  Some  woman  
pointed   at   us   and   screamed   “oh   my   god,   it’s   the   Ghostbusters!”   We   all  
laughed  nervously,  closed  and  locked  the  lid  quickly  and  returned  to  the  
car.  Driving  away  as  we  pulled  off  our  “costumes”,  we  all  laughed  about  
the  absurdity  of  the  situation,  hugging  each  other  with  tears  in  our  eyes.  
Gary,   barely   able   to   speak   through   his   laughter   said   “those   people   are  
going  to  be  trying  to  figure  out  what  the  fuck  just  happened  for  weeks!”  
And   he’s   right,   if   those   people   spend   more   than   a   moment   thinking   about  
what   just   happened,   it   will   be   pretty   clear   we   weren’t   legit   at   all   (Field  
Notes,  London,  July  2010).  
 

181  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

In   these   situations   explorers   go   beyond   asserting   “I   did   this”   (as   through  

photography)  by  intentionally  implying  “you  could  also  choose  to  do  this”  and  “the  

political   implications   of   this   intentionality   lie   not   just   in   the   transgressive   action  

itself,  but  in  the  resistance  of  the  status  of  passive  citizens”  (Rapp,  2010:45).  The  

transition   into   infiltration   from   ruin   exploration   seems,   in   hindsight,   an   organic  

progression.   Those   early   ruin   explorations   revealed   cracks   in   the   façade   of   the  

urban  spectacle.  Urban  exploration,  in  this  light,  is  nothing  less  than  a  rejection  of  

our   enforced   pact   with   social   norms   in   the   process   of   questing   for   sites   of   urban  

tenderness   under   the   hard   and   fluid   city,   flippantly   exploiting   those   capital  

investments   to   find   places   where   alternative   channels   of   investment   in   places  

resided  in  all  their  duplicities,  authentic  and  strange  forms.  

In   these   spatial   reintepretations,   bonds,   desires   and   the   need   to   find   deeper  

communal   meaning   in   life   take   precedence   over   the   ability   to   create   profit   or   to  

produce   something.   It   was   often   commented   by   the   crew   that   we   were   having   a  

better  time  than  all  those  poor  saps  seeing  a  show  or  getting  wasted  in  the  pub  or  

sitting   at   home   watching   television.   While   those   comments   are   of   course  

somewhat   arrogant   (include   Siologen’s   classification   of   “normal”   people   as   “the  

dumb  fucking  retards  up  top”,  see  video  9  –  IDM  2011,  1:16),  I  think  that  militancy,  

again,   comes   from   the   explorer’s   frustration   with   constantly   negotiating   an   ever  

constricting  spatio-­‐political  landscape  and  desire  to  be  left  to  interact  with  the  city  

in   whatever   way   they   see   fit.   The   excitement   of   those   engagements   with   the   city  

causes  an  overwhelming  desire  to  share  them  that  often  translates  into  disdain  for  

whoever  isn’t  receptive  to  the  explorer’s  desire  to  hack  places  and  tell  the  tale.  

Urban  exploration  is  a  way  to  create  room  for  disjunction  and  difference  through  

what   Justin   Spinney   has   referred   to   as   “tactical   subversion”   (Spinney,   2010)   by  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

weaving   an   alternative   spectacle   (Dickens,   2008a)   that   explorers   expect   may  

please  others.  Their  spatio-­‐subversions  allow  the  explorer  to  observe  not  just  what  

is   hidden   on   the   streets   but   to   experience   the   hidden   verticality   of   the   city   from  

cranes   towering   over   under-­‐construction   skyscapers   and   from   within   hidden  

rivers   and   drain   networks   of   contemporary   metropoli.   In   her   book   New   York  

Underground,   urban   explorer   Julia   Solis   writes   that   “the   real   adventure   is   far  

below,   down   the   elevator   shaft,   where   you   can   feel   and   smell   what   New   York   is  

really  made  of  and  where  the  very  fabric  of  the  city  vibrates  with  life”  (Solis,  2007:  

3).   Again,   that   tone   of   “authentic”   experience   manifest,   regardless   of   whether  

explorers   are   in   derelict,   under   construction   or   infrastructural   space,   usually  

framed,  perhaps  unfairly,  in  contrast  to  “everyday  life”.  

By   2010,   we   had   had   begun   to   seriously   start   mapping   out   and   exploring   the  

famous   sewer   system   built   in   the   1850s   by   Joseph   Bazalgette   (Dobraszczyk,   2005)  

and  the  London  Underground  (Tube),  encouraged  by  the  groundbreaking  work  of  

“Team  A”  explorers  John  Doe,  Zero,  Snappel,  Dsankt  and  Siologen  (Manaugh,  2009,  

Zero,  2009),  the  first  explorers  to  crack  the  sewer  and  drain  network,  now  often  in  

collaboration   with   them.   These   vertical   explorations   became   new   points   of  

contestation   to   the   philosophical   and   political   underpinnings   and   boundaries   of  

the  practice  as  the  exposure  of  such  interstitial  spaces  added  the  “poignancy  of  the  

vertical   axis   to   our   understanding   of   the   cultural   appropriation   of   urban  

technologies,   since   the   subterranean   environment   is   not   only   a   technological  

construct,   but   also   ‘a   mental   landscape,   a   social   terrain,   and   an   ideological   map’”  

(Williams,  1990:  21).    

183  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  97.  Yaz  and  the  author  at  Lucky  Charms,  River  Effra,  South  London,  photo  by  Otter,  Yaz  and  
author  
 

 
Figure  98.  Winch  in  the  river  Tyburn,  West  London,  photo  by  Winch  and  author  
 
 

184  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

The   map   of   London   looked   quite   different   when   taking   into   account   the   Fleet,  

Westbourne,   Effra   and   Tyburn   sewers,   crisscrossed   by   subterranean   storm   relief  

systems,   cable   and   utility   tunnels,   the   Tube   and   deep   shelters.   Essentially,   London,  

in  any  one  place,  might  being  composed  of  five  of  more  “layers”  of  space,  with  daily  

life   for   most   inhabitants   only   taking   place   in   one   where   explorers   move   readily  

between  them  all.    

In  short,  where  “the  ruin  is  invoked  in  a  critique  of  the  spatial  organization  of  the  

modern   world   and   of   its   single-­‐minded   commitment   to   a   progress   that   throws   too  

many   individuals   and   spaces   into   the   trash”   (Hell   and   Schönle,   2010:   8),  

exploration   of   derelict   places   in   the   city,   and   the   political   implication   of   not   only  

what   space   is   “open”   to   access   but   also   the   significance   and   affordances   of   “off-­‐

limits”  and  “off-­‐the-­‐grid”  space  on  a  whole  drove  the  explorers  to  begin  unravelling  

everything  around  them.  Our  gaze  had  been  so  indelibly  altered  that  we  could  no  

longer   see   the   city   in   the   form   presented,   the   spectacle   had   been   decoded.   The  

crew   followed   Rapp   in   believing   that   “…today’s   infrastructure   sustains   the  

paranoid   and   waning   civilization   that   will   be   tomorrow’s   ruin”   (Rapp,   2010:   34).  

Although,  as  Debord  writes  “[t]he  construction  of  situations  begins  on  the  ruins  of  

the  modern  spectacle”  (Debord,  1981:  25),  the  crew  had  clearly  found  that  “’ruins’,  

both   [pre   and   post   utility]   are   characterized   by   certain   ‘affordances’   that  

destabilise   not   only   the   functionalist   body   but   the   anti-­‐functionalist   also”   (Smith,  

2010:  112).  Many  of  the  places  accessed  had  clearly  been  empty  for  decades  and  

often   the   group   commented   when   we   were   in   places   on   how   bizarre   it   was   no   one  

had  ever  thought  to  do  this  before.  

185  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

After  exploring  around  a  dozen  drain  systems  including  the  Westbourne,  the  Fleet  

and  the  Tyburn,  the  group  was  more  than  ready  to  go  anywhere  that  would  lend  

itself   to   surreal   experience   and   the   harder   it   was   to   get   into,   the   better.   Our  

introduction   of   a   heightened   vertical   imagination   into   daily   life   opened   up   even  

more  freedoms,  possibilities  and  questions.    

 
Figure  99.  Author  knee-­‐deep  in  sewage,  River  Effra,  South  London,  photo  by  author  
 
 
New  tactics:  high  invisibility  and  social  engineering    
 
“Using simple credibility props, one can acquire near-universal trust and respect
without doing a thing to deserve it…”
– Ninjalicious (2005: 37)
 
As   Marc   Explo   taught   me   that   night   on   St-­‐Sulpice,   construction   sites   are   more  

similar   to   ruins   than   they   first   appear   –   once   past   the   liminal   zone   of   cameras,  

motion   sensors   and   security   guards,   we   are   relatively   free   to   do   as   we   please.  

However,   our   methods   of   access   may   differ   in   these   places.   In   gaining   access   to  

derelict   areas,   stealth   is   almost   always   the   preferred   tactic   whereas   infiltration  

requires  more  elaborate  creative  thinking,  planning  and  group  cooperation.  When  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

entering   other   areas   such   as   London’s   drain   and   sewer   systems,   we   found   that  

posing  as  construction  workers  (builders)  proved  very  fruitful.  As  the  street  artist  

D*face  points  out  in  an  interview  with  Luke  Dickens  (2008a:  20):  

The best camouflage is actually not being camouflaged and looking like
you are meant to be there and pitching up in broad daylight, wearing a
neon vest and looking like you are a worker and start painting a wall.
You look like you have permission and who is going to question you?
(D*face, 13/10/05)
 
Londoners  seemed  to  ignore  the  hidden  vertical  dimensions  of  the  city  not  just  in  a  

physical   but   in   a   social   sense.   The   middle   class,   true   to   its   name,   moves  

horizontally   and   overlooks   most   of   what   doesn’t,   including   builders   (recall   the  

insight  from  the  crane  operator  above).  When  we  dressed  up  in  high  visibility  vests  

and  hard  hats,  we  looked  like  we  were  at  work  and,  in  a  sense,  we  were.  In  these  

instances,   attitude   was   everything;   our   stealth   tactics   gave   way   to   social  

engineering.  During  an  infiltration  of  subterranean  Paris,  Winch  and  Dsankt  had  a  

discussion  about  it,  with  Winch  suggesting,  

“There are only two types of barriers we face, aren’t there, the physical,
which we have little problem with now, and the social. Social barriers can
be overcome too; we just have to hone our skill.

Dsankt replied, “Yeah, we just hope the people who know what's going on
don't show up in the meantime” (Winch and Dsankt, January 2011).
   
The   first   time   I   experienced   this   was   with   LutEx   long   before   infiltration   had  

become  our  Modus  Operandi,  when  we  entered  a  system  of  air  raid  shelters  under  

Luton,   north   of   London.   My   field   notes   from   the   day   record   my   shock   at   his  

audacity:    

LutEx   mystified   me   with   his   calm,   organized   and   rational   approach   to   the  
concept  of  what  he  called  “overt  camouflage”.  He  pulled  his  car  up  on  the  
pavement,   coned   off   the   area,   adorned   himself   with   a   high   visibility   vest  
and   proceeded   to   wrap   tape   around   the   cones,   creating   a   cordon,  
redirecting   pedestrians   and   giving   the   site   the   look   of   a   public   works  
project.  He  then  produced  two  drain  keys  which  we  fit  into  the  split-­‐square  
manhole,   lifted   it   up   and   voila!   60   years   of   buried   history   was   ours   to  
experience.  
187  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

I  am  interested  in  other  ways  overt  camouflage  could  be  used  but  also  had  
another  thought  about  this  idea.  Basically,  this  only  works  if  you  have  the  
appearance  of  someone  who  ‘belongs’  there.  This  means  that  people  with  
body   jewellery,   tattoos,   even   dreadlocks   would   become   more   suspect  
immediately.  Which  leads  me  to  suggest  that  the  real  revolutionaries  may  
not   be   the   kids   with   purple   mohawks,   but   the   people   who   look   quite  
normal   yet   work   to   resist   banality   through   their   thoughts,   word   and   most  
importantly,  actions,  in  more  subtle  ways  (Fieldwork   Notes,   Luton,   March  
13th  2009,  see  video  4  –  Luton  Bunkers).  

 
Figure  100.  Winch  and  Neb  in  costume  popping  a  lid,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
Winch   later   commented   on   this   when   reading   my   field   notes,   saying,   “yeah,   it's  

shocking   really   how   two   years   ago   we   didn't   really   understand   this   concept   just  

yet.  Now  it's  just  part  of  how  we  work.”  In  fact,  forays  into  the  city  dressed  as,  for  

instance,   Thames   Water   workers,   became   so   common   that   we   often   carried   the  

uniforms  in  the  boot  of  the  car  all  the  time,  like  work  uniforms.  On  some  level,  we  

convinced   ourselves   that   the   “outside”   was   “in”,   almost   shocked   when   someone  

actually  confronted  us.  In  one  instance,  a  drunken  woman  on  the  street  in  the  City  

of   London   asked   Winch   why   he   had   a   hardhat   and   high   vis   on   at   3am,   he  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

responded,   in   all   seriousness   and   slightly   annoyed,   “obviously   we’re   going   into   the  

sewer  to  take  photos”  (Winch,  May  2010).    

Organized   transgressions   against   normative   daily   behaviour,   what   Oli   Mould   has  

termed   urban   subversions   (Mould   and   Garrett,   2011),   are   in   fact   rarely   riotous.  

Creative   resistance   in   places   may   take   the   form   of   refusing   to   move   where   you   are  

expected   to,   such   as   in   a   flash   mob   event   where   large   groups   of   coordinated  

participants   freeze   in   unison   in   public   spaces   designed   for   pedestrian   flow  (Wasik,  

2006)   or   in   rural   areas   designated   private   property   where   groups   such   as   the  

Ramblers   Association   of   Britain   hold   annual   “Forbidden   Britain   Day”   mass  

trespasses  (Solnit,  2001:  167),  a  simple  act  of  walking  where  you  are  not  supposed  

to.   Some   incursions   into   places   do   not   even   take   place   physically,   such   as  Trevor  

Paglen’s   visual   trespasses   onto   United   States   military   property   through   the  

telephoto   lens   of   a   camera,   or   his   more   recent   work   called   The   Other   Night   Sky  

photographing  US  spy  satellites  that  supposedly  do  not  exist  (Paglen,  2006).40  Like  

many   other   activities,   urban   exploration,   while   conceptually   provocative,   would  

look   almost   dull   viewed   from   the   outside   in   when   someone   comes   along   on   an  

exploration.  A  lot  of  time  is  spent,  for  instance,  sitting  around  waiting  for  security  

guards  to  leave  when  we  think  they  might  have  heard  us  or  waiting  30  minutes  for  

someone  to  take  photos,  moving  lights  around  to  achieve  the  desired  aesthetic.  The  

edge  brought  to  the  activity  is  in  fact  largely  conceptual  –  it’s  the  notion  that  what  

is  taking  place,  what  the  group  is  actively  participating  in  together,  is  authentic  life,  

whether  or  not  anyone  actually  cares  (or  knows)  that  it’s  happening.    

                                                                                                               
40
http://www.paglen.com/pages/projects/other_night/index.html (accessed 6th January 2012).

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Sneaking  around,  failing  and  getting  busted  

“In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught.”
-Hunter S. Thompson (1998: 72)
 

 
Figure  101.  A  “stop  and  search”  form  received  by  the  author  from  the  London  Metropolitan  Police  
after  being  seen  climbing  a  crane,  image  via  London  Met  and  author  
 
With  the  increasing  risk  the  group  took  also  came  an  increased  likelihood  that  we  

would   be   caught   and/or   put   ourselves   in   dangerous   situations,   both   above   and  

below  the  city.    

In  February  2010,  I  got  a  call  on  my  mobile.  It  was  Sunday  evening  and  
my  friend  Erika  was  visiting  from  Sweden  so  I  ignored  it  and  let  it  go  to  
voicemail.   Hours   later,   after   a   few   pints   in   the   pub,   I   checked   the  
message.   It   was   a   garbled   recording   of   Silent   Motion   sounding   like   he  
was   underwater.   All   I   could   catch   from   it   was   “help”   and   “trapped”.  
Thinking   he   was   taking   the   piss,   I   called   him   back   and   after   many   rings,  
he   picked   up.   The   conversation   was   difficult,   I   could   barely   make   out  
what  he  was  telling  me.  What  I  could  eventually  piece  together  was  that  
Silent   Motion,   the   most   agile   and   sneaky   of   our   crew,   had   gotten   himself  
stuck  in  a  lift  at  100  Middlesex  Street  in  the  City.    

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I  called  LutEx  who  I  knew  had  a  handful  of  gear  in  the  boot  of  his  car  for  
just   such   an   occasion.   He   picked   Erika   and   I   up   from   Clapham   and   we  
raced   to   100   Middlesex,   arriving   at   about   10pm.   We   jumped   the  
hoarding   and   quietly   made   our   way   to   the   lifts.   Indeed,   one   of   them   was  
stuck  on  the  13th  floor,  the  button  unresponsive.  We  pulled  out  a  set  of  
lift  keys  but  none  of  them  fit  this  particular  model.  We  then  went  to  the  
stairwells   and   realised   why   Silent   Motion   had   taken   the   lift   (which   we  
learned   never   to   do   early   in   our   infiltrations,   both   for   safety   and   the  
possibility  of  alerting  security):  the  stairwells  were  boarded  up  tight.    
 
We   worked   for   hours   trying   to   push   the   boards   back   without   breaking  
them,  not  wanting  to  exacerbate  the  situation  should  the  authorities  get  
involved.   As   LutEx   pointed   out,   even   if   we   had   gotten   through   the  
boards,   there   was   no   guarantee   we   would   be   able   to   pry   the   lift   doors  
open  on  the  13th  floor.  We  had  to  give  up.    
 
With   no   way   to   contact   Silent   Motion   inside,   we   did   the   only   thing   we  
knew  to  do  at  3am  on  a  Monday  morning  in  such  a  crisis  –  we  called  the  
fire   brigade.   The   first   time   I   called,   the   woman   answering   phones   told  
me  my  story  “was  not  amusing”  and  hung  up  on  me.  The  second  time,  I  
was  told  they  would  “send  a  unit”.  About  20  minutes  later,  12  police  cars  
showed   up   and   walked   into   the   building   next   door,   talking   to   the   24-­‐
hour   security   guard.   Clearly,   the   guard   had   seen   us   hop   the   hoarding   on  
our   way   out.   I   then   rang   back   999   and   told   them   “look,   I   am   standing  
here  now  with  officers  everywhere,  can  you  please  send  one  of  them  into  
100   Middlesex,   this   is   not   a   joke,   there   is   someone   trapped   in   there”,  
explaining  that  I  did  not  want  to  speak  to  the  police  in  person  as  I  was  
on  a  student  visa.  The  receptionist  assured  me  that  she  would  make  the  
call.  We  left  before  the  police  started  looking  for  us.  
 
Nobody   slept   that   night   as   we   waited   for   word   from   Silent   Motion.  
Finally,  at  10am,  he  called.  He  told  us  that  neither  the  fire  brigade  nor  
police  had  come  but  a  throng  of  workers  greeted  him  when  they  turned  
the   power   to   the   lifts   back   on   at   8am   Monday.   The   site   manager,   not  
wanting   to   cause   any   “unnecessary   paperwork”,   sent   him   on   his   way  
after  48  hours  trapped  in  a  lift  with  no  food.  Although  Silent  Motion  was  
appreciative   of   our   efforts   and   very   forgiving   of   our   failure   to   rescue  
him,   I   had   never   felt   so   helpless   in   all   my   life.   I   think   I   will   always   be  
haunted  by  the  failure  (Field  Notes,  London,  February  2010).    
     
In  another  instance,  when  I  was  out  of  town,  Winch,  Statler,  Patch  and  Neb  had  a  

very  close  call  in  a  Hastings  storm  relief  system  called  The  ‘Stinger,  which  Winch  

wrote  about  on  his  blog.  

We’d   been   here   for   perhaps   40   minutes,   and   with   a   roar   coming   from  
the  infeed  on  the  right,  the  waters  suddenly  speeded  up.  First  they  sloped  
up  and  over  the  edge  of  the  walkway,  then  within  30  seconds  they  were  
flowing   over   the   top   and   running   down   the   walkways.   With   haste   we  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

packed   up   and   the   others   joined   me   from   the   platform   on   the   right   as  
the   flow   reached   our   calves,   and   eventually   our   knees.   We’d   had   two  
choices.   Either   sit   it   out   up   high   or   aim   to   head   down   the   300m   or   so  
we’d  come  up  the  tunnel  and  away.  
 
Neb’s   bag   was   carried   away   and   we   crossed   the   flow   using   slings  
wrapped   round   our   wrists,   the   combined   body   weight   of   the   group  
giving   stability   to   the   person   deepest  in   the   water.  We   shuffled   down  
towards  the  exit  with  haste,  the  distance  seeming  far  greater  than  on  the  
journey  up.  Shadows  and  colours  on  the  walls  tricked  us  several  times  as  
we  thought  we  had  reached  the  exit,  but  only  reaching  stained  marks  on  
the   concrete   wall.   Eventually   we   reached   the   infeed   tunnel   and   had   to  
wade   up   through   a   waist   high   flow,   using   an   extended   tripod   to   pull  
ourselves  through  to  the  ladders.  We  clambered  up  and  out,  grateful  to  
be   out   of   the   sewer,   as   the   thunder   and   lighting   crashed   around   us.   This  
hadn’t  been  in  the  weather  forecast,  and  certainly  not  in  our  script.41  
 
With   the   increased   risk   we   were   now   taking   to   see   more   deeply   hidden   sites   came  

an   increased   possibility   of   things   going   wrong,   or   even   of   one   of   us   dying,   falling  

from  a  crane,  being  hit  by  a  train  or  drowning  in  a  drain  during  a  rainstorm  (see  

video   10,   Crack   the   Surface,   9:00).   However,   as   David   Heap   writes   about   the  

similarly  hazardous  exercise  of  caving,  the  experience  “stands  for  something  real:  

danger,   fear,   romance,   curiosity,   physical   exaltation   are   important   components”  

(Heap,   1964:   22   cited   in   Cant   2003:   71).   The   risks   undertaken   in   these   types   of  

infiltrations   were   deeply   satisfying   embodied   moments   of   presentness   where  

explorers  were  “forced  to  deal  with  the  immediacy  of  the  moment  by  responding  

‘instinctively’  to  the  evolving  circumstances.  It  is  simply  not  possible  to  formulate,  

via  the  social  mind,  an  effective  response  to  a  challenge  that  threatens  to  instantly  

overwhelm   the   actor”   (Lyng,   2004:   362).   Despite   the   terror   of   such   events,   they  

often  become  the  stories  worth  telling.  As  Neb  said  to  me  about  ‘Stinger,  “there  are  

a   lot   of   people   who   have   near   death   experiences   but   not   many   who   have  

interesting  ones”  (Neb,  May  2010).  

                                                                                                               
41
http://www.thewinch.net/?p=849 (accessed 6th July 2010).

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

The  requirement  of  self-­‐determining  action  reinforces  the  power  and  agency  of  the  

individual   over   the   situation,   in   contrast   to   everyday   space   where   we   are  

constantly   under   the   influence   of   situations   created   by   others   (this   is   certainly   the  

case   for   many   people’s   lives   at   work).   This   is   why   Guy   Debord   of   the   SI   insisted   on  

the   “creation”   of   situations   we   find   to   be   “authentically   real   and   creatively  

satisfying”   (Lyng,   2004)   to   reinforce   our   place   in   the   world   as   intentional   actors.  

What  is  found  in  those  moments  of  manufactured  fear  –  keeping  in  mind  we  place  

ourselves   in   harm’s   way   –   (Pain   and   Smith,   2008,   Saville,   2008,   Tuan,   1979,   see  

chapter   5)   are   times   when   the   image   of   self,   what   Lyng   (2004)   calls   the  

“dominating   body”,   is   dissolved   into   the   embodied   action   of   the   situation   or   the  

“becoming  body”.  Although  we  are  always  already  becoming,  our  submission  to  the  

moment,  indeed  our  submission  to  the  embodied  encounter  with  the  very  physical  

and   changing   matter   of   the   city,   provoked   it   to   respond   to   us   in   exciting   ways,  

where   Deleuze   sees   the   ethical   injunction   of   the   body   being   subject   to   the  

nonhuman  flow  of  life,  in  this  case,  a  vibrant  urbanism  (Zylinska,  2009:  29).    

A  collapse  of  the  ego  is  experienced  when  explorers  lose  sight  of  self  in  moments  of  

precognitive   environmental   action   and   reaction.   Attempts   to   control   the   chaos   of  

unstable   and   unsafe   situations   mark   new   urban   terrain   where   the   “…becoming  

body   that   cannot   control   chaos   but   rather   is   transfigured   by   chaos”   (Lyng,   2004:  

368).  The  reduction  of  those  opposing  forces  evokes  the  becoming  body,  which  is  

forced   to   grapple   with   surroundings   in   a   way   not   usually   experienced.   Those  

moments   are   captured   though   the   digital   prosthetic   (the   DSLR),   in   the   meld,   when  

self  becomes  machine,  city  becomes  body  and  where  we  as  a  collective  become  an  

event  taking  place  –  an  anti-­‐spectacle  asserted  through  group  consensus  to  cause  

and   experience   chaos.   Returning   to   chapter   2,   we   might   see   the   camera   as   in  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

inhibiter   to   experience   where   the   technical   process   of   photography   takes  

precedence   over   experience.   But   again   I   will   suggest   that   the   camera   can   also  

augment  the  experience  as  a  prosthetic  even  as  it  acts  as  a  legitimisation  prop.      

 
Figure  102.  Oh  us?  We're  just  photographers...  photo  by  author  
 
The   explorers   were,   returning   to   chapter   3,   rewriting   that   urban   history   of   capital,  

investment,   banking,   construction,   national   heroes   and   government   as   a   populist  

history   “and   what   we   make   history   with   is   the   matter   of   a   becoming,   not   the  

subject   matter   of   a   story”   (Deleuze   and   Guattari,   1988:   347).   That   process   of  

becoming  is  here  captured  in  images  with  a  particular  style,  a  signature,  thus  “the  

aesthetics   of   style   create   new   possibilities   for   resistance   to   the   disembodied  

imperatives  of  the  system.  In  making  the  transition  from  fashion  and  conspicuous  

consumption   to   style   and   aesthetics,   the   mirroring   body   is   superceded   by   a  

becoming   body   that   discovers   new   terminations   of   corporeal   contingency   in   its  

complex  appropriations  of  consumer  objects”  (Lyng,  2004:  370).  To  reiterate,  the  

body  is  being  formed  through  a  constant  pull  between  conformity  and  subversion  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

where   “the   body   as   a   site   of   power,   a   node   which   is   contested   between   forces   of  

control   and   resistance”   (Foucault   1979   cited   in   Fox,   2002:   348).   Urban   explorers  

tip   the   scale   back   into   a   more   balanced   state   by   extending   the   realm   of  

intercorporeal  possibility  off  the  map  and  into  the  realm  of  uncertainty.    

At   times   the   crew   had   to   trust   each   other   in   heated   moments   and   in   others   submit  

themselves   to   the   situation   as   “becoming   bodies”   where   ego   was   transcended   by  

the   experience   of   surreal   moments   which   threatened   to   overwhelm   us   as  

biological,   sensory   beings.   However,   “as   one   moves   to   the   final   phases   of   the  

experience,   fear   gives   way   to   a   sense   of   exhilaration   and   omnipotence.   Having  

survived   the   challenge,   one   feels   capable   of   dealing   with   any   threatening   situation.  

This   no   doubt   contributes   to   the   elitist   orientation   of   some   edgework   groups”  

(Lyng,  1990a:  860).  Lyng  was  right,  as  our  list  of  successes  as  a  group  grew  and  our  

edgework  pushed  reconfigured  the  boundaries  of  the  practice,  it  was  impossible  to  

ignore   the   smugness   that   arose   with   it.   From   the   perspective   of   the   urban  

exploration  community  we  were  now  operating  at  the  margins  of,  in  the  words  of  

Urbanity,   we   were   experiencing   a   “meteoric   rise   on   the   scene”   (Urbanity,   July  

2011),  both  ostracised  and  admired.  That  ostracisation  came  with  an  assumption  

that   in   order   to   accomplish   what   we   were   accomplishing,   we   must   have   been  

committing   criminal   breaking   and   entering.   Which   was   not   strictly   the   case   –   in  

many   instances,   our   successes   came   from   better   research,   better   planning,   blind  

luck  and  the  willingness  to  be  caught  if  necessary.      

Our   increasingly   arrogant   attitude   arose   in   inevitable   confrontation   with  

authorities   in   places   where,   not   unlike   our   encounters   with   architectural  

resistance,   some   in   the   group   enjoyed   exacerbating   an   otherwise   routine  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

encounter  insisting  that  they,  not  the  authority  figure,  were  in  the  moral  right.  In  

Berlin,  we  visited  the  1936  Olympic  Village  where  half  the  site  was  a  heritage  park  

and   the   other   half   in   ruins.   With   beers   in   hand,   we   slipped   into   the   abandoned  

sections,  snapping  photos.  When  the  park  “security”  came  around  and  yelled  at  us  

to   get   out   of   the   closed   sections,   we   mocked   them,   yelling   back   “we   paid   our   Euro”  

and   continued   on,   knowing   they   were   relatively   powerless   to   stop   us.   A  

masochistic   element   of   bodily   asserting   a   right   to   place   was   increasingly   in  

evidence.   No   longer   stimulated   by   ruins,   which,   as   Winch   said   above   seemed   a  

shallow  physical  challenge  in  terms  of  access  at  this  point,  the  ego  re-­‐emerged  in  

that  absence  of  the  becoming  body  in  a  vicious  manifestation  of  I.    

Later,   when   caught   in   more   sensitive   places   such   as   on   skyscrapers,   group  

members  tended  to  react  with  much  more  deference,  apologizing  to  the  police  for  

wasting   their   time   –   as   at   times   the   police   reaction   was   almost   absurd,   sending  

dozens  of  cars,  vans  and  dog  teams  to  give  us  a  lecture  and  a  stop  and  search  form.  

Often   though,   encounters   with   workers   in   particular   had   no   negative  

consequences  at  all  (see  Crack  the  Surface,  Marc  Explo  interview,  2:16)  as  during  

an  encounter  with  track  workers  (trackies)  at  3am  in  an  abandoned  Tube  station  

in  Central  London  where  they  walked  into  Silent  Motion.  He  wrote  on  the  forum,    

I think they were more confused than anything else - just walking the track
then suddenly there’s some guy with his face covered holding lots of
camera gear, fiddling with a light fitting in a side tunnel (Silent Motion,
UIS, March 2011).
 
Silent   Motion   politely   said   hello   and   absconded,   leaving   the   pair   standing   in  

stunned  silence.  We  later  mused  that  perhaps  it  had  made  their  night,  something  

strange   happening   at   work,   and   Patch   ventured,   maybe   the   trackies   just   really  

don't   care   as   much   as   we   thought   they   do,   you   would   have   thought   they'd   have  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

said   a   bit   more   than   that” (Patch, UIS, March 2011)!   Winch   then   added,   “well,  

whatever   [they]   thought,   they   will   have   reported   an   intruder   and   they'll   have  

sealed   it   on   the   back   of   that   so   we   should   still   be   avoiding   those   encounters”  

(Winch, UIS, March 2011).  Clearly  there  was  some  joy  to  be  found  in  “blowing  their  

minds”  by  revealing  we  had  gained  access.  

Those  experiences,  even  when  they  led  to  arrests  and,  as  I  will  soon  show,  worse,  

always   resulted   in   an   increase   in   skill   level   and   awareness   for   future   situations,  

causing   an   escalation   of   tactics   when   caught   as   well   as   an   escalation   in  

pugnaciousness  when  punitive  measures  were  taken  by  authorities.  Silent  Motion  

later  posted,    

We might want to change how we react to these situations. We should gtfo

(get the fuck out) when the shit hits the fan, but to avoid that happening
too often maybe we should just slow down, be more considerate and
realise there’s no rush, even if our hearts are pounding like crazy” (Silent
Motion, UIS, March 2011)?

Finding   the   edge   in   these   situations   was   always   a   difficult   balancing   act   between  

pushing   the   limits   and   not   making   irrational   decisions   that   led   to   unnecessarily  

complicated   situations   (such   as   setting   off   an   alarm   that   was   easily   avoided,  

resulting  in  police  showing  up).  One  of  the  ways  in  which  this  was  countered  was  

through   skill   specializations.   Particular   people   became   quite   good   at   planning,  

others  with  ropes,  and  others  at  picking  locks.  We  all  settled  into  roles  that  were  

not  only  comfortable  but  vindicating  in  gelling  our  place  in  the  group.  By  late  2010,  

we   operated   with   the   tactics   of   an   elite   military   squad.   And   for   what   the   group  

intended  to  do  next,  those  skills  were  going  to  be  vital.      

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Figure  103.  Gaining  access  to  Down  Street  abandoned  London  Underground  station,  photo  by  
author  

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The  first  grail  -­‐  hacking  the  London  Underground  

“Although born in a prosperous realm, we did not believe that its boundaries should
limit our knowledge.”
– Charles de Secondat Montesquieu (1901: 31)
 

 
Figure  104.  The  infiltration  of  the  London  Underground,  Down  Street  Station,  London,  photo  by  
author  
 
It   wasn’t   long   before   Marc   Explo’s   birthday   party   on   King’s   Reach   Tower   we   cut  

our   teeth   on   Mark   Lane,   an   abandoned   station   on   the   District   Line   between  

Monument   and   Tower   Hill   stations   we   accessed   by   squeezing   through   a   small  

window   under   a   restaurant   we   found   open.   It   was   the   first   disused   London  

Underground   station   that   “Team   B”   had   done,   despite   the   fact   that   Siologen   and  

others   on   Team   A   had   already   explored   a   number   of   areas   in   the   network   and   had  

generally  been  doing  ARTS  (Abandoned  Rapid  Transport  Stations)  for  a  number  of  

years.   Dsankt,   QX,   Sergeant   Marshall   and   others   had   famously   “demolished”   the  

Paris   Metro42  before   we   even   began   in   London,   a   story   which   went   viral   all   over  

the   Internet   and,   along   with   the   Niagara   Falls   Tailrace,43  was   one   of   the   holy   grails  

that   really   defined   the   limits   of   urban   exploration   at   the   beginning   of   the   21st  

century.    

I   think   it’s   fair   to   say   that   some   of   us   feared   our   experiences   in   Mark   Lane   while  

others  revelled  in  it.  Those  of  us  who  lapped  up  the  adrenaline  rush  of  the  trains  
                                                                                                               
42
http://www.sleepycity.net/posts/252/Demolition_of_the_Paris_Metro (accessed January 2011).
43
http://www.adventuretwo.net/stories/into-the-belly-of-the-beast (accessed January 2011).

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flying  by  on  the  District  Line  while  we  hid  in  shadows  and  photographed  the  light  

beams  streaming  through  the  tunnel  became  “Tube  junkies”  and  were  quite  openly  

obsessed  with  finding  more  stations  to  explore  –  prompting  Statler  to  tell  me  in  a  

German   ruin   later   that   he   just   found   it   boring   now;   “when   you   become   obsessed  

with  the  rush  of  the  Tube  it’s  hard  to  go  back”  (Statler,  April  2011).  Dsankt  told  me  

a   few   months   after   Mark   Lane,   when   it   was   clear   we   were   going   to   carry   on  

exploring   Tube,   that   “the   real   exploration   begins   once   you   get   over   that   initial  

dereliction   fetish”   (Dsankt   January   2011)   and   he   was   happy   when   we   arrived   on  

the  playing  field.      

 
Figure  105.  Our  first  disused  London  Underground  Station  infiltration,  Mark  Lane,  London,  photo  
by  author  
 
Soon  after  Mark  Lane,  our  crew  (still  “Team  B”  at  the  time)  cracked  the  City  Road  

station.  It  had  never  been  done  before  and  once  we  had  done  it,  others  followed.  

City  Road  did  a  lot  to  establish  our  credibility  as  a  crew  and  we  encouraged  us  to  

then   explore   Lords   station,   running   the   tracks   when   the   current   to   the   3rd   rail   was  

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switched   off   for   the   night   to   the   connecting   stations   at   Swiss   Cottage   and  

Marlborough  Road.    

Reformed  as  the  LCC  after  Marc’s  birthday,  there  were  over  a  dozen  of  us  up  every  

night   doing   Tube.   South   Kentish   Town,   Brompton   Road,   Marlborough   Road,   Old  

King’s   Cross,   York   Road,   and   Down   Street   followed   rapidly.   It   was   a   full-­‐scale  

assault  on  Transport  for  London’s  security,  we  were  finding  openings  into  stations  

so  fast  TfL  could  not  keep  up,  though  often  they  would  board  up  access  only  days  

later,  so  we  knew  they  were  aware  of  our  nightly  escapades.  

 
Figure  106.  Signage  at  Lord's  disused  station,  Metropolitan  Line,  photo  by  author  
 
Those  of  us  who  began  taking  greater  risks  soon  realised  that  not  only  were  there  

greater  rewards  to  be  had  but  that  there  was  a  possibility  of  a  holy  grail  at  the  end  

–   the   completion   of   the   entirety   of   the   disused   parts   of   the   system   (18   disused  
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stations,   2   abandoned   platforms   and   9   stations   for   the   mythical   Post   Office   “Mail  

Rail”  system).  Siologen  put  every  station  onto  maps  and  a  text  file  and  we  shifted  

entirely   from   exploring   “sites”   to   striving   for   completion   of   an   entire   urban  

transportation  network.  

 
Figure  107.  Checking  the  tracks  at  Lord's  disused  station,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
My   final   Tube   exploration,   before   I   left   to   write   up,   was   with   Winch,   Statler,   MC  

Nebula  and  Siologen  in  Down  Street  Station  on  the  Piccadilly  Line.  An  entry  from  

my  field  notes  depicts  the  night,  

It  was  about  11pm  in  February  2011  when  I  found  myself  walking  from  
Green   Park   Tube   Station   into   a   swanky   bit   of   London   toward   Hyde   Park  
Corner.  It  seemed  the  least  likely  place  to  undertake  an  infiltration  of  the  
Tube   but   the   last   few   months,   given   all   we   had   actually   accomplished,  
made  me  sure  that  regardless  of  the  circumstances,  we  were  going  to  get  
in.  In  my  backpack,  I  had  a  massive  cordless  drill  with  a  cross  head  bit  on  
it,   a   razor,   tape,   a   bunch   of   zip   ties,   some   screwdrivers   and   my   usual  
assortment  of  camera  gear,  lenses,  tripod,  gloves  and  lights.  It  was  really  
heavy  and  jabbing  me  in  the  back.  By  the  time  Statler,  Siologen,  Winch  

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and  Neb  showed  up,  I  was  well  ready  to  get  on  with  it.  Neb,  Winch  and  
Siologen   kept   watch   when   Statler   and   I   slipped   down   a   side   alley   on  
Down  Street.  A  small  board  with  8  screws  through  it  was  pinned  to  the  
side   of   a   grate.   I   quickly   removed   the   drill   and   zapped   each   one   as  
Statler   grabbed   the   screws   from   the   asphalt   where   they   fell.   The   noise  
was   horrendous.   The   board   now   off,   we   pinned   it   in   place   with   a   brick  
and  walked  back  to  the  street.  Neb  assured  us  no  one  had  seen.  We  all  
walked  off  down  a  side  street  where  there  was  a  small  builder  site  and  
stashed   every   piece   of   equipment   that   might   look   incriminating   if   we  
were   caught,   though   we   hadn’t   technically   broken   anything.   Then,  
altogether,  we  walked  back  to  the  grate,  and  slipped  in.    
 
On  the  other  side,  we  were  greeted  by  glowing  control  panels  in  a  dank  
room.  The  floor  was  a  mesh  metal  grate  that  gave  a  bit  when  we  walked.  
As   Siologen   was   pulling   the   board   back   behind   us,   I   heard   Statler   say,  
“shit,  they’ve  locked  up  the  hatch.”  I  looked  down  where  he  was  standing  
and  saw  it  was  indeed  locked.  Winch  then  looked  up  and  said,  “looks  like  
we’re   going   over   then.”   We   climbed   over   a   5-­‐meter   high   gate   and  
dropped  down  on  the  other  side  where  we  could  get  hold  of  a  ladder.  At  
the  bottom  of  the  ladder,  we  sat  on  a  concrete  ledge  with  a  straight  20-­‐
meter   drop   into   darkness.   Every   few   minutes,   a   train   on   the   Piccadilly  
line  would  fly  through  the  tunnel  underneath  us,  pushing  a  warm  wind  
laced   with   black   dust   into   our   faces.   Having   no   ropes,   we   carefully  
grabbed  onto  the  bolts  holding  the  structure  of  the  shaft  together,  along  
with  some  rusty  pipes  and  began  the  descent.      
 
Layer   after   layer,   we   had   to   continually   overcome   small   problems   in  
access,  closed  hatches,  locked  gates.  Finally  though,  we  emerged  at  the  
bottom   of   a   set   of   stairs   and   realised   we   had   done   it   –   another   Tube  
station   had   been   cracked.   We   patted   each   other   on   the   back,   smiling  
madly,   and   began   unpacking   the   camera   gear.   We   hid   from   the   train  
drivers   as   they   sped   past   in   small   nooks,   all   of   us   now   knowing   the  
rhythm   of   the   trains   and   method   of   hiding   as   intimately   as   we   knew   our  
camera  gear  after  doing  a  so  many  stations  together.    
 
We   had   planned   the   timing   of   this   infiltration   perfectly   and   as   the   last  
train   on   the   line   went   by,   followed   by   a   work   train,   we   watched   the  
glowing  panel  next  to  the  tracks  as  the  TfL  workers  turned  off  the  power  
to  the  third  rail,  also  the  trigger  for  the  lights  to  turn  on  in  the  channels.  
We  then  spilled  onto  the  tracks,  quietly  jumping  the  rails  and  running  off  
into   the   tunnels.   Previous   experience   told   us   we   had   about   15-­‐20  
minutes  until  the  trackies  arrived  to  do  inspections  and  we  made  use  of  
all  of  them,  running  into  side  tunnels,  running  into  each  other,  laughing  
and   adeptly   setting   up   the   tripods   in   waves   like   a   volley   of   rifle   fire,  
moving  together  so  as  not  to  get  in  other’s  shots  for  10,  15  and  20  second  
exposures.  Without  speaking,  everyone  knew  when  it  was  time  to  leave.  
Gear  went  back  into  bags  and  we  made  the  slow  climb  out.  
 
After  retrieving  the  drill  and  securing  the  board  again  out  on  the  quiet  
London   street,   the   only   material   reminder   that   we   had   ever   been   in  
Down  Street  was  a  small  “explore  everything”  sticker  that  I  always  leave  

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behind,  tucked  in  the  station  where  the  next  explorer  would  find  it.  We  
sat  in  Green  Park  at  2am  and  talked  for  hours,  celebrating  yet  another  
disused  Tube  Station  brought  to  light.  We  all  knew  it  was  only  a  matter  
of   time   before   we   had   seen   them   all.   The   high   lasted   for   days   (Field  
Notes,  London,  February  2011).    
 

Between   2008   and   2011   we   completely   reconfigured   the   boundaries   of   London  

urban   exploration.   Other   crews   scrambled   to   keep   up,   hitting   stations   we   had  

cracked  right  after  us.  As  Otter  writes  about  our  conquest  of  Down  Street,  after  the  

consolidation,   through   individual   ambition   and   collaboration,   once   we   decide  

something   would   be   done,   “the   unconquerable   was   conquered”   (Otter,   March  

2011).   And   as   Brickman   so   gracefully   added,   “TfL   would   fill   their   pants   if   they  

came   across   what   we   get   up   to   on   any   given   night”   (Brickman,   March   2011).   I   also  

like  to  think  they  would  respect  it  immensely.  

 
Figure  108.  Kingsway  tramway,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  109.  The  “Holy  Grail”  of  the  London  Underground,  Aldwych  disused  station,  photo  by  author  
 

 
Figure  110.  Silent  Motion  in  the  "Magic  Door",  London,  photo  by  "Gary"  
 

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  111.  Down  street  disused  station,  London,  photo  by  author  

Figure  112.  Passing  train  on  the  London  Underground,  Down  Street  disused  station,  London,  photo  
by  author

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Figure 113. The author on the tracks of the Piccadilly Line, Down Street disused station, London, photo
by author

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Only  track  workers  could  truly  understand  the  depths  of  the  Tube  and  train  fetish  

we   had   developed   and   clearly   only   a   group   with   a   great   love   for   the   city   would  

spend  all  their  free  time  studying  old  Tube  maps,  mapping  locations,  finding  access  

and  working  that  hard  to  bring  them  all  to  light.  After  a  year  of  cracking  the  system  

open   nightly,   we   probably   knew   more   about   the   London   Tube   network   though  

illegal  infiltration  than  many  of  the  workers  in  the  system.  Patch  joked  one  night,  

If I’d filled my head with knowledge that’s actually useful rather than
endless information about the Tube then maybe I’d have come up with an
amazing idea or business model and become a millionaire by now (Patch,
June 2011).

Even   though   much   of   it   remained   unpublicised,   information   travelled   quickly   via  

word   of   mouth   within   the   wider   London   community,   online   and   off,   on   secret  

forums  and  public  ones.  Speed,  a  London  explorer  on  28  Days  Later  later  wrote,    

I   think   most   people   could   see   it   coming…   the   whole   scene   in   London   is  
really   on   its   toes   right   now.   You   have   a   large   group   of   very   capable  
[people]  who  are  not  afraid  to  take  big  risks  and  push  into  stuff  people  
have  previously  only  skimmed  the  surface  of.  It  was  only  a  year  or  so  ago  
one   of   the   main   protagonists   was   telling   me   how   he   was   moving   to  
London   and   was   going   to   'batter   the   tube'   and   things   to   that   effect.   A  
year   on   and   he's   done   exactly   what   he   said   with   success   even   an  
'optimist'  such  as  myself  didn't  really  see  coming.  That's  the  sort  of  thing  
ive  got  alot  of  respect  for.  
   
Focus  gets  you  a  long  way  (Speed,  July  2011).  44  
 
Group   dynamics   were   further   solidified   by   undertaking   this   work   together,   as   well  

as  through  our  collaboration  on  a  now  very  concerted  goal  –  achieving  a  complete  

exploration   of   the   entire   system.   I   would   not   be   there   to   see   it   as   I   needed   to   go  

begin  writing.  However,  just  before  I  left  London,  I  had  one  more  goal  that  I  was  

aching  to  achieve,  an  exploration  that  I  saw  as  the  ultimate  test  of  our  nerves  and  

abilities.  I  called  the  crew  to  see  if  we  could  make  it  happen.    

                                                                                                               
44
This thread was viewed in July 2011 and was removed as of January 2012.

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Unsecuring  Iron  Mountain  secure  file  storage  

“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”

– Hunter S. Thompson (2003: 530)
 

 
Figure  114.  An  Iron  Mountain  security  archive  van  transporting  documents,  photo  by  Sarah  Hg  
 
Underneath   South   London,   from   Clapham   to   Stockwell,   there   rests   a   series   of  

disused   shelters   as   deep   as   the   Tube,   four   in   total.   The   Clapham   North   shelter   was  

a   site   of   serial   trespass,   where   in   March   2011,   the   crew   threw   me   a   going   away  

party  as  I  left  to  write  up.  Just  before  that  however,  I  was  determined  to  gain  entry  

to   another   shelter,   given   I   lived   so   close   to   it   almost   my   entire   time   in   London   and  

had  never  seen  what  was  inside.  In  all  honesty  it  was  eating  me  alive,  not  knowing,  

a  symptom  of  seeing  all  we  had  seen  and  yet  having  this  heavily  secured  historic  

location   right   next   to   my   house.   I   couldn’t   stand   it.   But   I   also   had   another  

motivation.   The   shelter   I   wanted   to   see   was   no   longer   disused,   it   was   being   rented  

by   a   secure   file   storage   company   called   Iron   Mountain.   I   asked   the   crew   if   they  

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would   be   willing,   given   all   we   had   done   with   live   infiltrations   on   the   Tube   in   the  

preceding  few  months,  to  see  if  we  could  sneak  in  and  rummage  through  the  files.    

I  went  in  the  afternoon  to  the  airshaft  leading  down  to  the  shelter  with  a  
duffle  bag  and  a  crowbar.  A  restaurant  next-­‐door  had  put  a  number  of  
pallets   out   next   to   the   shelter.   I   knocked   on   the   door,   holding   the  
crowbar  and  dufflebag  and  asked  if  I  could  break  up  some  of  the  wood  to  
burn  at  home.  “Sure!”  they  said,  happy  to  get  rid  of  it.  I  piled  the  wood  
between  myself  and  the  street  to  hide  myself  from  view  and  immediately  
took   the   crowbar   to   the   lock   on   the   door,   ripping   it   off   the   hinges.   I   then  
put  the  hinges  and  lock  in  my  bag,  threaded  a  chain  on  the  door  through  
my  own  lock,  piled  wood  in  the  bag  on  top  of  the  crowbar  and  walked  off  
with  Marc  Explo  and  Otter  who  were  waiting  across  the  street.    
 
Statler  wrote  on  the  forum,  “access  involved  brad  chopping  some  wood  
(Tankcatting   the   lock)   outside   the   door   of   the   vent   shaft.....   cue   Brad  
sending   txt's   to   people   letting   us   know   that   he   had   "chopped   Wood"   and  
that  the  vent  shaft  was  mysteriously  open”  (Field  Notes,  date  omitted).  
 
Six  of  us  returned  at  3am  where  Statler  again  writes:        
 
Luckily  I  was  in  town  with  [Patch]  and  [“Gary”]  and  had  50mtrs  of  rope  
and  abseiling  gear  in  my  car,  more  msg's  were  sent  and  [Silent  Motion]  
soon  arrived  on  his  push  bike  and  we  sent  him  down  the  big  black  hole  
shortly   followed   by   Brad   and   then   [Patch]   the   pack   mule   who   abseiled  
down  the  pitch  black  shaft  with  3  heavy  bags  and  3  tripods  attached  to  
his   body   somehow,   it   was   a   fast   abseil   down   for   him   I   believe!   [Silent  
Motion],   Brad   and   [Patch]   then   crawled   through   the   smallest   of   vent  
ducts  to  bypass  a  padlocked  steel  door  and  then  systematically  remove  
all  the  magnetic  door  trips  and  open  the  Firedoor  for  me,  [“Gary”]  and  
later  Marc  and  [Otter]....  (UIS  Forum  entry,  date  omitted).  
 
Once   inside,   we   had   disabled   the   magnetic   reed   switch   alarm   systems   on   the  

doors,   following   a   technique   from   Ninjalicious’   book   Access   All   Areas  

(Ninjalicious,  2005:  126-­‐127)  and,  finding  that  the  PIR  (Passive  InfraRed)  sensor  

alarms  were  apparently  not  working,  had  free  access  to  an  entire  bunker  full  of  

potentially  sensitive  documents.  In  the  end,  we  all  joked  about  how  useless  most  

of  what  was  in  there  actually  was  and  left  almost  bored  by  the  end  of  the  night.  

However,   the   successful   infiltration   of   this   bunker   proved   that   we   had   veered   far  

from   the   public   conception   of   “urban   exploration”,   both   in   skill   level   and  

motivations;  we  were  place  hackers.    

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  115.  The  subsurface  layout  of  a  London  deep  shelter,  photo  via  http://underground-­‐
history.co.uk/shelters.php  
 

 
Figure  116.  Silent  Motion  abseiling  into  a  secure  file  storage  through  the  ventilation  shaft,  London,  
photo  by  author  
 

211  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  117.  The  disabled  magnetic  reed  switch  door  alarms  in  the  secure  file  storage,  London,  
photo  by  Silent  Motion  
 

 
Figure  118.  Successful  access  to  Iron  Mountain's  security  archives,  London,  photo  by  Silent  Motion  
 
 

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Just   weeks   after   the   Julian   Assange   Wikileaks   scandal,   when   he   appeared   in   a  

London  courtroom  for  disclosing  government  secrets,  we  had  gained  entry  into  a  

secure   file   storage   area,   rummaged   though   the   documents   and   photographed  

everything   potentially   “sensitive”   we   could   find.   I   imagined   Assange   would   have  

enjoyed   knowing   this   was   happening,   his   ethos   for   transparency   so   closely   aligned  

with   ours.   We   never   wrote   about   it   publically,   knowing   what   a   scandal   it   would  

provoke   within   the   UK   urban   exploration   and   beyond,   especially   after   the  

Burlington   incident   that   now   seemed   a   lifetime   ago.   However,   I   think   it   is  

important  to  write  about  it  here  and  reflect  on  what  it  meant  for  us  as  a  crew  to  do  

something  that  was  purely  for  the  joy  of  doing  it,  purely  for  the  adrenaline  rush,  for  

what  could  be  the  historical  value  in  seeing  a  shelter  exactly  like  the  others  we  had  

already  seen,  aside  from  the  fact  this  one  held  secure  files?  In  terms  of  Siologen’s  

early   comments   in   chapter   1   about   urban   exploration   being   a   victimless   crime,   I  

couldn’t  help  but  wonder  –  what  were  the  eventual  consequences  of  Iron  Mountain  

finding   out   their   secure   file   storage   area   had   been   breached,   locks   replaced   and  

alarms   disabled?   Did   they   have   to   tell   of   their   clients   that   there   had   been   a  

potential  document  leak?  Did  they  have  to  inventory  every  document  in  the  bunker  

to  see  what  had  been  taken  (for  surely,  what  else  would  be  the  motivation)?  

We  laughed  about  it  for  weeks,  leading  Winch  (who  was  out  of  town  when  it  was  

cracked)   to   comment   that   “this   sounds   like   the   heist   of   2011   so   far”   and   Brickman  

to  reply  with  “now  it’s  been  explained,  it  sounds  like  a  job  even  professional  bank  

robbers  would  have  been  proud  of....”  Statler,  finally,  half-­‐joking  wrote  “This  forum  

is  turning  into  www.urbanburglaryscene.co.uk”  (Winch,  Brickman  and  Stalter,  UIS  

post,  date  omitted).  Although  we  made  light  of  the  situation,  the  implications  for  us  

as  a  group  were  becoming  quite  serious,  as  we  will  find  out  in  the  next  chapter.    

213  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Professional  infiltrators,  leaking  spatial  secrets  

“Our particular view on the mechanism of transparency is to selectively go after

material that is concealed.”
Julian Assange (2010)
 

 
Figure  119.  Security  breach:  the  author  flipping  through  Deutsche  Bank  archives,  London,  photo  by  
author  
 
Lefebvre   has   written   that   the   organization   of   space   is   never   neutral,   it   is   always  

entangled  in  complex  power  arrangements  (Lefebvre,  1991)  and  in  contemporary  

urban   environments,   an   attempt   is   made   to   code   space   to   invoke   particular  

responses   predictably   conducive   to   the   acquisition   and   accumulation   of   capital.  

Edensor   points   out   that   “perhaps   it   is   in   the   contemporary   Western   city   that…  

tensions   are   most   evident,   the   site   of   an   ongoing   battle   between   regulatory  

regimes   concerned   with   strategies   of   surveillance   and   aesthetic   monitoring,   and  

tacticians   who   transgress   or   confound   them,   who   seek   out   or   create   realms   of  

surprise,   contingency,   and   misrule”   (Edensor,   2005a:   829-­‐830,   referencing   de  

Certeau,   1984).   Although   one   could   see   these   tacticians   (of   whom   urban   explorers  

are  one)  as  opposing  dominant  narratives  in  a  traditional  Gramscian  formulation,  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

as  Alastair  Bonnett  writes,  “merely  to  oppose  social  representation  is  to  become  a  

part   of   the   spectacle”   (Bonnett,   1989:   135).     The   nature   of   subversion,   and   the  

power   of   urban   exploration,   is   in   its   subtlety.   Like   the   Situationist   dérive,   the  

practice   appears   to   be   playful,   comical,   even   pointless,   yet   it’s   an   indication   of   a  

possibility   for   alternative   options.   In   the   case   of   the   secure   file   storage,   for  

instance,   we   did   not   speak   about   it   or   release   pictures   –   the   only   indication   we  

were  ever  inside  was  an  extra  padlock  on  the  air  shaft,  a  few  taped  up  alarm  strips  

and,   of   course,   an   explore   everything   sticker   on   the   fire   exit.   But   every   time   we  

drove  by  it  leaving  the  house,  we  delighted  in  the  secret  we  shared  with  the  place  

and   in   the   thought   that   the   property   owners   might   not   even   be   aware   we   had  

disabled  their  security  and  infiltrated  their  bunker.  

Given   Edensor’s   suggestion   that   this,   the   here   and   now,   is   the   place   and   time   for  

subversion,  perhaps  it  comes  as  little  surprise  that  urban  exploration  emerges  in  

the   midst   of   a   cluster   of   growing   urban   interventions   developed   to   (re)seize  

agency  where  freedoms  “appear  to  be  constantly  under  attack  in  the  modern  city,  

constantly   circumscribed,   constantly   surveilled   –   often   enough   in   the   name   of  

freedom,   service   and   protection”   (Pile,   2005:   8).   Urban   explorers   seek   not   to  

dismantle   what   Deleuze   (1990)   termed   the   “society   of   control”   but   to   playfully  

subvert   it   and   raise   awareness   on   what   possibilities   are   available   to   urban  

inhabitants  within  the  structure  of  the  system,  even  as  it  may  serve  as  a  (perhaps  

underarticulated)   critique   on   the   illusory   nature   of   control   over   and   security  

within  that  system.  Whether  or  not  explorers  choose  to  vocalise  it,  I  follow  Rapp  in  

suggesting   that   urban   exploration,   while   hacking   into   the   cracks   in   the   urban  

façade  seeking  freedom  of  experience  and  expression,  “…is  an  index  to  assess  the  

215  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

intensities   of   security,   control,   and   surveillance   in   the   contemporary   urban  

environment”  (Rapp,  2010:  4).    

Although   I   have   shown   urban   explorers   are   not   largely   anti-­‐capitalist,   within  

capitalist  systems,  the  invitation  to  coproduce  place  often  has  a  price  or  the  output  

of  that  production  is  expected  to  become  commodified.  People  begin  participating  

in  informal  modes  of  cultural  participation  out  of  a  desire  for  human  bonds  to  take  

precedence   over   outcome   and   production,   seeking   becoming   over   being   and  

community  over  capital.  Rather  than  asking  to  be  involved,  as  Marc  Explo  exerts,  

We just figure it out for ourselves don’t we? And once we know that, once
we know we could cripple this city in an instant, take whatever we want,
then we are empowered, then we are citizens. I don’t need the state to offer
me a say, I already took it.

 
Figure  120.  Security  glitch  located  at  Abbey  Mills  pumping  station,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
 

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

By  the  middle  of  2010,  the  Internet  was  awash  with  stories  of  LCC  successes.  We  

were   receiving   a   steady   stream   of   media   request   from   production   companies,  

newspapers  and  even  the  BBC45  and  hate  mail  from  UK  explorers  condemning  for  

becoming  arrogant  in  our  success  -­‐  which  we  were.  But  the  crew  took  little  notice  –  

they   were   too   busy   continuing   the   search   for   the   British   Telecom   deep   level  

tunnels,  the  London  Mail  Rail  and  finishing  off  the  last  Tube  stations  on  the  list.  On  

“nights   off”,   they   were   in   the   sewers,   mapping   out   systems   and   finding   new  

junctions   or   climbing   cranes   we   had   already   done   simply   to   take   a   break   and   have  

a  beer.  London  was  transformed  into  a  nocturnal  playground.  

Returning  to  chapter  1  and  thinking  again  about  whether  or  not  urban  exploration  

can   be   thought   of   as   a   global   community   of   practitioners,   something   interesting  

began   to   happen   in   2010.   While   the   UK   community   was   busy   condemning   the   LCC  

for   what   they   assumed   was   a   blatant   and   constant   violation   of   the   code   of   ethics  

and   an   increasingly   arrogant   attitude   toward   the   rest   of   the   UK   scene,   we   began  

getting  messages  and  online  social  network  friend  invites  from  groups  of  explorers  

in   other   parts   of   the   world.   Soon   we   had   made   ties   to   New   York,   Milan,   Paris,  

Stockholm  and  Minneapolis  and  were  receiving  encouraging  messages  from  other  

groups  who  had  broken  away  from  the  “scene”  to  start  carving  their  own  paths.  We  

had,   in   a   sense,   joined   a   blossoming   global   group,   an   inner   sanctum   of   urban  

explorers  I  never  knew  existed  when  I  started  my  research  in  2008.  

Given  my  initial  stumbles  with  this  community  just  2  years  before,  our  “meteoric  

rise   on   the   scene”   (Urbanity,   July   2011)   caught   me   almost   by   surprise.   I   was   so  

embedded  with  the  crew  that  I  had  almost  forgotten  I  was  here  to  make  sense  of  

                                                                                                               
45
http://bbc.in/iz9eYL (accessed 24 January 2012).

217  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

the   practice.   What   began   to   be   revealed   in   2010   was   something   I   knew   no   other  

researcher   interested   in   urban   exploration   knew   much   about   –   I   had   made   it,   in  

terms  of  my  research  goals  but  more  importantly,  as  a  member  of  one  of  the  most  

successful  urban  exploration  crews  in  the  world  which,  not  insignificantly,  we  had  

built  together.    

 
Figure  121.  Nocturnal  hospital  infiltration,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
From   ruin   exploration   to   increasingly   elaborate   infiltrations,   the   group   was  

working   toward   goals   that   do   not   require   sanctioned   consent   and   are,   in   the  

framework   of   late   capitalism,   largely   pointless.   To   us,   they   came   to   mean  

everything.   Similar   to   Luke   Dickens’   work   with   street   artists,   our   new   projects  

looked   more   like   social   engineering   as   we   probed   the   potentials   of   costumes,  

affected  accents  and  props,  what  LutEx  called  “high  invisibility”  back  in  2008  and  

we   became   increasingly   adept   at   sneaking   around,   using   ropes,   picking   locks,  

temporarily   disabling   alarms   and   CCTV   cameras   and   finding   very   tricky   access  

points  we  would  not  have  noticed  years  earlier.  These  escalations  in  tactics  prompt  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

an   important   question   –   how   would   this   “golden   age”   conclude?   Did   the   crew   have  

any  chance  of  winning  this  arms  race  against  the  forces  of  control  and  surveillance  

in  the  city  before  they  were  caught?  

 
Figure  122.  The  author  having  a  beer  and  listening  to  NASA  radio  feeds  in  in  a  crane  cab,  London,  
photo  by  author  
 
Before   answering   that   question,   in   the   next   chapter   I   am   going   to   address   yet  

another   aspect   of   the   practice   to   further   complicate   these   necessary   empirical  

components.   After   the   whirlwind   ride   we   have   taken   into   new   forms   of   infiltration  

that   radically   challenge   the   notion   of   what   urban   exploration   might   consist   of,   I  

want   to   spend   time   highlighting   the   important   embodied   component   of   urban  

exploration,  given  it  is  often  depicted  as  a  disembodied  representational  practice  

(Bennett,   2011).   Our   move   into   disparate,   tactile,   and   exhilaration-­‐driven   forms   of  

exploration  were  if  fact,  I  will  argue,  an  effort  to  increase  our  sensory  indulgences  

and  range  of  possible  interactions  with  the  city.  To  do  so,  we  increasingly  worked  

by  feeling  even  as  we  became  more  skilled  and  persistent.  

219  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Chapter  5  –  Recoding  the  city  through  bodywork  

“All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their
peril.”
– Oscar Wilde (1998: 3)
 

 
Figure  123.  Infiltration  of  infrastructure  offered  new  possibilities  for  bodily  damage,  GLC  pipe  
subways,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
Due  to  urban  explorer’s  obvious  preoccupation  with  the  visual  media  technologies,  

described   in   chapter   2,   and   exhibited   throughout   this   thesis,   the   practice   would  

seem  an  easy  target  for  those  who  insist  that  many  modern  practices  are  rooted  in  

a  visual  bias,  carried  over  from  the  Western  tradition  of  foregrounding  the  visual  

over  other  senses  (see  Jay,  1993,  Macpherson,  2005,  Cosgrove,  2005,  Driver,  2003)  

at  the  expense  of  multisensuality.  Photography  is  obviously  a  core  aspect  of  group  

participation,  engagement  and  shared  interest  in  this  practice  and  McRae  contends  

this  has  already  become  problematic  because,    

Fixation on image and a specific aesthetic of decay indicates that urban

exploration and the transgressive spaces it explores might already be
moving towards Baudrillard’s (1998) signed and symbolised economy
(McRae, 2008: 158).
 

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

In   other   words,   the   overwhelming   fixation   on   representations   is   a   sure   sign   of  

spectacle   appropriation   in   progress.   However,   in   this   chapter   I   will   explain   that  

while  images  dominate  the  depiction  of  this  practice,  they  are  also  the  other  side  of  

an  embodied  practice,  often  overlooked.  Urban  exploration  uses  a  range  of  tactics  

and  strategies  (following  de  Certeau  1984  and  Bourdieu  1986),  both  distal  (visual  

representation)  and  proximal  (tactile  encounter)  (Dixon  and  Straughan,  2010),  to  

hack  its  way  into  and  reconfigure  places  so  that  they  feed  into  the  identity  of  the  

explorer  even  as  the  explorer  multiplies  their  stories  to  create  myths,  dreams  and  

visions   of   a   present   moment   of   possibility   available   to   those   harbouring   desires   to  

make   them   manifest.   Moss   and   Dyck   describe   embodied   space   as   “an   intellectual  

space  from  which  identities  may  be  reformulated…  from  which  to  challenge  binary  

and   ‘fixed’   social   categories…”   The   body   that   chooses   to   enter   these   places   then  

becomes  “a  discursively  produced  body  which  is  constantly  lived  through  both  its  

materiality  and  its  representations…”  (Moss  and  Dyck,  2003:  67,  emphasis  mine),  

and  this  seems  to  me  a  good  description  from  which  to  begin.  

The   important   point   to   make   here,   in   response   to   those   who   insist   that   urban  

explorers   are   entrenched   in   the   visual   to   the   degree   it   has   become   the   primary  

motivation  of  the  practice  (High  and  Lewis,  2007,  Bennett,  2011),  is  that  without  

the   embodied   aspects   of   practice,   without   human   relationships,   without   physical  

architecture  and  without,  as  Marc  Explo  contents  “action!”  urban  exploration  could  

not  take  place;  as  McRae  writes  “explorers  share  Lefebvre’s  belief  that  change  can  

only   happen   through   action   in   space”   (McRae,  2008:  78).   A   photo   of   exploration   is  

then,   as   Hetherington   describes,   a   “haptic   reaching   out   and   does   not   presume   in  

advance   the   necessity   of   an   engagement   in   the   act   of   visual   representation,   let  

alone  its  outcome  as  knowledge  that  can  be  communicated  discursively  to  others”  

221  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

(Hetherington,  2003:  1937).  Other  explorers  do  rely  heavily  on  the  production  of  

“fantasy”   representations   such   as   the   ones   discussed   in   chapter   3   (RomanyWG,  

2010),   however   my   ethnographic   experiences   with   explorers   have   always  

foregrounded   those   proximal,   tactile,   pathic   pathways.   So,   in   this   chapter   on  

recoding   the   city   through   bodywork,   let   us   begin   with   a   discussion   on   the  

relationship  between  body  and  place.  

 
Figure  124.  Bodies  in  action,  West  Ham  Storm  Relief,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
Discussion   of   embodiment   within   geography   frequently   incorporates   enticing  

phenomenological   discourse,   calling   forth   Heidegger   and   often   references  

Merleau-­‐Ponty’s   The   Phenomenology   of   Perception   (Merleau-­‐Ponty,   1962).   In   the  

text,   Merleau-­‐Ponty   makes   an   impassioned   argument   for   the   foregrounding   of  

embodied,  haptic,  subjective  experience,  exhorting  readers  to  “plunge  into  action”  

(Merleau-­‐Ponty,   1962:   110-­‐111)   but,   as   scholars   have   pointed   out   (Cresswell,  

1999),  does  so  at  the  expense  of  the  object  against  which  the  actor  is  to  “plunge”,  

reinforcing   a   problematic   structural   binary   of   self   and   other,   subject   and   object.  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Merleau-­‐Ponty   also   levels   all   bodies,   not   taking   into   account   issues   such   as   gender  

and   disability   (see   McRae,   2008),   making   “the   body”   a   singular   entity   capable   of  

action.    

However,   the   faults   we   may   find   in   the   arguments   of   the   phenomenologists   should  

not  preclude  us  from  thinking  about  the  important  ways  in  which  we  think  and  act  

through   the   body.   Geographers   writing   more   recently   on   embodiment   have  

worked   to   meld   the   subject/object   binary   and   to   recognise   not   only   the   effect   of  

the   acting   body   on   place   but   also   the   effect   of   place   on   the   body,   where   the  

encounter   between   bodies   and   places   creates   new   “sensuous   dispositions”  

(Lorimer,   2005:   85),   porous   encounters   of   bilateral   exchange.   These   sensuous  

dispositions   are   always   contextual,   always   a   negotiation   between   a   range   of  

characters  and  affectations,  bodies  and  presences,  people,  places  and  things  where  

“we  need  to  explore  how  we  feel  –  as  well  as  think  –  through   the  body  (Davidson  

and   Milligan,   2004:   523).   On   this   project,   nowhere   were   we   more   aware   of  

thinking  through  the  body  than  inside  the  Tube  network  where  one  mistake,  such  

as  tripping  on  the  3rd  rail,  may  have  been  fatal.    

The   embodied   synaesthesia   of   intimate   body/place/thing/time   is   the   urban  

exploration   praxis,   the   point   where   thought   and   action   collide   in   place.   It   is   the  

most   important   indicator   of   what   Silent   Motion,   Winch   and   even   Oxygen   Thief  

have   asserted   throughout   this   thesis   –   the   primacy   explorers   place   on   lived  

experience  and  representations,  perhaps  surprisingly  given  the  overabundance  of  

modern  explorer  imagery  online.    

223  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  125.  Silent  Motion  and  Keïteï  sneaking  into  the  London  Underground,  photo  by  author  

 
Figure  126.  Running  the  tracks  from  Lords  to  Marlborough  Road  and  Swiss  Cottage  disused  
Stations,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Although  social  credibility  is  gained  though  sharing  photos  as  an  indicator  that  one  

was   “there”   (the   reason   why   so   many   explorers   take   photos   of   their   bodies   in  

places  or  “people  shots”),  tales  of  urban  exploration  are  also  not  published.  They  

are  rather  shared  though  storytelling,  often  while  exploring.  As  an  example,  I  now  

turn   to   a   field   note   entry   from   an   exploration   of   a   derelict   Russian   submarine   I  

often  retell  when  people  want  to  hear  about  an  exploration  “gone  wrong”.  

I  got  a  call  from  Hydra  one  night  when  I  was  at  home,  explaining  that  
she   had   heard   there   was   a   derelict   Soviet   submarine,   a   U475   Black  
Widow,  sitting  in  the  middle  of  the  Thames  somewhere  near  Rochester.  
Telling   that   she   had   purchased   an   inflatable   dinghy   off   eBay   for   30  
quid,  she  asked  me  if  I  wanted  to  meet  her  there  to  see  if  we  could  get  
aboard  and  inside.    
 
I  arrived  in  Rochester  at  about  11pm,  stepping  off  the  train  to  find  an  
unexpectedly   sleepy   little   Dickensian   town.   We   made   our   way   to   the  
riverbank   by   midnight   and   found   a   small   set   of   wet   stairs   covered   in  
green  slime  just  at  the  waterway  that  would  shield  us  from  the  eyes  of  
passing   drivers.   30   minutes   of   absurdly   loud   dinghy   hand-­‐pumping  
ensued,  leaving  my  arms  completely  sore  and  limp  by  the  end,  not  just  
from   pumping   but   from   fending   off   the   trash   getting   washed   up   onto  
us   where   the   tide   was   rippling   against   the   shore.   Finally,   with   the   boat  
pumped   and   loaded   with   our   equipment,   Hydra   in   the   front,   I   shoved  
off   the   river   wall   and   plunked   down   in   the   back.   In   the   silence   of   the  
night,  floating  into  the  middle  of  the  Thames,  the  first  thing  we  noticed  
was  a  terrible  hiss  coming  from  the  boat.  We  were  sinking.  Both  of  us,  
in   a   panic,   decided   quickly   to   try   and   reach   the   sub,   about   100   feet  
away,   where   we   could   repair   the   boat.   I   paddled   fast   and   hard,  
working  against  a  strong  current  and  when  we  came  speeding  into  the  
hull,  Hydra  tried  to  stop  us  with  her  oar,  snapping  it  in  half.  We  both  
watched   solemnly   as   the   broken   paddle   floated   out   to   sea   with   the  
ripping  current.  
 
I   grabbed   a   mooring   rope   and   tied   off   the   dinghy.   When   we   both  
climbed   out   of   the   boat,   scaling   the   side   of   the   sub,   the   hissing   stopped.  
Up   top,   we   found   the   hatch   covered   in   pigeon   shit   inside   a   small  
enclosure.   Holding   my   breath,   I   slowly   wrenched   the   handle   and  
opened   the   hatch   with   a   horrendous   sucking   sound.   From   inside,   an  
oily,  mouldy  crusty  pigeon  olfactory  cocktail  hit  us  full  in  the  face.  We  
descended.  Inside,  the  air  felt  compressed.  It  was  a  satisfying  aroma  of  
oil  and  machines,  rust  and  decay,  driftwood  and  dead  bird.  We  played  
with   the   defunct   radar,   used   the   periscope   and   telephone   and   had  
dinner  in  the  bow.  The  sub  was  resting  unevenly  on  the  hull,  so  walking  
required   using   an   off-­‐kilter   sense   of   balance   and   setting   up   photos   was  
almost  pointless  as  they  all  turned  out  wonky  and  the  space  was  very  

225  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

tight.   After   a   good   five   hours   in   the   boat,   both   our   heads   began   to   hurt  
-­‐  I  think  from  breathing  the  stale  air.  We  decided  to  leave.    
 
Hydra   was   first   up   the   ladder   where   we   had   left   the   hatch   open.   As   she  
reached   the   top,   swimming   in   darkness   above   me,   I   heard   a   horrible  
thud  followed  by  a  blood-­‐curdling  scream.  She  came  down  the  ladder  
in   a   limp   pile,   falling   on   top   of   me,   holding   her   head.   The   hatch,   just   as  
she  was  poised  to  leave,  had  swung  shut,  the  sealing  wheel  hitting  her  
hard.   After   she   took   some   time   to   recover,   both   of   us   becoming  
increasingly   paranoid   about   our   headaches   and   the   stale   air,   we  
worked  together  to  get  her  to  the  top.    
 
With   the   swirling   black   and   tan   Thames   around   us,   she   was   dizzily  
wandering   toward   the   dinghy   on   the   slippery   hull.   I   ran   to   grab   her  
and  at  the  moment  I  did  so  realised,  with  horror,  that  the  tide  had  gone  
out   while   we   were   in   the   sub.   With   only   one   option   left,   I   helped   Hydra  
into   the   boat,   got   in   myself   (oh   yeah,   that   hissing!)   and   paddled   as   fast  
as  I  could  toward  the  shore.    We  beached  the  dinghy  at  some  speed  and  
I  jumped  into  the  mud  to  find  that  I  sunk  to  my  knees.  We  were  at  least  
15   meters   from   the   slippery   stairs.   Holding   Hydra   up   with   one   arm,  
dragging   the   dinghy   full   of   kit   with   the   other,   we   slowly   made   our   way  
to   the   shore,   step   by   step   with   the   horrible   stinking   sucking   sound  
announcing  our  progress  to  a  dismayed  early  morning  jogger  standing  
on   the   shore   with   his   mouth   open.   Finally   on   the   shore,   we   fell   to   the  
ground   panting,   laughing   like   mad.   What   a   great   Saturday   night   out  
(Field  Notes,  Rochester,  UK,  June  2009)!    
 
Urban   exploration   is   not   a   geography   of   the   body   but   a   geography   through   the  

body,   with   a   particular   attention   given   to   the   unique   sensual   experiences   that  

these  hidden  places  offer,  but,  as  I  will  show  in  this  chapter,  not  necessarily  limited  

to  our  biological  sensory  system  or  empirical  rationalisations.  

While   feminist   scholars   like   Judith   Butler   have   written   about   the   ways   in   which  

individuals   may   contest   the   social   conditioning   embodied   within   them   by   others,  

in  the  case  of  urban  exploration  we  find  individuals  contesting  the  expectation  of  

that   social   body   (the   habitus   in   Bourdieu’s   language)   by   putting   their   bodies   in  

places   they   are   not   supposed   to   be   (Cresswell,   1996,   Mitchell,   2000),   making   an  

important  move  from  embodied  victimisation  to  embodied  empowerment.    

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  127.  The  mothballed  Russian  U-­‐475  Black  Widow  submarine,  Rochester,  photo  by  author  
 

 
Figure  128.  Hydra  playing  inside  the  Black  Widow  submarine,  Rochester,  photo  by  author  
 
 

227  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

The   body   in   this   case   is   also,   it   follows,   not   subject   to   the   whim   of   the   senses   as  

much  as  testing  the  boundaries  of  those  senses,  probing,  hacking,  plying.  Cresswell  

describes   Bourdieu’s   notion   of   the   strategy   as   “human   action   that   marks   a   break  

from   structuralist   suppositions   of   'agentless   actions',   which   are   more   or   less  

unconscious”   (Cresswell,   1999:   177,   discussing   Bourdieu   1985)   to   produce   new,  

unexpected   actions   and   encounters.   Sensory   engagement,   in   this   light,   can   be   seen  

as  yet  another  strategy  in  which  the  urban  explorer  seeks  to  subvert  normative  life  

in   late   modernity.   Inside   a   derelict   factory   in   Germany,   a   number   of   us   stumbled  

into   a   toxic   waste   pit   littered   with   oil   pools,   green   water,   toppled   barrels   of   pink  

powder  and  animal  corpses.  The  haptic  horror  of  the  moment  caused  a  collective  

sensory   shortcircuit.   Gagging   and   coughing,   we   fled,   smiles   all   around.   The  

immediacy   of   the   moment   encouraged   us   to   choose   to   go   back   one   more   time   to  

see  if  it  really  was  that  delightfully  horrible.  It  was.    

What   I   am   describing   here   is   in   contrast   to   much   recent   embodiment   literature  

focusing   on   the   “everyday”   (de   Certeau,   1984,   Edensor,   2002,   Frers   and   Meier,  

2007,   Harrison,   2000),   instead   following   the   work   of   researchers   focused  

particularly  on  disrupting  the  everyday  (Loftus,  2009,  Pinder,  2005a,  Pinder,  2008,  

Vaneigem,  2010,  Bonnett,  2009),  though  of  course  making  the  everyday  interesting  

can   be   accomplished   through   far   less   dramatic   methods.   This   type   of   bodywork  

forces  encounter  with  taboo  realms  and  forbidden  sensory  confrontation  at  great  

risk   that,   again,   undermine   social   notions   of   what   is   acceptable   or   even   possible.  

Following  the  work  of  Kristeva  (1982)  Smith  and  Davidson  write,    

The embodied emotional experiences exemplified by sufferers’ gut

reactions to specific phobic objects both replicate and express, albeit in
an extreme form, something of the underlying logic of contemporary
society . . . The severe, felt disruption to the phobic individual’s bodily
hexis and mental health is indicative of, though not necessarily caused

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

by, tensions within the symbolic ordering of the larger social ‘‘body’’
(Smith and Davidson, 2005: 46, quoted in Dixon and Straughan, 2010:
453-454)
 
Exploration   of   forbidden   space   confronts   individual   fears,   which   can   be   a  

liberating  experience,  but  also  confronts  material  stigma,  an  embodied  subversion  

which  decodes  aspects  of  the  social  body.  Upon  seeing  photos  and  videos  of  people  

exploring   sewer   systems   for   instance,   touching   objects,   drinking   the   water   and  

playing   in   a   space   popularly   conceived   of   as   “dirty”   and   “untouchable”,   static   is  

introduced   into   the   generally   accepted   notions   of   what   we   are   told   is   taboo   and  

what  is  actually  possible.46    

Using  the  body  as  a  medium  to  transmit  a  message  of  quiet  social  subversion,  the  

explorer   softly   insists   on   the   right   of   the   individual   to   decide   to   engage   with  

urbanity   in   different   ways.   Ninjalicious   (1999:   2)   writes   that   while   some   curious  

people  are  content  with  a  peek  at  a  construction  project,  others  “need  to  touch  it,  

climb   it,   smell   it   and   examine   every   minute   detail   in   depth   and   figure   out   how  

everything   works”.   The   same   can   be   said   for   our   fetishized   infrastructural  

networks   such   as   cable   tunnels   and   sewers.   Everyone   need   not   take   the  

functioning  of  those  systems  for  granted,  one  can  choose  to  enter  them  and  begin  

to   decode   the   mysteries   behind   the   urban   metabolism   (Gandy,   2004,   Kaika   and  

Swyngedouw,  2000,  Graham  and  Marvin,  2001,  Graham  and  Thrift,  2007).    

                                                                                                               
46
See http://vimeo.com/2890081 for footage of Siologen playing with a dead rat in the sewer (accessed
December 2011).

229  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  129.  The  author  and  Silent  Motion  confronting  the  wretched,  "stoop"  sewer,  London,  photo  
by  author  
 

 
Figure  130.  Absolutely  filthy!  Silent  Motion  in  the  River  Effra,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

230  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Further  transgressions  against  social  expectations,  such  as  taking  nude   photos   in  

forbidden   places   (Binnie,   1992),   also   empower   explorers   through   their   active  

engagement  in  reconfiguring  places  in  an  image  of  their  choosing,  one  that  may  be,  

in  opposition  to  normative  behaviour  “in  place”,  highly  sexualized,  covered  in  dirt  

and  toxic  chemicals,  illegal,  suicidal,  inebriated,  forceful,  playful  or  disrespectful.  At  

its   most   basic   level,   urban   explorers   are   “bodies   out   of   place”.   Importantly   though,  

where   often   the   categorisation   of   “out   of   place”   is   imposed   by   others   (Cresswell,  

1996),   it   is   an   embodied   state   of   liminality   chosen   by   explorers   in   an   effort   to   shift  

the  range  of  acceptable  engagement  with  the  environment.    

While   the   practice   clearly   taps   into   themes   of   post-­‐humanity   and   immateriality  

through   the   type   of   ruin   exploration   described   in   chapter   3,   it   is   impossible   to  

ignore   the   primal   ways   in   which   the   body   feeds   into   those   imaginaries.   Urban  

exploration,  while  it  can  clearly  be  seen  as  embracing  a  form  of  “thing  materialism”  

(following   Bennett   2004,   2010)   in   its   rejection   of   identifying   solely   with   human  

narratives   and   its   passion   for   the   built   environment   and   architecture,   is   also   a  

practice   of   “body   materialism”.   Much   of   the   existing   literature   in   this   strain,   I  

argue,  reaches  too  far  into  the  power  of  “things”  to  the  point  of  denying  the  agency  

of  the  provocateur  in  making  events  happen.  Although  urban  explorers  search  for  

places   with   particular   aesthetic   qualities   that   lend   themselves   to   sensory  

indulgence,   they   also   trigger   these   surreal   sensory   experiences   though   their  

agency   as   beings   asserting   their   free   will   in   places   where   public   participation   is  

largely   excluded   and/or   suppressed,   but   also   contend   that   they   go   there   to  

experience   something   “beyond”   the   everyday;   to   find   what   may   even   be   beyond  

sensory  explanation.    

231  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  131.  Site  nude  in  the  sewer,  London,  photo  by  Site  
 
Perhaps,   in   terms   of   embodiment,   the   most   closely   linked   academic   studies   to  

urban  exploration  are  Iain  Borden’s  work  on  skateboarding  where  he  writes  about  

learning   the   city   through   action   in   places   (Borden,   2001),   Elizabeth   Straugahn’s  

ethnography  of  scuba  diving  where  divers  describe  to  her  the  meditative  qualities  

of  being  underwater  (Straughan,  2011),  Stephen  Seville’s  work  on  parkour  where  

participants  “play  with  fear”  (Saville,  2008)  and  Sarah  Cant’s  research  with  cavers  

where  a  search  for  danger  and  mystery  keep  them  crawling  through  the  mud  week  

after   week   (Cant,   2003).   Quickly   touching   back   on   chapter   2,   the   important  

connecting  factor  between  all  these  studies  is  that  each  of  these  researchers  have  

become   a   part   of   the   culture   under   study,   doing   embodied   research   with   their  

project   participants,   undertaking   “active   recreational   participation…   based   on  

‘being,   doing,   touching   and   seeing,   rather   than   just   seeing’”   (Cloke   and   Perkins,  

1998:  112).  In  other  words,  it  is,  to  a  degree,  beyond  representation  and  has  to  be  

felt.  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  132.  Impossible  places,  London,  photo  by  Silent  Motion  

233  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Inside  the  Tube  network,  the  feeling  of  trains  passing  by  at  high  speed,  the  warm  

wind  smashing  against  your  face  as  they  scream  through  every  two  minutes  (see  

video   10,   Crack  the  Surface,   2:50),   watching   the   light   panel   as   the   current   switches  

off  after  the  last  train  and  then  playing  on  the  tracks,  running  down  the  tunnels  of  

the   Northern,   Piccadilly   and   District   lines,   the   sheer   audacity   of   the   moment,   spills  

into  everyday  life  in  unpredictable  ways.  When  riding  the  Tube  past  a  station  we  

have   explored   together,   conversations   cease   and   we   stare   out   the   window   and  

laugh,  harbouring  a  secret  that  no  one  in  that  carriage  could  ever  guess.    

The  places  that  urban  explorers  go  lack  the  textural  smoothing  in  evidence  in  more  

worked  areas  of  the  city.  In  ruins,  artefacts  are  sometimes  coated  with  what  looks  

like  hundreds  of  years  of  grime.  Finding  an  old  bottle  that  is  thickly  layered  with  

time   dust,   one   can   get   close   to   it,   zooming   in   on   it   with   your   camera   lens   and  

watching  the  light  refract  in  different  patterns  as  you  shift  your  stance,  seemingly  

revealing   layer   after   layer   of   active   life   taking   place   behind   the   scene.   Quietly  

sitting  down  on  the  creaking  floor,  soft  pigeon  cooing  above  you,  feeling  like  an  out  

of  place  thing  -­‐  the  only  thing  not  covered  in  dust  -­‐  the  eery  ceaseless  scratch  of  a  

branch   rubbing   against   a   broken   glass   pane   down   the   hall,   the   desire   to   inscribe  

oneself  into  the  place  becomes  unbearable,  the  existential  tension  building  until  it  

pops.   Slowly,   you   lick   your   finger   and   reach   out,   rubbing   it   down   the   side   of   the  

bottle.   Slowly   now.   And   you   take   all   those   years   of   history   into   your   body,  

watching  your  salival  DNA  glisten  in  the  broken  sunlight,  a  new  layer  cut  right  into  

the   old.   These   are   the   ways   in   which   a   body   might   react,   but   more   importantly   the  

way  a  body   can  react  in  space  where  one  may  take  the  time  to  slow  or  stop,  pay  

attention  and,  as  Drainpipe  suggests,  “just  be”  (Drainpipe,  April  2011).    

234  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  133.  "Gary”  and  the  author  experiencing  a  different  pace  in  Spillers  Millennium  Mills,  
London,  photo  by  author  and  “Gary”  
 

 
Figure  134.  The  living  ruin,  Spillers  Millennium  Mills,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
 

235  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Some   authors   have   described   the   fetish   for   the   aesthetics   of   decay   as   ruin   porn  

(Millington,   2010,   Leary,   2011).   While   that   is   certainly   a   vocational   fetish,   let   me  

also  exhort  that  this  sense  of  inscription  exchange,  this  deeply  haptic  placemaking  

process,   can   also   be   felt   in   sites   of   construction   and   urban   infrastructure,   where  

the  infiltration  of  the  city’s  innards  reveals  secret  sound  and  smellscapes  that  pulse  

with   hidden   life.   Cracking   a   sewer   lid   releases   a   blast   of   hot   gases   and   warm   air  

that   now,   after   dozens   of   sewer   explorations,   has   its   own   noxious   comfort,  

especially   in   the   cold   of   winter.   The   satisfying   clang   of   the   lid   over   our   heads,  

plunging   us   into   darkness   until   somebody   clicks   on   their   headlight,   is   fulfilling;   a  

place   of   rare   safety   and   security   in   the   city   where   the   urban   traffic   noise   is  

attenuated   to   a   hum,   drowned   out   by   the   sound   of   water   flowing   over   glistening  

Victorian  brick.  The  feeling  of  security  is  also  satisfyingly  ironic  of  course,  given  we  

have  just  breached  urban  security  to  gain  entry  and  that  if  it  were  to  rain  suddenly,  

we  would  likely  die.  

Walking  single  file  down  the  drain,  the  swish  of  fishing  waders  resisting  
the   rushing   grey   water   takes   on   a   lovely   rhythm,   and   voices,   muted   by  
the  ceaseless  swishing,  morph  into  singing  and  screaming,  people  using  
their   voices   as   drones   to   test   the   spatial   reverberations   of   the  
subterranean   architecture.   These   choral   drones   probably   float   out   of  
manhole  covers  into  the  street,  causing  passing  dog  walkers  to  crack  a  
smile  or  panic  slightly.        
 
As   we   reach   a   huge   overflow   chamber   where   we   all   stop   to   take  
photographs,  the  noise  of  the  expedition  suddenly  dissipates  into  the  vast  
space   that   creates   an   otherworldly   echo.   For   a   while,   we   sit   around,  
basking  in  the  stillness,  the  sound  of  trickling  sewer  water  upstream,  a  
slow  buildup  of  condensation  on  a  piece  of  hung-­‐up  toilet  paper  dripping  
methodically   nearby,   the   distant   prospect   of   a   rushing   river   of   unknown  
depth  behind  a  brick  barrier  ferrying  little  pieces  of  decomposing  mixed  
matter   to   the   sea   further   upstream.   Our   stomachs   still   quiver   from   the  
transgression  of  going  through  the  lid,  the  fear  of  drowning  in  fast  rising  
water   during   an   unanticipated   rainstorm   leaving   us   tuned   into  
everything   around   us.   We   feel   something.   It’s   so   delicious   to   use   all   of  
our   senses,   the   experience   so   pungently   vivid,   existentially   accelerating  
(Field   Notes,   London,   October   2010,   see   video   8,   Sewer   Skank   and  
video  9  –  IDM  2011).      
 

236  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  135.  Statler  near  Rubix,  London,  photo  by  Silent  Motion,  Statler  and  author  
 
However,  this  tactile  engagement  is  also  the  point  at  which  the  urban  exploration  

community   exposes   some   of   its   strange   contradictions,   as   we   saw   with   the  

Burlington   episode.   In   the   effort   to   “preserve”   through   photography   and   to   leave  

behind   some   “pristine”   or   “virgin”   sensory   experience   for   others   (RomanyWG,  

2010),   the   community   seems   to   be   trying   to   fit   the   social   expectation   of  

contemporary   eco-­‐tourism   (see   Straughan,   2011,   Waitt   and   Cook,   2007).   The  

contradiction  lies  in  the  fact  that,  as  Patch  pointed  out,  the  practice  is  based  upon  

breaking   law   and   expectations,   yet   participants   are   shamed   into   submitting   to   a  

code   of   ethics   that   no   individual   ever   necessarily   agreed   to,   the   very   reason   why  

my  project  participants  “broke  away”  from  the  UK  scene  so  that  they  could  carry  

out   their   most   ambitious   plans.   Similar   to   what   Straughan   (2011)   found   in   the  

scuba  diving  community,  with  regard  to  not  touching  the  aquatic  environment,  and  

Waitt  and  Cook  (2007)  found  in  their  work  with  kayakers  in  Thailand,  participants  

are   shamed   into   conformity   by   the   mob.   Though   it   is   obvious   from   the   stories   told  

237  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

in   chapter   4   those   who   define   the   edges   and   boundaries   and   make   the   greatest  

discoveries  in  the  practice  likely  do  not  subscribe  to  the  code,  either  in  whole  or  in  

part,   it   remains   an   integral   part   of   the   package   explorers   publicly   offer   to   define  

themselves  as  a  community,  similar  to  the  images  they  produce.    

 
Figure  136.  "Virgin"  assemblage  or  carefully  staged  set?  Barenquell  Brewery,  Berlin,  photo  by  
author  
 
While   many   scholars   have   pointed   to   the   potential   affordances   of   everyday  

experience,   urban   exploration,   along   with   the   other   activities   I   have   highlighted  

above,   foregrounds   the   importance   of   intentionality   in   invoking   extraordinary  

experiences   where   they   are   perceived   to   be   lacking.   Although   these   experiences  

can  be  located  “on  the  beaten  track”  of  the  everyday  by  shifting  awareness  into  a  

heightened  state  of  sensual  presentness,  the  range  of  sensual  experiences  available  

to  the  urban  body,  especially  in  “public”  areas  are  regulated  by  “threat  of  violence”,  

accused   criminality   or   immorality   from   others   and   leads   to   collective   “self-­‐

surveillance”  and  “acceptance  of  dominant  norms”  (Moss  and  Dyck,  2003:  67).  This  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

inevitably  leads  to  what  Simmel  (1995  referenced  in  Edensor  2007)  refers  to  as  a  

state  of  neurasthenia  –  a  dulling  of  the  senses.  However,  as  Edensor  writes,    

More powerful sensations may be sought in places on the urban margins,

in which a low level of surveillance promotes a rich and varied sensory
experience. Such spaces may be sought precisely because they confound
familiar forms of comfort and mundane sensual experience (Edensor,
2007: 230).
 

 
Figure  137.  The  urban  margin,  Schwermaschinenbau,  Germany,  photo  by  author  
 
Edensor  goes  on  then,  using  the  work  of  Frykman,  to  describe  the  ways  in  which  

“the   modernization   of   the   body   and   the   senses   can   be   described   as   a   process  

containing   experience   [and]   discovery”   (Frykman,   1994:   65)   which   “pacifies   the  

body”   (Sennett,   1994:   15,   quoted   in   Edensor   2007:   221).   However,   while   these  

liberating  places  on  the  urban  margins  are  often  made  out  to  be  different  than,  on  

the  margins  of,  or  outside  the  city,  urban  explorers  demonstrate  they  are  in  fact  an  

integral  part  of  the  urban  constitution.  The  right  to  cross  the  boundaries  into  those  

spaces   is,   Statler   argues,   “up   to   each   person   regardless   of   the   legalities   involved”  

239  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

(Statler,  August  2010)  and  is  often  asserted  not  in  opposition  to  normative  space  

but  in  addition  to  it.  Ninjalicious  writes,    

Urban exploration revives an old and long-out-of-favour legal concept

called usufruct, which basically means that someone has the right to use
and enjoy the property of another, provided it is not changed or damaged
in any way. Back in the day, before all property on earth came under the
control of corporations, usufruct was a legal privilege that could be
awarded or withdrawn by the powers that were. Today, urban explorers
see nothing unreasonable or disrespectful about claiming the same
privilege for themselves and applying it to their utterly benign
explorations of other people’s property (Ninjalicious, 2005: 69-70).
 
Now   not   all   these   exploration   are   entirely   benign,   as   I   have   now   shown   in   my  

concerns   over   the   potential   bureaucratic   chaos   we   caused   in   the   secure   file  

storage.   However,   in   comparison   to   the   damage   done   through,   for   instance,  

fistfights  that  arise  from  nights  of  heavy  drinking  around  the  country  or,  dare  I  say,  

a  financial  system  built  on  speculative  investment,  the  inconvenience  caused  by  a  

few   people   sneaking   into   the   sewers,   tunnels,   and   construction   sites   of   cities,   even  

if  a  lock  is  replaced  or  alarm  temporarily  disabled,  is  negligible.  Urban  explorers  do  

no  more  damage  than,  for  instance,  skateboarders  “waxing”  a  curb  or  a  street  artist  

stencilling   characters   on   sterile   walls   and   the   rewards,   in   the   form   of   an  

imaginative,   desirous   citizenry,   are   well   worth   the   trade   offs   if   we   are   truly  

interested  in  cultivating  creative  cities.    

Explorers  also,  like  “white  hat”  computer  hackers,  assist  in  strengthening  security  

by  exposing  the  weaknesses  through  benign  exploration,  before  a  group  with  more  

malicious   intentions   does   so.   It   is   clear   from   the   reaction   of   authorities   I   have  

encountered  through  exploration  that  the  “problem”  with  what  what  explorers  do  

is   not   that   it   is   “illegal”,   it   is   that,   in   capitalist   terms,   it’s   pointless   and   therefore  

highly   suspect   (I   will   expand   on   this   in   the   final   chapter).   However,   while  

authorities  may  be  confused  by  it,  as  I  have  clearly  shown  now,  urban  exploration  

240  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

is  much  more  a  celebration  than  a  condemnation  of  capital  and  spectacle.  It  is  an  

anti-­‐spectacle   that   runs   alongside   the   main   act,   weaving   a   breathtaking   double  

helix.    

 
Figure  138.  The  beauty  of  the  spectacle,  King's  Reach  Tower,  South  London,  photo  by  LutEx  and  
author  
 
Edensor,  in  his  2005  book  Industrial  Ruins,  writes  that  capital  investment  are  the  

catalyst  for  both  sensibly  sterile  spaces  of  economic  production  and  spatial  fluidity  

(some  would  say  forced  mobility)  as  well  as  left  over,  forgotten  and  disused  spaces  

(albeit   unintentionally);   places   that   feel   like   tiny   time   and   space   seizures.   Both  

sites,   Edensor   writes,   are   the   “inevitable   result   of   capitalist   development   and   the  

relentless   search   for   profit”   (Edensor,   2005b:   4).   Urban   explorers   are   openly  

cognisant   of   the   role   monetary   investment   plays   in   creating   both   new  

constructions   and   ruins   and,   where   preceding   movements   connected   to   my   notion  

of   place   hacking   condemn   capitalism   for   creating   sterile   space   and   seek   to   turn  

streets  into  battlefields  in  an  effort  to  overthrow  the  dominant  social  order  (Juris,  

2010),  urban  explorers  celebrate  capitalism  for  its  successes  and  failures,  rejoicing  

241  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

over  the  construction  of  new  skyscrapers  as  well  as  the  economic  crises  that  empty  

them.   Both   construction   and   destruction,   which   Benjamin   sees   as   intertwined  

forces,  create  spaces  of  alternative  tactile  play  and  embodied  opportunity,  open  to  

the  usufruct  hack  any  time,  any  day.    

The  spaces  on  the  margins,  or  indeed  under  or  above  the  city  within  the  margins,  

facilitate  the  urban  body  in  achieving  altered  states  of  experience,  an  altered  state  

that  Silent  Motion  tells  us  “is  right  there  in  front  of  you,  you  just  have  to  grab  it”  

(Silent  Motion,  September  2011).  The  places  of  urban  exploration  become  portals  

to  the  surreal,  cut  into  the  everyday  landscape.    

 
Figure  139.  The  journey  into  the  Paris  catacombs  with  Marc  Explo  and  Hydra,  photo  by  author  
 
 
 
 

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Into  Paris  proper  we  walked,  past  highway  overpasses  and  old  railroad  
tracks,  into  a  dark  alley  frequented  by  graffiti  artist  and  underage  kids  
drinking   cheap   wine,   into   a   hole   in   the   wall   with   a   four   foot   drop  
behind  it,  and  voilà,  we  had  crossed  the  liminal  zone  of  the  ‘known’  city  
into   a   realm   of   illicit   encounter,   raw   experience,   playful   exuberance  
and   corporal   terror.   We   crawled   on   all   fours   through   the   mud   into   the  
darkness    (Field  Notes,  Paris,  July  2009,  see  video  2,  Paris  Catacombs).  
 
After  entering  the  Paris  catacombs  here  (Garrett,  2011b),  our  expectations  of  what  

to   expect,   think   and   feel   began   to   melt,   dripping   off   of   us   with   the   sweat   and   blood  

and  caked  quarry  mud.  It  seemed  all  we  could  do  was  act,  except  in  those  moments  

when   we   were   so   shocked   by   some   sight,   smell   or   crushing   feeling   we   were  

rendered   temporarily   inert.   We   would   sometimes   run   into   other   sub-­‐urban  

dwellers   down   there,   cataphiles   who   spend   the   majority   of   their   lives   below   the  

City  of  Light.  We  also  encountered  groups  of  people  hunched  over  single  file  with  

bobbing   headlights   and   bottles   of   port,   and   we   would   nod   hello   as   we   passed,  

acknowledging   our   shared   experience   in   this   space   of   unregulated   sensory  

madness.   It   seemed   to   go   on   endlessly,   and   we   achieved   a   state   of   supreme  

disillusionment   or   exceptional   clarity   (the   meld).   When   we   left   and   had   to  

reconform  to  social  expectations  the  come  down  hit  hard.  

At   the   end   of   three   days   in   the   Paris   Catacombs,   perhaps   due   to   the  
delirious   excitement   that   was   amassed   over   the   course   of   the  
expedition,  we  thought  it  would  be  a  grand  idea  to  exit  via  a  manhole  
cover   in   central   Paris   at   4   a.m.   After   some   cartographic   negotiation  
involving  deciphering  hand  written  notes  about  newly  welded  manhole  
exits,   we   found   the   cover   we   were   looking   for,   realizing   with   some  
trepidation  that  it  was  up  a  30  meter  ladder.  While  Hydra  guarded  our  
packs,   Marc   and   I   climbed   slowly   and   carefully   to   the   top   of   the   wet  
ladder  and  began  taking  turns  pushing  up  the  round  iron  plate  which  
seemed   to   have   a   newly   welded   bar   underneath   necessitating  
superhuman   strength   to   lift   it   from   the   inside.   After   a   few   minutes   of  
concerted   effort,   I   panicked,   and   began   pushing   with   all   my   strength,  
back   against   the   cover,   balancing   on   the   slippery   steel   ladder   in   the  
darkness,  the  trembling  beam  from  my  headtorch  shaking  against  the  
wall.   Shoulder   blades   jammed   firmly   against   the   cover,   it   tilted   slightly  
but   remained   wedged   like   a   cookie   too   large   to   fit   in   a   cup   of   tea.  
Traces  of  light  fluttered  in  from  the  quiet  street  above  and  I  could  see  
pavement,  I  felt  hopeful.  Then  a  car  drove  by.  No  it  was  a  van.  A  white  
van.  And  it  stopped.  And  then  reversed.    

243  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Seconds   later,   torches   were   beaming   through   the   open   crack   in   the  
manhole,   voices   yelling   unintelligible   commands   and   inquiries   in  
French,   fielded   by   an   exhausted   Marc   below   me   on   the   ladder   who  
assured   them   we   were   not   terrorists   and   yes,   we   needed   help   getting  
out.   It   took   four   police   to   open   the   manhole   cover.   I   emerged   first,  
being  at  the  top  of  the  ladder,  and  was  sat  in  the  police  van  I  had  seen  
from  our  subterranean  prison,  too  tired  and  overjoyed  to  breath  fresh,  
open   air   to   care   that   I   was   in   police   custody.   A   female   officer,   assigned  
to  guard  me  I  guess,  looked  me  up  and  down  and  only  now  did  I  realize  
that   I   was   still   wearing   hip   waders,   my   headtorch   still   shining,  
wrapped  around  a  greasy  mop  of  hair  that  had  not  been  washed  in  3  
days,   smelling   of   whiskey   and   sweat   and   coated   in   quarry   mud   from  
head   to   toe.   I   could   tell   that   her   first   instinct   was   to   assume   I   was  
homeless   or   a   vagrant   living   beneath   the   city,   but   the   obviously  
expensive   video   camera   setup   strapped   around   my   neck   was   confusing  
the  issue.  Was  her  next  guess  that  I  was  a  geographer  doing  fieldwork?  
Not  likely  I  suppose  (Field  Notes,  Paris  Catacombs,  July  2009).    
   

 
Figure  140.  Marc  Explo  and  the  author  after  being  caught  exiting  a  manhole  in  Paris,  photo  by  
Hydra  
 
While   in   the   quarries,   we   found   ourselves   in   a   negative   space,   a   spatial   gap   that  

exists  because  earth  matter  has  been  excavated  to  build  something  else  entirely.  In  

architecture   and   urban   planning   this   is   sometimes   referred   to   as   space   left   over  

after  planning  or  SLOAP  (Maruani  and  Amit-­‐Cohen,  2007).  While  in  some  writing,  

244  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

like   Iain   Borden’s   research   on   skateboarding   (Borden,   2001),   we   find   that   those  

negative   spaces   are   used   for   various   urban   subversions,   being   largely   ignored  

space,   we   rarely   imagine   SLOAP   as   vast   as   the   urban   underground   in   Paris.   As  

Marc  Explo  told  me  while  we  were  wandering  the  180  kilometres  of  subterranean  

galleries  and  chambers  “if  you  want  to  know  how  big  the  quarries  are,  just  look  at  

all  the  buildings  made  of  limestone  in  Paris.  Then  you  understand  the  immensity  of  

what  we’re  in”  (Marc  Explo,  April  2009).  

 
Figure  141.  A  gathering  in  the  illegal  underground  cinema,  Paris,  photo  by  author47  
   

The  sensory  surreal  

That  immensity  goes  beyond  a  spatial  metaphor,  it  is  also  a  feeling.  While  I  argue  

urban  exploration  is  a  deeply  embodied  practice,  I  also  want  to  make  it  clear  that  

much   of   what   urban   explorers   are   assaying   is   that   which   verges   on   the  

indescribable,   the   sensory   surreal.   In   short,   embodiment   here   is   as   much   about  

                                                                                                               
47
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/sep/08/filmnews.france (accessed 10th October 2010).

245  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

emotions   as   it   is   about   sensory   input.   Winch   sees   the   experience   of   discovery  

during  infiltrations  as  deeply  personal  where  he  writes,  

The whole point of this activity of ours is to discover, and those noobish
ideas of discovering histories is washed away with the sweat we excrete
when we’re discovering experiences and emotions. Nostalgia is usually a
rich ingredient of those experiences we revere, be it the nostalgia for
youthful play or the nostalgia of a bygone age we inexplicably aspire to.
It’s bollocks really, the discovery we really make is within ourselves.48

This,   I   argue,   is   also   a   form   of   embodiment,   though   perhaps   to   understand   it   we  

have   to   stretch   ourselves   into   the   realm   of   extraordinary   senses   to   include  

temperature   (thermoception),   kinesthetics   (proprioception),   pain   (nociception),  

balance  (equilibrioception)  or  dwell  where  senses  spill  into  emotions  like  fear.  At  

times   I   have   experienced   what   I   can   only   describe   as   existential   pressure   on   the  

verge   of   manifesting   in   the   bowels   (always   evident   in   the   Tube),   a   moment   of  

incorporeal  embodiment  when  it  feels  life  is  being  tugged  in  impossible,  or  at  least  

incomprehensible,   directions.   This   I   like   to   imagine   as   a   type   of   slit   sensillae,   the  

sense   that   spiders   have   to   detect   mechanical   strain   in   the   exoskeleton,   providing  

information  on  force  and  vibrations.  Kathleen  Stewart  describes  these  moments,  in  

a  more  everyday  context,  as  atmospheric  attunements,  flashes  when  we  negotiate  

“the   kinds   of   agency   that   might   or   might   not   add   up   to   something   with   [any]  

intensity   or   duration.   The   enigmas   and   oblique   events   and   background   noises   that  

might  be  barely  sensed  and  yet  are  compelling”,  attunements  which  might  compile  

as   little   more   than   “qualities,   rhythms,   forces,   relations,   and   movements”   (Stewart,  

2011:  1).  These  qualities  are  abundant  in  the  places  urban  explorers  inhabit  where  

the   ghosts   of   time   await   the   conjuring   that   takes   place   when   bodies   enter   places  

unbidden  (Edensor,  2005a,  DeSilvey,  2006).      

Before  we  begin  to  feel  that  we  are  moving  beyond  the  body  here,  that  perhaps  this  
                                                                                                               
48
http://www.thewinch.net/?p=2856 (accessed 30th March 2011).

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is   stretching   into   the   realm   of   non-­‐representational   theory,   it’s   important   to  

remind   ourselves   that   the   “phenomonologists   saw   as   one   of   their   principle   tasks  

the   discovery   of   essences”   (Cresswell,   2004:   23).   As   Cresswell   goes   on   to   write,  

from   a   phenomenological   perspective   “place   is   therefore   a   pre-­‐scientific   fact   of   life  

–   based   on   the   way   we   experience   the   world”   that   encompasses   all   of   those  

“feelings”,   “attunements”   and   “essences”   that   makes   up   those   (extra)sensory  

experiences   of   being   in   the   world.   While   the   acquisition   of   these   forms   of  

extrasensory   knowledge   may   require   a   particular   attention   to   the   senses,   we   are  

also   seeking   to   unbind   them.   Here   “the   body   'thinks'   itself   solely   in   terms   of   its  

involuted   interconnections   with   its   'outside',   existing   as   an   abstract   network   of  

flows  of  energy  and  information,  and  in  which  sensation  operates  as  the  'extremity  

of  perception'”  (Massumi,  1996,  quoted  in  Pearson,  2009:  233).  

Quite  simply,  the  body,  when  undertaking  urban  infiltration,  is  in  a  constant  state  

of  action  and  reaction,  not  dwelling  but  becoming  (working  the  edge),  prepared  for  

both   the   necessity   of   bodily   engagement   as   well   as   the   possibility,   indeed   the  

likelihood,   of   confrontation   with   the   uncanny   (Lipman,   2009,   Pile,   2005)   even   as   it  

observes   the   present   moment   with   a   clarity   perhaps   only   available   at   and   in   the  

“margins”   of   the   city,   though   as   we   have   seen,   those   margins   do   not   necessarily  

imply   an   in/out   binary.   To   avoid   falling   back   on   notions   of   what   the   body   is,   we  

must   begin   to   imagine   what   the   body   might   become,   both   in   terms   of   action   and  

awareness.   The   explorer   seeks   to   take   control   of   negotiating   that   boundary,   no  

longer   waiting   to   be   activated   but   activating   themselves,   others   and   the   city  

around  them.  

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Figure  142.  The  author  in  the  Pimlico  steam  tunnels,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

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It   is   the   becoming   body,   reacting   to   and   entangled   with   place,   that   defines   the  

nature  of  the  exploration  –  one  must  always  expect  the  unexpected.  Touching  the  

uncanny,  whether  that  be  the  popular  history  forgotten  or  the  adrenaline  rush  of  

being   somewhere   supremely   naughty,   becomes   highly   addictive.   The   fact   that   it  

can   be   touched,   though   we   may   be   told   otherwise,   also   reinforces   the   fact   that  

places   are   also   always   becoming.   In   the   case   of   “Team   B’s”   infiltration   of   the  

abandoned  City  Road  Tube  station  in  London,  the  crew  returned  week  after  week  

checking  the  same  maintenance  door  until,  inevitably,  a  worker  left  it  unlocked.  

 
Figure  143.  Activated:  the  LCC  in  King's  Reach  Tower,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
The   crew   immediately   made   calls,   gathered   ropes,   tied   off   and   abseiled   into   the  

station,   springing   the   London   exploration   scene   into   action   as   soon   as   the   security  

loophole   had   been   identified,   bodies   and   place   instantly   reforming   into   a   new  

configuration,  in  this  case,  an  intermingling  of  shredding  skin  and  Tube  train  brake  

dust  at  3am.  That  night,  London  pulsed  with  subversiveness  as  the  crew  abseiled  

into   London   Underground   and   it   fought   back,   one   descent   after   another   in   a  

249  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

“reciprocal   interpenetration”,   where   things   and   objects   (ropes,   harnesses,  

cameras)   “became   materially   prosthetic   organs   of   the   body,   then   the   body   too   is  

materially   an   organ   of   its   things”   (Pearson,   2009:   233).   Here,   as   Lorimer   writes,  

following  the  work  of  John  Wylie,    

Sensations which might ordinarily be conceived of as ‘external’ or

‘internal’ are replaced with explanations where affect and percept ‘are
neither mysterious transhuman determinants of our sensibility, nor are
they simply vectors of personal psyche, emotion or intention. They
produce and circulate within a non-subjective, sometimes intersubjective,
relational spacing’ (Lorimer, 2007, quoting Wylie, 2005: 243).
 

 
Figure  144.  Marc  Explo  in  the  St-­‐Martin  disused  station,  Paris,  photo  by  author  and  Marc  Explo  
 
Considering   the   spaces   that   urban   explorers   go,   many   of   them   forbidden   and  

subterranean,   the   connections   between   body   and   city   become   readily   apparent.  

The   underground   has   long   been   a   symbolic   site   of   hidden   and   uncontrollable  

psychic,   conjectural   and   mythical   forces   (Williams,   1990).   This   ominous   legacy  

affects   our   relationship   to   apparently   utilitarian   underground   structures   and  

activities,   such   as   mines,   tunnels   and   transportation   networks.   While   the   urban  

explorer  could,  in  one  sense,  be  seen  to  de-­‐mythologise  those  spaces,  there  is  also  

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certainly   an   element   of   wanting   to   be   enraptured   by   them   and   attempting   to  

disseminate  the  wonder  of  that  feeling  widely  through  digital  media.  

 
Figure  145.  The  author  in  a  Metro  line  extension  before  tracks  are  laid,  Paris,  photo  by  author  and  
Otter  
 
Similar  to  wilderness  backpackers,  urban  explorers  seek  to  tap  into  the  surreal  in  

places  of  inhuman  scale,  to  enter  the  meditative  state  of  being  in  between  life  and  

death   where   everything,   including   our   own   embodied   sovereignty,   hangs   in   the  

balance,   where   one   is   suspended   in   rapture   by   a   moment   of   such   utter   sensory  

incredulity  that  the  only  appropriate  response  is  inarticulable,  an  infantile  gurgle.  

It  is  a  deep  embodied  work  of  bringing  passion  to  the  in  between,  wrapped  in  the  

sensuous   pleasure   of   spatial   liminality   and   embodied   subversion.   The   double-­‐

edged   reward   to   be   found,   up   high   and   underground,   is   articulated   in   the   early  

writing  of  Edmund  Burke,  

The passion caused by the great and sublime in nature is astonishment,

and astonishment is that state of the soul in which all its motions are
suspended, with some degree of horror. The mind is so entirely filled
with its object that it cannot entertain any other, nor reason on that object
which fills it. Astonishment is the effect of the sublime in its highest

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degree; its inferior effects are admiration, reverence, and respect (Elliot,
1937: 49).

Recent   work   in   geography   around   ghostly   presences,   what   Derrida   calls  

hauntology,  also  edge  into  frame.  Thinking  back  to  Freud’s  notion  of  the  palimpsest  

that  I  mentioned  in  chapter  3,  the  appreciation  for  memorial  stratigraphy  of  both  

material  and  immaterial  traces,  this  sort  of  surrealist  archaeology  (Bey,  1985:  xii),  

Derrida  writes,  

Even if it is in oneself, in the others, in the others in oneself: they are

always there, spectres, even if they do not exist, even if they are no
longer, even if they are not yet. They give us to rethink the ‘there’ as
soon as we open our mouths (Derrida, 1994 1994: 11, referenced in
Wylie 2007).
 
This   is   the   becoming   body   manifesting   again   (Lyng,   2004),   a   body   negotiating  

boundaries,  revealing  the  strains,  cracks,  limits  and  potentials  of  ourselves  as  free  

beings.   These   spectral   encounters   are   to   be   found   all   around   us   in   urban  

environments,   hibernating   in   ruins,   tunnels,   crane   and   train   cabs   waiting   to   be  

tapped  and  tested.  While  this  experience  is  felt,  mediated  and  attenuated  perhaps,  

through  the  body,  it  also  touches  something  greater  than  body-­‐as-­‐self,  something  

more   than   human,   something   more   than   worldly.   It   is   problematic   to   describe   this  

as   an   “emotional”   response,   given   the   importance   of   embodied   exchange   in   the  

encounter,   but   where   emotion   plays   its   part,   it   is   impossible   to   ignore   the   pre-­‐

eminence  of  desire  and  fear.    

Sociopathic  metabolism  

Urban  exploration  has  been  described  as  a  “a  type  of  play  that  generates  closeness  

with   the   city”   (McRae   2008:   130).   It   has   also   been   argued   that   children   have   a  

greater   capacity,   range   or   perhaps   attunement   to   the   world,   before   social  

conditioning   begins   to   slowly   constrict   the   range   of   perceived   possibility   (Jones,  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

2001,   Aitken,   1994).   Exploration   of   liminal   space,   and   the   patience,   persistence  

and  creative  thinking  that  it  requires  to  hack  places  in  the  ways  I  have  illustrated  

in  this  thesis,  multiply  the  possibility  for  affective  engagement  where  affect  is  the  

capacity   that   an   agent   has   to   form   specific   relations   to   people,   places   and   things  

(Buchanan,   1997).   Here   we   can   make   a   short   leap,   using   the   work   of   Kathleen  

Stewart   (2011),   to   see   that   children   are   born   into   a   world,   into   a   body,   with   a   vast  

range  and  potential  for  affective  engagement.  However,  as  the  social  body  begins  

to   condition   the   individual   body,   the   range   of   affective   possibility   narrows  

according   to   the   range   of   possibility   accorded   by   the   dominant   society   –   in   this  

case   late   capitalism   and   its   insistence   that   affective   relations   be   profitable   and  

serve   national   and   economic   interest,   many   times   at   the   violent   expense   of  

community  and/or  individual  freedom.    

By   infiltrating   the   material   social   body,   the   urban   body,   by   entering   the  

metropolitan   metabolism   and   jittering   its   internal   organs,   undertaking   pointless  

subversive  play  in  the  veins  and  arteries  of  the  city,  we  physically,  psychically  and  

playfully   rearrange   the   affectual   register,   thereby   rewriting   fragments   of   the  

spatial   code   which   then   feed   back   into   the   social   code.   Each   fragment   is   a   slow  

seeping   virus   of   wonder   that   causes   the   social   body   to   go   into  spasms   and   fits   (the  

public  backlash)  when  viewing  the  effort  and  energy  invested  in  what  is  clearly  so  

pointless   and   yet   so   stunningly   beautiful   and   infectious   nonetheless.   The   virus  

unleashed,   when   it   reveals   secrets   that   seem   so   incredibly   unlikely   (i.e.   people  

running   through   Tube   tunnels),   is   unstoppable   in   inspiring   symptomatic   mass  

panic  and  joy,  backlit  affectual  celebrations  registered  as  world  wide  web  hits  on  

our  servers  in  the  millions  and  jealous  vitriol  in  comment  boxes.  The  interest  that  

we  receive  in  the  practice,  from  writers  to  journalists  to  students  to  documentary  

253  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

filmmakers,   a   relentless   appetite   for   more,   betrays   the   desire   that   urban  

exploration  invokes,  a  desire  for  something  more  than  the  everyday  that  eclipses  

the   practice   to   the   point   we   are   under   threat   of   being   consumed   by   it,   McRae’s  

spectacle  appropriation  in  progress (McRae, 2008: 158).  

 
Figure  146.  The  author  acting  on  a  desire  to  fear,  Paris,  photo  by  author  
 
Desire   is   radically   intransitive,   not   a   thing   in   itself   but   that   which   enables   us   to  

desire   (Buchanan,   1997,   Buchanan   and   Lambert,   2011).   We   are   both   the  

consumers   and   producers   of   that   emotional   state,   in   the   same   way   we   might  

manufacture  fear  to  increase  adrenaline  levels  while  exploring,  in  the  same  way  I  

have   manufactured   the   group   under   study   to   some   extent.   Urban   exploration,  

while   it   may   be   viewed   externally   as   transgressive,   is   rather   full   of   moments   of  

comprehensive   engagement   with   social   life,   flashes   when   the   “husk   of   alienation  

[is]   shed”   to   reveal   “fruits   of   collective   activity”   (Shields,   1999:   31,   referenced   in  

McRae  2008)  that  are  fantastically  playful  and  deliriously  beautiful.  Edensor  writes  

“derelict  factories  are  vast  centres  for  exploration  containing  lengthy  corridors  to  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

run  along,  stairs  to  scamper  up,  windows  to  climb  through,  trap  doors,  pulleys  and  

channels  to  negotiate”  (Edensor,  2005b:  25)  and  recalls    

Familiar sensations of childhood for me, when I dwelt in dens and woods
and ostensibly off-limits derelict houses alone and with friends. The
“thingness” of these objects, their material qualities and their
potentialities for manual apprehension release a flood of neglected sense-
making capacities (Edensor, 2007: 228).
 
What   Edensor   describes   is   “an   enchanted   notion   of   place   which,   through  

wonderment,  imagination  and  participation,  is  in  continuous  composition”  (Saville,  

2008:  892,  following  Crouch,  2003,  Edensor  2005b,  Fenton  2005  and  Thrift  2004)  

that   may   “encompass   an   enhanced   clarity   of   thought,   or   act   as   a   portal   to   new  

modalities   of   feeling”   (Conradson,   2007:   34).   But   whether   these   modalities   of  

feeling,   as   Conradson   suggests,   are   actually   new,   is   an   interesting   point.   Alastair  

Bonnett  contends  that,  

[Urban Exploration] may be about reclaiming a childhood. I think there

is a real interesting thing in this whole debate about childhood and people
getting older and feeling conscious that they’ve lost something or they
never had something in their childhood. Because, you know, the way
children are treated these days, it’s a very caged experience (Bonnett in
Garrett, 2010a: 1452).

So  urban  exploration,  like  parkour,  is  a  call  to  experience  the  world  in  a  way  which  

veers  from  what  constitutes  normative  behaviour  but  also  aligns  more  closely  with  

childhood   “as   a   practice   that   can   enrich   and   redefine   our   existence,   one   which  

encourages   contact,   wonder   and   the   willingness   to   place   a   hope   in   fear”   (Saville,  

2008:  909).  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  147.  Childish  behaviour:  Silent  Motion  spinning  in  an  office  chair,  Gillette  factory,  Hounslow,  
photo  by  author  
 
I  had  been  running  around  all  day  collecting  various  things,  tea  lights,  
balloons,   a   propane   tank,   alcohol,   snacks,   and   of   course,   a   load   of  
fireworks.  Winch  picked  me  up  and  we  headed  to  King’s  Reach  Tower  
(KRT),  a  30-­‐story  derelict  office  block  sitting  right  over  the  Thames.  In  
the   street   we   met   Statler,   Otter,   Silent   Motion   and   Patch.   Silent   Motion  
slipped  away  as  we  were  talking  and  went  over  the  hoarding  in  front  of  
three   disabled   security   cameras.   Moments   later,   he   opened   the   fire   exit  
and   I   walked   through   dressed   in   a   high   visibility   vest   and   hard   hat,  
lugging  the  propane  tank  over  one  shoulder  and  a  duffle  bag  full  of  fun  
in  the  other.  
 
When  we  reached  the  29th  floor  of  the  building,  we  spent  hours  blowing  
up   balloons   off   the   propane   tank,   lighting   candles   and   drinking   Red  
Stripes.   By   the   time   Marc   showed   up,   we   had   assembled   a   few   dozen  
people   for   his   29th   birthday   in   a   derelict   penthouse   with   the   most  
spectacular   London   view   one   could   imagine.   Neb   had   somehow   lugged  
a   sound   system   up   29   floors   hooked   it   up   to   a   car   battery   –   how   he   got  
it   in   I   had   no   idea.   We   danced,   drank,   laughed,   screamed   and   exploded  
fireworks,  the  city  below  us  completely  oblivious  to  the  fact  we  had  just  
taken  over  a  30-­‐story  building  for  the  night.  Somewhere  around  2am,  
Silent   Motion   and   I   slipped   out   to   the   park   below.   Borrowing   some  
parking   blocks   and   cones   from   the   street,   we   arranged   a   dazzling  
array   of   exploding   fireworks   aimed   at   the   29th   floor   of   the   tower   for  
everyone   to   see.   When   the   police   arrived   in   the   park   to   tell   us   they   had  
seen   the   explosion   from   the   street,   the   occupiers   of   the   KRT   explorer  
penthouse   laughed   their   asses   off,   silenced   by   the   distance   and  
unnoticed   at   street   level   as   Silent   Motion   and   I   apologised   and   then  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

snuck   back   up   the   tower   after   the   police   left   (Field   Notes,   London,  
December  2010).    
   
This   LCC   party   in   King’s   Reach   Tower,   ridiculous   as   it   may   have   appeared   to  

outsiders49  was  incredibly  liberating   –  to  just  be  childish  and  free  for  a  night,  to  let  

desire  reign  in  a  Bacchian  frenzy.  It  was  a  night  when  “freedom  [became]  a  form  of  

embodied   awareness:   a   choosing   to   sense   and,   more   specifically,   a   choosing  to  feel  

and  touch  an  environment”  in  an  intimate  way  (Lewis,  2000:  58,  quoted  in  Saville  

2008:   904-­‐905).   Many   times,   these   events   inevitably   led   to   encounters   with  

authorities,   as   it   did   in   the   park   under   KRT,   but   we   also   play   with   the   fear   of   being  

“caught”,  which  adds  another  enticing  layer  to  the  embodied  experience.    

 
The  right  to  fear  

It   is   arguable   that   in   childhood   we   also   experience   fear   more   often,   which,   like  

play,  can  be  liberating  in  inspiring  the  surreal.  In  Greek,  there  is  but  one  word  for  

“fear”   and   for   “wonder”   (Buchanan   2008).   This   bridges   the   physicality   of   an  

exploration   with   other   connecting   emotions,   of   which   fear   is   perhaps   the   most  

powerful.  In  2010,  the  well  known  and  respected  London  urban  explorer  and  BASE  

jumper   Downfallen   fell   to   his   death   in   the   mountains   of   Switzerland.   In   a   piece  

written  in  his  memory,  a  friend  quoted  him  as  writing,    

I choose to live my life to a different tune of music, one which is not

censored or wrapped up so much with a blanket of over regulation,
Health and Safety gone mad (because these days it has), fear and blind
compliance to anything you are told to do…a blanket so thick, that you
no longer can hear the music. If I'm injured, you'll hear me blaming only
one person…myself. It's acceptance of personal responsibility for my
actions, a quality that's very much lacking in society these days.50
 
 

                                                                                                               
49
http://vimeo.com/17033526 (accessed 11 November 2011).
50
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=2414 (accessed 10th January 2010).

257  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  148.  The  author  doing  edgework  at  Landschaftepark  Duisberg  Nord,  Germany,  photo  by  
Winch  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Many   urban   explorers,   like   Downfallen,   insist   on   their   right   to   do   their   bodies  

harm,  to  put  their  bodies  in  harm’s  way.  Downfallen  died  for  this  belief,  becoming  a  

hero  among  the  community  and  adding  himself  to  the  list  with  Predator,  Solomon  

and   Ninjalicious   who   the   community   has   lost   (not   all   under   such   tragic  

circumstances).   The   desire   to   do   this,   while   it   may   be   argued   is   innate   in   some  

people,  is  also  a  reaction  to  an  urban  environment  in  the  neoliberal  city  which  is,    

Insulating our bodies from physical stimuli. [Richard] Sennett detects a

pervasive fear of touch behind these developments which, by giving us
"freedom from resistance," only serve to increase our passivity and
diminish our capacities for empathy or meaningful engagement in public
life (Howes, 2005: 3, referencing Sennett 1994: 15, also see Scott, 1998).

Subjecting   our   bodies   to   circumstances   in   which   we   experience   extreme   and  

powerful   emotions   and   overwhelming   sensory   inducements   is   something   we   are  

rarely,  if  ever,  offered  by  the  modern  urban  environment  where  there  is  a  constant  

feeling  among  many  people  that  the  city  is  built  for  others  and  we  may  look  at  it  

but   we   may   not   touch   it,   the   spatial   equivalent   of   the   artefact   in   a   glass   case   in   the  

museum.  At  times  that  frustration  manifests  in  violent  reaction,  as  in  the  summer  

2011   London   riots.   Whatever   the   politics   behind   the   event,   there   was   a   clear   joy  

people   experienced   finally   being   able   to   kick   in   a   window   and   burn   cars,   taking  

what  they  liked  from  the  city,  huddled  together  with  friends,  sweating  and  fighting  

the   police   for   control   of   their   neighbourhood   streets.   Atrocious   as   it   appeared   to  

some,   jubilation   was   in   heavy   abundance.   There   are   many   ways   that   type   of  

euphoria  can  be  achieved  through  different  practices,  with  or  without  violence,  but  

in   many   circumstances   making   the   choice   to   engage   it   is   seen   as   transgressive,  

whether  or  not  practitioners  themselves  view  it  in  that  light.    

In   Saville’s   work   with   parkour   participants,   he   writes   that   “the   traceur   is   ever  

questing  towards  new  and  often  fearful  movements,  many  of  which  are  predicated  

259  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

on   the   attainment   of   bodily   skill”   where   “fear   can   be   a   highly   complex   engagement  

with  place,  which  can  in  some  circumstances  be  considered  more  a  playmate  than  

paralysing  overlord”  (Saville,  2008:  893).  Whereas  in  everyday  urban  life  fear  can  

be  an  ominous  and  perhaps  uncontrollable  force,  a  vague  possibility  of  a  mugging  

or   a   terrorist   attack,   during   an   exploration   of   a   space   inherently   dangerous   “the  

unfamiliar  acquisition  of  a  skilful  apprehension  of  space  is  necessary  for  [our]  own  

safety”   (Edensor,   2007:   227).   Fear,   when   met   with   existential   resistance,   can  

produce   an   “internal   state   of   calm   in   which   a   person   becomes   more   aware   of   their  

immediate   embodied   experience   of   the   world   and   less   concerned   with   events  

occurring  ‘out  there’”  (Conradson,  2007:  33).  At  times,  this  can  inspire  explorers  to  

even  contrive  fearful  experiences  in  order  to  create  a  moment  to  “overcome”,  also  

challenging  other  explorers  to  panic  in  the  face  of  danger,  testing  their  mettle.    

At   the   International   Drain   Meet   in   2011,   where   over   50   explorers  

gathered   in   London   to   celebrate   urban   exploration   and   draining,  
everybody  was  partying  in  an  overflow  chamber  under  Hyde  Park  (see  
cover  photo).  After  everyone  had  been  drinking  for  some  time,  a  drama  
unfolded  when  User  Scott  came  in  and  said  to  everyone  that  he’d  seen  
Thames   Water   workers   walking   around   in   the   Westbourne,   likely  
looking  for  us,  given  we  had,  just  a  few  hours  earlier,  ferried  dozens  of  
people  into  three  different  sewer  lids  in  Knightsbridge.  The  music  was  
killed   and   murmurs   began   circulating.   A   forward   expedition   was  
organized  by  Siologen  to  go  “investigate”  and/or  confront  the  workers.  
It   was   suggested   that   offering   them   a   beer   might   help   and   Siologen  
was   given   a   few.   While   he   was   gone,   various   theories   were   fielded   on  
what   might   happen   if   workers   actually   did   find   us   in   here,   the   fear  
causing   a   mass   adrenaline   rush   as   we   imagined   flooding   out   of   the  
drain   system   all   at   once   to   escape   arrest.   When   Siologen   returned,  
finding  nothing,  the  party  continued,  the  small  drama  dissipated  (Field  
Notes,  London,  January  2011).    
 
In  this  instance  at  the  International  Drain  Meet,  we  can’t  be  sure  whether  there  

was   a   genuine   concern   or   whether   the   entire   scenario   was   fictitious.   But   it  

doesn’t  really  matter  –  fear  was  located,  utilized  and  transformed  into  adrenaline,  

which   fed   the   energy   of   the   gathering.   Fear   became   a   tool   for   existential  

liberation   rather   than   an   impetus   for   “self-­‐policing”.   The   hesitancy   that   manifests  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

as  fear  to  be  overcome  is  a  result  not  just  of  encounters  with  authority,  but  with  

the   spectral,   the   uncanny,   the   unexpected   and   various   hostile   forces   whilst  

exploring.    

 
Figure  149.  Statler  at  the  International  Drain  Meet,  London,  photo  by  LutEx  
 
Using fear in this way… experiences of fear are both limiting and
liberating. Because we live in a cultural climate in which the normative
message is to be safe and to minimize fear (O’Malley and Mugford,
1995)… edgeworkers and other social outsiders, find political currency in
actively seeking out risks to “overcome their victimhood, and become
social agents, agents of cultural production” (Pedrazzi and Desrosiers-
Lauzon, 2011). In this, they are developing valued social identities as
fearless, heroic and powerful, thereby offering a political critique of the
structural limitations of their everyday lives (Olstead, 2011: 7).
 
The   possibility   of   getting   caught   is   always   a   great   catalyst   for   heightening   the  

experience  of  an  exploration  and  is,  of  course,  always  connected  to  the  embodied  

experience  of  being  in  places,  a  testing  of  the  limits  of,  for  instance,  how  quiet  the  

body   can   be   while   jumping   over   a   chain   link   fence,   a   type   of   skill   rarely,   if   ever,  

cultivated  in  everyday  life.  As  Marc  told  me  while  exploring  once  at  dusk,    

261  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

You have to think about the trade offs between sight and sound when
sneaking around. In the night, you may be less visible, but then you’re
going to be more likely to step on glass and loud things while sneaking
around, or shine your torch through a window and get busted. In the day,
you can be quieter but you also have to be more sneaky, if you’re seen,
it’s game over (Marc Explo, September 2010).
 
The  experience  of  testing  the  boundaries  of  the  body’s  capacity  for  “being  sneaky”  

is   an   “embodied   grounding   of   affective   potential”   (Saville   2008:   894)   that   allows  

the  explorer  to  play  with  places  and  make  them  personal  in  the  process.  Although  

fear,   or   any   other   strong   emotion,   is   something   that   can   be   imposed   by   external  

forces,   and   in   those   moments   we   may   choose   to   surrender   to   that   fear,   we   may  

also  take  the  agency  of  initiative  to  invite  playful  surrender  or  resistance  to  fear.  In  

the   production   of   fear,   the   agency   of   the   human   subject   is   undeniable,   especially  

where   the   catalyst   for   feeling   is   a   confrontation   over   control   with   those   wild  

unregulated   entities.   By   meeting   them,   “the   impossible   recedes,   like   a   horizon,  

never   sets,   like   a   sun.   But   as   it   recedes   other   regions   of   the   world   appear”  

(Massumi,  1997:  761),  new  sites  to  hack  in  our  search  for  the  becoming  body  meld.  

In   confronting   that   fear,   in   discovering   new   worlds,   we   also   begin   to   unravel   the  

mysteries  of  the  things  that  connect  us  all  in  the  city.    

The  meld:  urban  bodies  

“The city is made and made over into the simulacrum of the body, and the body, in its
turn, is transformed, ‘citified’, urbanized…”
– Elizabeth Grosz (1998: 31)
 
I   have   shown   that   urban   exploration   is   a   search   for   proximal   tactile   experiences  

located  at  the  porous,  pulsing  intersections  of  bodies  and  places  in  (re)discovered  

locations.  In  creating  relationships  of  meaning  in  off-­‐limits  locals,  urban  explorers  

understand   that   meaning   can’t   be   purely   conceptual   nor   purely   spatial,   that  

“meaning   is   generated   not   by   either   subject   or   object   but   in   the   space   between  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

them”  (Hetherington,  2003:  1938).  And  what  better  place  to  cultivate  those  deep  

in-­‐between  meanings  than  in  in-­‐between  urban  spaces?  

 
Figure  150.  The  author  experiencing  the  meld;  the  body  in  the  city  and  city  in  the  body,  the  River  
Westbourne,  London,  photo  by  author  

While  I  hope  it  is  now  clear  that  urban  exploration  is  a  deeply  embodied  practice,  

including   those   aspects   of   embodiment   that   tug   on   emotions   and   the   non-­‐

representational,  I  would  also  like  to  consider  the  connections  between  the  body,  

the   mind   and   the   city   to   push   forward   my   notion   of   the   place   hack   opening   the  

becoming   body   to   create   meld   moments.   As   I   will   demonstrate,   the   practice  

complicates  the  body  in  place/body  out  of  place  binary  (Cresswell,  1996)  to  create  

moments  of  dissolved  embodiment  where  the  place  hacker  enters  the  system  and  

melds   into   the   liminal   matrix.   Here,   “the   dominating   body   is   dissolved   –   consumed  

by  its  own  capacity  for  chaos  and  transformed  into  a  becoming  body”  (Lyng,  2004:  

370)   and   the   city   itself   “puts   the   moves   on   us...   The   places   where   we   are   located  

inhabit   us   as  subject   positions”  (Hetherington,   2003:   1943).   In   this   section,   I   will  

also   return   to   the   use   of   photographic   technology   in   the   practice,   again,   not   as   a  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

mediating  device  threatening  embodied  subjectivity,  but  as  a  technological  bodily  

appendage  that  further  collapses  binary  oppositions,  following  Jean  Rouch  (2003:  

99,  184).    

A  case  study  in  draining  

“If we take London, for example, there is a great story to be told about the unmapped
and untraceable water supply and sewerage networks that dwell underneath the city…”
– Kaika and Swyngedouw (2000: 136)
 

 
Figure  151.  1930  London  drain  map  used  by  the  LCC,  image  via  http://www.sewerhistory.org    
 
As   the   LCC   continued   our   assault   on   the   urban   security   of   London,   we   also   often  

travelled   internationally   to   meet   with   other   explorers   now   that   we   had   gained  

international   recognition   for   our   work.   We   increasingly   found   ourselves   inside  

various   cities,   including   Paris.   In   December   2010,   myself,   Winch,   Otter   and   Marc  

delved   into   the   Paris   sewer   system,   chasing   the   ghost   of   the   Parisian   eccentric   and  

urban   photographer   Félix   Nadar,   using   the   work   of   urban   geographer   Matthew  

Gandy  as  a  roadmap  for  exploration  of  the  system  (Gandy,  1999).  Félix  Nadar  was  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

a  photographer  who,  at  the  time  he  was  working,  sought  to  make  a  photographic  

record  of  what  many  saw  as  modernity’s  finest  achievement  –  the  mechanisation  

of  the  urban  metabolism  in  the  form  of  the  Paris  Sewers.  

The   radical   infrastructural   transformations   between   1850   and   1870   that   Nadar  

was   photographing   were   provoked   by   a   massive   population   spike   that   led   to   a  

cholera  epidemic,  flanked  by  typhus,  requiring  a  radical  infrastructural  solution.  In  

Paris,   the   construction   of   the   sewers   that   still   exist   were   that   solution;   a   utopic  

promise   to   urban   dwellers   plagued   by   disease   in   the   19th   century.   The   urban  

infrastructure   that   delivered   salvation   thus   became   popular   tourist   destinations,  

including   Abbey   Mills   and   Crossness   Pumping   Station   in   London   as   well   as   the  

Paris   sewers,   where   boat   rides   were   offered   down   the   stream   of   the   combined  

system.    

For   contemporary   urban   explorers   in   London   and   Paris,   the   period   when   Nadar  

was   doing   photographic   work   in   subterranean   Paris   is   a   crucial   one.   During   that  

time,   both   of   the   drain   networks   were   built   to   the   rough   configuration   in   which  

they  remain,  the  work  of  urban  planners  and  engineers  like  Joseph  Bazalgette  and  

Baron   Haussmann.   Nadar   was   fascinated   by   these   changes,   as   well   as   all   things  

subterranean,   and   spent   a   great   deal   of   time   photographing   the   Paris   catacombs  

and  sewers,  leading  many  urban  explorers  to  think  of  Nadar,  and  his  contemporary  

John   Hollingshead   in   London   (Hollingshead,   2009   [1862]),   as   the   first   “drainers”  

(The  name  Félix  Nadar  was  even  a  pseudonym!).  

265  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  152.  Victorians  in  Abbey  Mills  Pumping  Station,  London,  1868,  image  via  
http://ragpickinghistory.co.uk  
 

 
Figure  153.  Explorers  in  Abbey  Mills  pumping  station,  London,  2011,  photo  by  author  
 

266  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  154.  The  Paris  sewers,  photo  by  Otter,  Winch  and  author  
 

267  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

These   early   construction   projects   impressed   a   public   who   eagerly   awaited  

technological   emancipation   and   Hollingshead   and   Nadar   were   there   to   render  

those  constructions  transparent.  However,  Kaika  and  Swyngedouw  point  out  that  

as   people   found   themselves   working   even   longer   hours   under   increasingly  

monotonous   conditions,   a   realisation   dawned   that   these   technologies   had   not  

delivered  on  their  promises  of  liberation  from  class  oppression  but  rather  simply  

relegated  more  of  their  time  to  work.  As  a  result,  “the  mess,  the  dirt,  the  underbelly  

of   the   city,   both   socially   and   environmentally,   became   invisible   and   banned   from  

everyday  consciousness”  (Kaika  and  Swyngedouw,  2000:  135)  and  “underground  

sewerage   pipes   were   not   revisited”   (Kaika   and   Swyngedouw,   2000:   134)   in   an  

effort  to  promote  yet  a  new  promise  –  the  networks  were  no  longer  to  be  revered  

but   ignored.   In   the   language   of   the   “new”   promise   for   freedom   from   suffering,   in  

the   machine-­‐slick   language   of   architects   like   le   Corbusier,   “the   perfect   house  

became   individual,   clear,   pure,   functional   and   safe   for   the   inhabitant,   protected  

from  the  anomie  and  the  antinomies  of  the  outside  and  the  underneath,  the  urban”  

(Kaika  and  Swyngedouw,  2000:  134).    

It  was  no  coincidence  then  that  these  systems  were  buried  and  forgotten.  Due  to  

long-­‐perceived  associations  of  subterranean  space  as  unhealthy,  unclean  and  evil,  

citizens   held   a   multitude   of   beliefs   that   “engendered   an   obsession   with   fissures,  

interstices  and  imperfect  joinings  [for]  these  are  the  sites  of  contact  through  which  

mephitic  exhalations  filter  out”  (Corbin  1986:  26  referenced  in  Pyke,  2005:  229).  

The  construction  of  these  systems,  as  well  as  the  waning  interest  in  seeing  them,  

led   to   the   mysterious   mythologisation   of   urban   infrastructures,   viewed   only  

occasionally   where   seams   fractured.   It   wasn’t   until   the   early   21st   century   that  

urban   explorers   began   systematically   re-­‐exposing   these   hidden   urban   networks,  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

showing   the   world   what   had   been   disappeared   underground   materially   and  

symbolically.  This  is  not  an  insignificant  legacy.  

 
Figure  155.  Furtle  inside  the  Colossus  of  the  South,  Brighton,  photo  by  author  and  Furtle  
 

Historically,   these   imperfect   joinings   between   the   city   and   the   subterranean,   when  

cracked  open,  were  seen  as  analogous  to  a  flesh  wound,  the  broken  skin  now  ripe  

for   bidirectional   infection,   the   urban   body   as   host,   the   city’s   innards   a   ripe  

contamination   zone.   John   Hollingshead,   whilst   traversing   London’s   sewer   system  

in  1861,  noted  that  “a  piece  of  ordinary  rust  or  of  moist  red  brick  is  soon  pictured  

as  a  trace  of  blood”  (Hollingshead,  2009  [1862]:  4).  Entry  into  subterreanea  soon  

became   acceptable   only   for   rats   and   criminals,   those   who   were   already   seen   as  

polluted   bodies,   depicted   in   countless   books   and   films   such   as   Les   Misérables  

(Hugo,  1987)  and  The  Third  Man  (Reed,  1949).    

 
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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Yet  we  see  the  contemporary  resurgence  in  the  interest  in  these  pulsing  interstitial  

nodes  through  the  words  of  Canadian  urban  explorer  Michael  Cook,  though  unlike  

the   Victorians,   he   sees   these   cracks   as   opportunities   rather   than   infection   zones.  

Cook  writes,  

The built environment of the city has always been incomplete, by omission
and necessity, and will remain so. Despite the visions of futurists, the work
of our planners and cement-layers thankfully remains a fractured and
discontinuous whole, an urban field riven with internal margins,
pockmarked by decay, underlaid with secret waterways. Stepping outside
our prearranged traffic patterns and established destinations, we find a city
laced with liminality… We find a thousand vanishing points, each unique,
each alive… (Cook quoted in Manaugh, 2009: 63).

Cook’s   writing   hints   at   the   possibility   that   the   structure   of   the   city   doesn’t   just  

“seem”  alive,  it  is  alive.  If  architecture  and  the  built  environment  is  a  reflection  of  

what   we   know,   then   it   comes   as   no   surprise   that   we   have   constructed   our  

buildings,   our   cities,   as   corporal   simulacra.   Descending   into   Cook’s   “vanishing  

points”,   we   enter   the   city’s   bloodstream   and   begin   to   witness   our   effects   on   the  

urban   metabolism,   melding   body   with   machine.   Mr.   Hollingshead,   our   Victorian  

London  drainer,  had  such  an  encounter  while  venturing  into  a  drain  under  a  house  

he   once   owned   in   London’s   West   End.   He   wrote   that   he   “felt   as   if   the   power   had  

been   granted   me   of   opening   a   trap-­‐door   in   my   chest,   to   look   upon   the   long-­‐hidden  

machinery   of   my   mysterious   body”   (Hollingshead,   2009   [1862]:   62).   The  

connection   between   his   own   body   and   the   drain   that   contained   the   contents   of   his  

body   is   no   fortuitous   correlation.   In   the   Tyburn   River   we   stood   underneath  

Buckingham   Palace.   Siologen,   turning   to   look   at   the   other   drainers   on   the  

expedition,  said  “boys,  you  may  never  have  tea  with  the  queen  of  England  but  you  

can   now   say   you’ve   stood   in   her   shit”   (Siologen,   January   2011).   Sewers   are   the  

great   class   leveller.   As   Kaika   and   Swyngedouw   write,   these   radical   urban  

reconfigurations   were   packaged   with   promises   by   urban   planners   that   an  

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egalitarian   human   liberation   awaited   us   behind   each   public   works   project,  

bringing  order,  health,  safety  and  freedom  from  excessive  labour.    

The disempowered were bound to finally enter the paradise of

technological freedom if only they would be patient and hardworking
enough to serve the god of technology for an undefined and indefinable
length of time. Freedom was promised at each turn of the corner, to be
relentlessly frustrated again by the next promise (Kaika and Swyngedouw,
2000: 125).  

Figure  156.  The  author  and  Marc  Explo  at  "Unibrow",  London,  photo  by  author  and  Marc  Explo  

There   are   two   ironies   here   in   regard   to   liberating   technologies.   The   first   is   that  

where   Nadar,   at   the   tail   end   of   the   19th   century,   was   taking   photographs   at   18-­‐

minute   exposures,   technological   advancements   in   photography   allow   us   to   now  

take  sharper,  more  detailed  photos  in  20-­‐30  seconds  of  the  same  sewer  network.  

So   it   is   essentially   yet   another   advancement   in   technology   allowing   us   to,   once  

again,  make  those  networks  visible,  along,  of  course,  with  the  desire  to  do  so.  The  

camera   also   acts   as   a   prop   lending   legitimacy   to   the   presence   of   the   explorer,  

under   terms   understandable   to   police,   property   owners   and   security   guards   (oh  

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me,   I’m   just   an   artist)   as   much   as   it   acts   as   a   recording   device.   As   a   strategy,   the  

camera   as   appendage   to   the   urban   body   is   a   “double   game   which   consists   [of]  

acting  in  conformity  with  one’s  interests  while  giving  the  appearance  of  playing  by  

the  rules”  (Bourdieu  and  Lamaison,  1986:  113).  The  camera,  whether  still  or  video,  

is   another   aspect   of   the   meld   taking   place,   between   bodies   and   space   where   we  

enter   each   other.   Where   contemporary   consumerism   continues   to   offer   the   same  

fictitious  technological  liberation  seen  in  the  19th  century  (life  will  finally  be  easy  

once  you  buy  the  new  MacBook!),  as  with  the  city,  we  appropriate  that  technology,  

hack  it,  rework  it  and  rebuilt  it  in  our  image,  democratising  through  the  meld.    

Secondly,   and   maybe   slightly   more   bizarrely,   is   the   fact   that,   as   the   engineering  

wonders   of   the   19th   century   are   slowly   being   revealed   by   urban   explorers   in  

London,   Paris,   Moscow,   Milan,   Minneapolis,   New   York,   Stockholm   and   Tokyo,   a  

new  type  of  fetishism  is  emerging  within  the  urban  exploration  “scene”  for  those  

urban  planners  and  engineers  who  built  these  systems.  In  London  for  instance,  the  

respect   for   the   work   of   Sir   Joseph   Bazalgette,   who   designed   the   beautiful   self-­‐

cleaning   egg-­‐shaped   brick   sewer   networks,   has   led   to   the   creation   of   a   Facebook  

page   for   him, 51  and   multiple   explorers   adding   him   as   their   “father”.   Before  

expeditions  into  the  sewers,  Bazalgette  will  many  times  “bless”  the  expedition  on  

Facebook  and  he  is  often  invoked  while  in  the  networks,  toasted  with  champagne  

at   each   drain   party   as   “J-­‐Bizzle”   (Video   9   –   IDM   2011,   3:25).   In   both   cases,  

continued   technological   development   allows   for   a   changing   urban   relationship,  

though,   importantly,   those   technologies   are   perhaps   being   used   in   way   not  

intended  by  their  developers,  they  have  been  hacked.    

                                                                                                               
51
http://www.facebook.com/#!/sewerfresh (accessed 3rd February 2011).

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  157.  An  1864–65  photo  by  Félix  Nadar  of  the  Paris  Sewers,  image  via  (Gandy,  1999)  
 

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Figure  158.  A  2011  LCC  reshoot  of  Nadar's  1865  photo,  Paris,  photo  by  Otter,  Marc  Explo  and  the  
author  
 
If  “cybernetics  is,  as  Norbert  Wiener  declared,  the  revision  of  information  through  

the   exchange   of   information”   (Sennett,   2008:   np)   and   the   moments   of   encounter  

between   our   bodies   and   the   urban   infrastructure   alter   either   physical   structure   or  

mental   conceptions   where   “…the   body   (as   a   cultural   product)   transforms,  

reinscribes   the   urban   landscape   according   to   its   changing   (demographic,  

economic,   and   psychological)   needs,   extending   the   limits   of   the   city,   the   sub-­‐

urban”  (Grosz,  1998:  35),  then  Matthew  Gandy  is  right  to  assert  that  the  “emphasis  

of  the  cyborg  on  the  material  interface  between  the  body  and  the  city  is  perhaps  

most   strikingly   manifested   in   the   physical   infrastructure   that   links   the   human  

body  to  vast  technological  networks”  (Gandy,  2005:  28).    

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  159.  The  father  of  London  draining,  Sir  Joseph  Bazalgette,  image  via  
www.thameswater.co.uk

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  160.  The  author  hacking  Bazalgette’s  hidden  legacy,  the  River  Westbourne,  London,  photo  
by  author  
 

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Returning   to   chapter   1,   where   I   encouraged   a   broader   conception   of   the   urban,  

once  again  here  we  see  that  urban  exploration  melds  boundaries  between  nature  

and  culture  where  “wildness  (as  opposed  to  wilderness)  can  be  found  anywhere;  in  

the   seemingly   tame   fields   and   woodlots   of   Massachusetts,   in   the   cracks   of   a  

Manhattan   sidewalk,   even   in   the   cells   of   our   own   bodies”   (Cronon,   1995:   89).  

Again,   looking   to   Bourdieu,   this   awareness   challenges   the   social   conditioning  

“inscribed   in   the   body   of   the   biological   individual”   (Cresswell   1999:   177   quoting  

Bourdieu  and  Lamaison,  1986).  According  to  the  work  of  Kaika  and  Swyngedouw,  

by   revealing   the   hidden   infrastructure   of   the   city,   we   challenge   the   modern  

propensity   to   “fetishise”   these   hidden   infrastructural   networks   (Kaika   and  

Swyngedouw,   2000).   Or   maybe,   in   light   of   our   elevation   of   particular   urban  

planners   as   sort   of   urban   exploration   deities,   we   fetishise   them   in   new   ways,  

hopefully   more   transparently   and   democratically   through   the   meld   that   pays  

reverence  to  their  communal  contributions.  

Returning  to  our  central  notion  of  place  hacking,  hacking  a  system,  be  it  virtual  or  

biological,   natural   or   cultural,   will   inevitably   result   in   the   hack   affecting   the  

delivering   agent   as   well   as   the   intended   recipient   system.   This   is   how   cities   and  

systems  become  living,  become  animated.  As  David  Pinder  writes,  “exploring  ‘the  

meaning   of   living   in   a   city’   at   this   time   is  crucial   politically”   (Pinder,   2005a:   399,  

original   emphasis).   At   the   heart   of   this   search   for   differential   place   is   a   call   for  

urban   dwellers   to   become   actors   rather   than   spectators,   to   affect   change   rather  

than   simply   witness   it   (Dickens,   2008a:   27).   This   is   the   point   at   which   urban  

exploration   is   undeniably   political   and   the   hackers   themselves   deeply   vulnerable  

when  working  the  edge.  The  explorer,  whilst  hacking  the  system,  must  also  open  

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themselves   to   danger,   peril   and   possible   confrontation   with   authority.   Exploration  

is  always  a  complicated  exchange,  a  surefire  shakeup.  

Sewers  contain  a  steady  stream  of  biological  packets,  full  of  data  connecting  nodes,  

throbbing   veins,   arterial   chambers.   The   data   bloodstream,   like   light-­‐driven  

information  packets,  connect  cyborgs,  “hybrid  creature[s],  composed  of  organism  

and  machine”  (Haraway,  1991:  1).  Beyond  the  designation  of  the  cyborganism,  its  

defining  characteristic  being  a  propensity  to  slip  the  net  of  “a  world  structured  by  

boundaries   and   enclosures   to   a   world   dominated,   at   every   scale,   by   connections,  

networks,  and  flows”  (Mitchell,  2003  quoted  in  Gandy  2005:  32),  is  a  possibility  for  

transplantation,   a   symbiotic   bilateral   exchange   of   potentiality.   Here,   “the  

boundaries  between  the  organic  and  the  inorganic,  blurred  by  cybernetic  and  bio-­‐

technologies,   seem   less   sharp;   the   body,   itself   invaded   and   re-­‐shaped   by  

technology,  invades  and  permeates  the  space  outside,  even  as  this  space  takes  on  

dimensions  that  themselves  confuse  the  inner  and  the  outer,  visually,  mentally  and  

physically”   (Vidler,   1990:   37,   quoted   in   Gandy   2005:   28)   where   “’thought-­‐as-­‐

imagination’   departs   from   the   actual,   dips   into   the   fractal   abyss,   then   actualizes  

something  new”  (Massumi,  1992:  101).  What  is  it  that  is  new  here  you  ask?  Well  

nothing   more   than   an   animation   of   the   inanimate,   a   tangible   hauntology,   an  

acknowledgement  that  building  forms  spring  out  of  historical  contingencies  –  but,  

given   enough   time,   they   may   create   their   own   form   of   subjectivity   (Vanderbilt,  

2002),   aided   by   our   own   technological   appendages   through   the   meld   urban  

explorers  invoke  by  opening  interstices.  Drains  are  material  manifestations  of  our  

dreams   (including   nightmares)   but   also   regulators   of   our   physical   potentiality   as  

protectors  of  modern  human  existence,  the  physical  flow  of  our  very  being.    

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Figure  161.  Biological  packets,  Hydra  and  Marc  Explo,  quarries  of  Paris,  photo  by  author  

Let  us  again  reinforce  the  role  of  embodiment  here,  (under)grounding  the  theory.  

Referenced  in  each  photo  we  snap  are  moments  of  not  just  conceptual  but  actual  

encounters   that   take   place   between   urban   bodies   and   urban   infrastructures,  

leading   to   the   designation   of   urban   infrastructure   as   urban   body.   The   result   of  

those   bodily   encounters   is   the   construction   of   those   webs,   flows,   and   exchanges  

that   create   communities,   ideas   and   cyborganisms,   new   junctions   of   awareness   and  

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possibility  that  stir  up  the  whole  mess,  jumping  over  the  3rd  rail  after  midnight  and  

spending   hours   trying   to   get   a   door   open   with   a   putty   knife   only   to   find   it’s   an  

empty  closet.  The  urban  explorers  Deyo  and  Leibowitz  write  that  “our  cities  have  

become  so  complex,  so  overwrought  with  layer  after  layer  of  complexity,  that  there  

is  really  no  one  person  who  understands  how  all  the  layers  work  together”  (Deyo  

and  Leibowitz  2003:  153)  but  that  while  exploring,  “in  the  diamond  clarity  of  fear  

we  find  the  difference  between  speculations  and  experience,  between  philosophy  

and   science.   It’s   the   difference   between   reading   about   the   George   Washington  

Bridge   and   climbing   it”   (Deyo   and   Leibowitz   2003:   211).   The   urban   explorer,   after  

a  deep,  long  and  intimate  association  with  the  hidden  features  of  the  city,  can  begin  

making   connections   between   places,   connect   whole   networks   and   actually  

reconfiguring  conceptions  of  connections.    

Figure  162.  Crowding  the  edge  of  fear,  Mountrouge,  photo  by  author  

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Whether through the physical acts of observing and infiltrating a site,

considering the lives of people who formerly occupied a space or
embracing the physical sensations and emotions that one can experience
in urban space, urban explorers’ actions seem to counter some of the
alienation of contemporary life in which vital infrastructure is hidden and
denied (McRae, 2008: 96).

The   actual   hand-­‐wrought   work   of   constructing   and   deconstructing   that   fabric  

reveals   a   physicality   conjoined   with   virtuality   that   is   “anarchic   [in   it’s]   non-­‐

identical   proliferation”   (Luckhurst,   1997:   128,   quoted   in   Gandy   2005:   30)   and  

infectious   in   its   resonance,   where   the   everyday   urban   inhabitant   can   once   again  

enable   themselves   to   embed   personal   investment   into   those   infrastructural  

networks   and   marginalised   spaces,   inscribing   places   through   place   hacking.   The  

city   is   a   reflection   then   not   only   of   the   physical   body   but   of   the   sprawl   and  

limitations   of   human   consciousness   and   technical   ability,   a   potential   now  

augmented   by   the   machines   we   have   created,   to   be   ingested   and   spun   into   new  

forms   within   our   lifetimes,   some   inconceivable   to   us   now.   Urban   infrastructure,  

although   restricted   by   capital   investment   and   spatial   constraints,   is   also  

constrained   and   fortified   by   a   human   imagination   of   the   deepest   chaotic   order,   it’s  

operation  and  moments  of  rupture  as  fragmented  as  urbanity  itself.    

Elizabeth   Grosz   argued,   in   1996,   that   computers   would   change   the   way   the   city  

was  structured  as  we  built  infrastructural  systems  not  modelled  upon  machinery  

but  upon  virtual  systems.  However,  were  not  both  mechanical  functions  (compare  

the  piston  and  valves  of  the  heart)  and  cybernetic  circuitry  (the  CPU  as  brain)  both  

modelled   on   the   body?   Does   not   the   evolution   of   those   artificial   bodies   influence  

our   biological   bodies   (for   instance,   consider   the   effect   of   indoor   plumbing   on   the  

body)?   Does   the   conjunction   of   those   bodies   and   spaces,   industrial   machines   as  

appendages,   computer   hardware   as   corporal   augmentation,   not   create   new   hybrid  

bodies   which   will   influence   the   infrastructure   of   cities?   Will   those   imperfect  

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joinings   that   the   Victorians   feared   infect   and   augment   through   their   mephetic  

exhalation   as   promised?   If   Grosz   is   right,   then   the   body’s   limbs   and   organs   will  

become   interchangeable   parts   with   the   computer   and   with   the  

technologicalization  of  production  (Grosz,  1998:  36).  With  this  optimism,  we  may  

“instead  of  demonizing  technologies  assess  their  promise  and  those  of  new  bodily  

configurations   [afforded]   by   them   in   terms   of   the   extent   to   which   they   promote  

and   preserve   the   space   of   differentiation   that   makes   our   corporeal   exchanges  

possible”  (Weiss,  1999:  6  quoted  in  Whatmore  2002).  

Figure  163.  Outmoded  infrastructure,  useless  organ,  Control  Room  A,  Battersea  Power  Station,  
London,  photo  by  author  

Urban   explorers   operate   at   the   vanguard   of   the   exchange,   cracking   open   the   city  

and   exposing   the   joinings,   interstices   and   points   of   rupture,   killing   themselves   in  

the  process  through  the  necessary  exposure  to  urban  toxicity  and  celebrating  the  

monstrosities   of   capital   that   are   accelerating   our   relationships   and   potentialities,  

taking  down  the  earth  with  us.  Again,  turning  to  Edensor,  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  164.  User  Scott  electronically  hacking  lift  controls,  photo  by  Silent  Motion

Unable to insulate itself against these material intrusions, the body is

rendered porous, open to the impacts of matter, is a “threshold or passage”
characterized by “multiple surfaces open to other surfaces” through which
“strange substances” are able “to cross the subject’s own boundaries”
(Edensor 2007 referencing Fullagar, 2001: 179)

The  quarries  of  Paris  are  perhaps  the  best  Western  example  of  the  meld  to  be  had  

if   we   continue   along   the   path   urban   explorers   are   cutting.   The   quarries  

(catacombs)   are   a   place   where   humanity   has   become   intricately   interwoven   into  

the  informal  subterranean  urban  matrix.  Paris  culture  would  suffer  a  grave  setback  

with  loss  of  access  to  these  spaces  (not  that  such  a  thing  could  ever  happen,  they  

are   far   too   vast).   A   co-­‐addictive   symbiotic   relationship   has   been   built   over   nine  

centuries  where  the  populace  continually  hacked  the  closed  system  open  again  and  

again,   leading   to   a   consistent   rediscovery   of   stratigraphic   memorialisation   and  

renewal  that  is  now  layered  so  thick  with  history  and  culture  you  can  taste  it  in  the  

soil;  a  desire-­‐packed  midden  that  stains  the  tongue.  The  catacombs  are  proof  that  

just  as  virtual  social  systems  can  be  maintained  by  the  multitude,  so  can  physical  

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space  (Shea,  2011,  Garrett,  2011b).  The  symbioses  is  even  more  profound  in  places  

like  India  where  infrastructural  space  is  living  space  (see  Gandy,  2008),  in  Poland  

where  we  saw  people  colonizing  abandoned  military  ruins  or  in  Cambodia  where  

people  are  living  in  graves  (Kunthear,  2011).  These  places  have  lessons  to  offer  the  

neoliberal  city.    

Figure  165.  Marc  Explo  meditating,  quarries  of  Paris,  photo  by  Silent  Motion  and  author  

The  visual,  aural,  sensual  representations  created  on  explorations  and  temporary  

urban   residencies   created   in   closed   places   create   new   emotional   caches   which   can  

be  tapped  into  for  myth-­‐making  practices,  practical  applications  such  as  sabotage  

in   the   event   of   authoritarian   lockdown,   colonised   as   temporary   free   space,  

including   illicit   party   venues,   or   utilized   as   secure   shelter.   Increasingly,   simple  

imaginative  stimuli  that  reterritorialise  those  spaces  with  potential  feeds  not  only  

physical   constructions   but   imaginations.   As   a   result,   the   virtual   and   physical  

aspects   of   urban   exploration   become   increasingly   inseparable   as   one   network  

depends  on  the  other.  As  I  have  shown  throughout  this  thesis,  urban  exploration,  

despite  its  weavings  into  the  mythologies  of  the  sublime,  is  not  an  escape  from  nor  

a  transcendence  of  the  physical,  but  a  challenge  to  the  very  boundaries  of  deeply  

embodied  substance  dualisms  (Curti,  2008:  95).  

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Figure  166.  The  author  lying  in  the  bones  of  the  dead,  quarries  of  Paris,  photo  by  author

Urban  exploration  stimulates  an  awareness  that  the  city  is  more  like  a  sponge  than  

a   solid   mass   of   paved   streets   and   architecture,   more   like   a   body   than   a   machine.  

Cities   are   spikes   and   sinkholes;   the   surface   is   porous.   Relocated   conductive  

material   urban   fabric   facilitates   emotional   and   sensory   flow,   the   bloodstream  

becoming   a   conduit   for   sublime   affective   registers   in   infinite   doses.   Overdose  

always   being   a   possibility,   we   teeter   on   the   brink,   doing   our   edgework,   which  

pushes   the   boundaries   in   impossible   directions,   creating   delicious   psychological  

architecture.   We   come   back   again   and   again   to   the   cities   we   love,   our   tolerance   for  

exposure   to   the   pain   of   the   meld   growing   each   time,   our   possibility   for  

transcendence  of  what  is  offered  growing  with  each  ascent  and  descent  taken.  

But   what   of   the   opposite   exchange   on   the   symbiosis?   Returning   to   our   colleague  

Félix   Nadar   –   how   did   his   photographs   influence   the   function,   form   and  

representations   of   that   Parisian   bloodstream?   How   do   the   technological  

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accelerations   that   allow   myself,   Winch,   Otter,   Marc   Explo   and   countless   other  

explorers  to  recreate  Nadar’s  work  and  spin  replicative  experiential  simulacra,  in  

distinct   imbricating   temporal   iterations,   begin   to   mutate   those   systems?   Perhaps  

this   is   where   the   accusations   of   urban   exploration   being   primarily   a   spectator  

sport   (High   and   Lewis,   2007,   Bennett,   2011)   fall   embarrassingly   flat.   Urban  

exploration   can   never   be   purely   representational   or   apolitical.   The   work   of   the  

London  explorers,  just  like  those  drainers  of  150  years  ago,  opened  closed  systems.  

Urban  explorers  reveal  the  framework  and  recode  the  urban  landscape  daily  with  

every   scaffolding   scaled   and   every   alarm   disarmed.   Drainers   reveal   not   only   the  

cracks   and   gaps   that   exist   through   the   representations   they   produce   but   expand  

those   cracks   and   gaps   through   repeated   exploitation   and   exploration.   Urban  

exploration,   training,   craning   and   draining   realises   potentials   for   “cyborgian  

conceptions  of  the  city  to  emphasize  the  continuing  political  salience  of  the  public  

realm”  (Gandy,  2005:  41).    

Predator’s  call  for  “public  access  to  public  works”   (Predator,  ND)  is  a  call  for  open  

source   urban   coding   through   embodied   infiltration.   Now   that   explorers   have  

touched  that  voidspace,  felt  where  it  can  take  them,  and  published  that  wonder  for  

others  to  see,  where  the  environment  is  written  in  closed  code,  new  generations  of  

urban  explorers  will  hack  it  until  it’s  open  source  again  as  in  the  quarries  of  Paris.  

Touching,   feeling,   doing   and   experiencing,   the   real   bodywork   behind   urban  

exploration,    

…has the capacity to dissolve boundaries, to make proximate that which

was far away, and in doing so not only rearrange our metaphysics of
intimacy and distance, but pose a danger to any and all systems of order
that rely upon distinction and separation. These bodies ‘resist, exaggerate,
and destabilize distinctions and categories that mark and maintain
bodies’… ‘signifying pleasure and desire as sites of insurgency’ (Dixon
and Straughan 2010: 454, referencing Springgay, 2003)

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In   our   last   and   final   chapter,   I   will   discuss   the   political   turmoil   that   arose   from   our  

increasingly   brazen   forays   into   the   city   and   use   those   reflections   as   a   point   of  

departure   to   discuss   the   most   pressing,   and   perhaps   exciting,   issue   facing   urban  

exploration  today  –  what  is  going  to  happen  next?  

 
Figure  167.  The  author  exploring  the  Paris  Metro,  learning  the  city  from  the  inside  out,  Paris,  photo  
by  author  
 

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Chapter  6  –  Pedestals  built  on  crumbling  stone  

“Exploration is a political act.”

– Alistair Bonnett (1996a:  7)  
 

 
Figure  168.  Brosa  wiggling  through  a  security  loophole,  Abbey  Mills  Pumping  Station,  London,  
photo  by  author  
 
As   I   have   shown   throughout   this   thesis,   though   there   is   an   extensive   social   history  

of   seeking   out   off-­‐limits   spaces.   Like   most   contemporary   urban   explorers,   “Team  

B”   began   as   a   group   through   exploring   abandoned   hospitals   and   industrial   sites.  

The   crew   quickly   finished   what   there   was   to   see   in   greater   London   and   then  

ventured   into   Europe   to   continue   discovering   new   places,   eventually   pushing  

ourselves  to  our  existential,  embodied  and  emotional  breaking  points  by  sleeping  

in  ruins  for  weeks  on  end,  overindulging  in  urban  toxicity  and  searching  for  more  

visceral  connections  to  historic  places.  After  exploring  the  Burlington  government  

bunker  in  Wiltshire,  we  joined  with  London  “Team  A”  at  Marc  Explo’s  29th  birthday  

party   on   top   of   King’s   Reach   Tower,   reforged   the   group   as   the   LCC   and   began  

infiltrating  utility  and  transportation  tunnels  under  the  city  together.   Returning  to  

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London,   the   group   explored   a   vast   majority   of   London’s   drainage   systems  

including   what   used   to   be   the   Fleet,   Westbourne,   Effra   and   Tyburn   rivers,   now  

sewer   networks   harnessed   by   the   beautiful   brickwork   of   the   Victorian   engineer  

Joseph  Bazalgette  and  the  builders  who  made  his  plans  a  reality,  all  of  whom  the  

group  began  to  feel  particularly  connected  to  across  four  centuries.  As  a  result,  the  

group   became   increasingly   melded   into   the   fabric   of   the   city   and,   not  

unproblematically,   enraptured   and   inspired   by   those   Victorian   creations   and  

imagery.   As   we   then   moved   from   one   component   of   infrastructure   (sewers)   to  

others   (bunkers,   utility   and   transportation   networks),   the   group   largely   failed   to  

interrogate   the   increasing   subversiveness   of   their   activities   by   vehemently  

denying   any   political   agenda   or   dogmatic   motivation   in   favour   of   a   continuing  

chase   for   unique   photographic   opportunities,   sensory   and   emotional   indulgences  

and   community   projects.   However,   as   I   have   shown,   where   I   may   point   to  

overarching   driving   imperatives,   it   is   just   as   problematic   to   attempt   to   reify   a  

coordinated   explorer   ethos,   individuals   simply   followed   their   own   desires,   did  

their  own  edgework.    

By   2011,   the   group   had   climbed   London’s   most   notable   construction  

developments,   cranes   and   rooftops   including   Heron   Tower,   Strata,   New   Court,  

Eagle   House,   Temple   Court,   100   Middlesex,   Lantern   Court   and   the   Shard.   As   a  

newly  organised  urban  exploration  collective,  we  together  pushed  the  boundaries  

of   London   urban   exploration   to   a   point   never   before   seen,   sneaking   into   the  

London   Underground   to   relocate   and   photograph   every   disused   underground  

station  in  the  system.  By  the  summer  of  2011,  the  Consolidation  Crew  was  in  full  

swing,  sometimes  in  the  city  four  or  five  nights  a  week,  cracking  new  sites  almost  

every   time   they   went   out.   The   list   of   places   the   group   wanted   to   infiltrate  

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dwindled.   However,   a   few   places   remained   in   mid-­‐to-­‐late   2011.   First   was   the  

London  Mail  Rail,  a  disused  Post  Office  underground  railway  system.  Next,  the  BT  

deep   level   tunnels,   the   central   nervous   system   for   British   Telecom.   Finally,   the  

most   daunting   challenge:   the   unmapped   and   highly   secure   government   bunkers  

connecting  Whitehall,  Parliament  and  Scotland  Yard.  The  group  knew  that  if  they  

relocated   those   final   places,   they   had   the   opportunity   to   earn   worldwide   respect  

for   the   discoveries.   Most   importantly   though,   they   could   feed   their   increasing  

addiction  to  the  adrenaline  rush  of  live  urban  infiltration  and  novel  discovery.    

 
Figure  169.  The  group  cracked  Tube  stations  never  previously  explored,  Brompton  Road  disused  
station,  London,  photo  by  “Gary"  
 
As   a   researcher,   I   negotiated   my   own   edgework,   walking   a   line   between   being  

elated   that   I   was   a   part   of   such   an   incredible   series   of   events   and   terrified   we  

would   finally   be   caught   on   one   of   our   escapades.   Leading   up   to   the   secure   file  

storage   and   my   involvement   in   our   London   Underground   infiltrations,   I   was  

becoming   progressively   paranoid   about   potentially   losing   my   visa   to   stay   in   the  

country  if  arrested  by  the  British  Transport  Police  or  worse,  military  police.  I  was  

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also   beginning   to   get   involved   in   other   movements   in   London   such   as   squatting,  

students  protests  and  eventually  Occupy  and  was  becoming  increasingly  frustrated  

that  many  in  the  group  continued  to  want  to  operate  in  isolation,  acting  as  if  their  

actions  were  not  beginning  to  overlap  heavily  into  other  critical  urban  practices.  I  

was  also,  of  course,  just  as  addicted  to  the  adrenaline  rush  of  what  we  were  doing  

as  everyone  else  and  had  trouble  sideling  it,  no  matter  how  logical  the  rationale.    

 
I  was   becoming   mentally   unstable,   sleeping   all   day,   running   underground   all   night  

under   high   stress   and   then   trying   to   sit   in   the   library   writing   all   day.   I   could   not  

find  a  balance  anymore  between  my  life  in  the  LCC  and  my  life  as  a  researcher  on  a  

long-­‐term  research  project.  So,  I  made  a  very  difficult  decision  to  leave  London  to  

write   this   thesis   over   the   summer   of   2011.   In   hindsight,   it   was   surely   the   best  

move  I  could  have  made.  As  a  crew,  we  were  becoming  bolder  with  each  success  

and   it   was   obvious   at   some   point   we   would   be   caught.     Days   before   I   left,   Winch  

called   and   asked   if   I   wanted   to   go   for   one   more   exploration   in   Clapham,   a   fitting  

goodbye   given   I   spent   most   of   my   time   there.   As   we   walked   up   to   the   one   of   the  

Clapham   bunkers,   I   was   surprised   to   see   the   palisade   fencing   had   been  

disassembled.  When  we  walked  down  the  30  meters  of  stairs  into  the  deep  shelter,  

there  were  dozens  of  explorers  in  attendance  from  all  over  the  UK,  in  attendance  to  

see  me  off.  It  was  one  of  the  best  nights  of  my  life,  reaffirming  for  me  everything  

we   had   built   together   and   everything   I   was   walking   away   from.   Getting   on   the  

plane   to   Los   Angeles,   leaving   the   LCC,   was   very   difficult   for   me   and   in   one   final  

gesture  to  the  crew,  I  left  the  keys  behind  to  my  squat  in  Clapham  and  told  them  to  

make   good   use   of   it.   They   immediately   occupied   the   building,   dubbed   it   the  

“Brad:pad/Team  B  war  room”  and  started  planning  the  last  three  “epics”  without  

their  ethnographer.  

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Figure  170.  The  author  with  Drainpipe  at  my  leaving  party,  Clapham  bunker,  London,  photo  by  
Cogito  
   

 
Figure  171.  The  author’s  squat  in  Clapham,  converted  into  the  Brad:pad/Team  B  war  room,  
London,  photo  by  Cogito  
 

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The  myth  of  the  Mail  Rail  decoded  

“Revolutionary movements to not spread by contamination but by resonance.”

– The Invisible Committee (Committee, 2009)
 
As  the  LCC  research  and  explored  one  London  Underground  station  after  another  

in  2010  and  2011,  we  also  become  aware  of  a  separate  system  of  nine  stations  far  

below   the   city   used   by   the   Post   Office   to   transport   letters   across   London.  

Supposedly,   it   was   now   mothballed   and   could   somehow   be   accessed,   though   we  

had   no   idea   how.   However,   on   Halloween   2010,   ravers   temporarily   occupied   a  

massive   derelict   Post   Office   building   and   hosted   an   illegal   party   of   epic  

proportions.   When   pictures   from   the   gathering   emerged,   we   were   astonished   to  

find  that  a  few  of  them  looked  to  be  of  a  miniature  rail  system  somehow  accessed  

from  the  building.52  

Silent   Motion,   Winch,   Statler   and   myself   snuck   into   the   building   a   day   later.   Statler  

and  Winch  kept  watch  while  Silent  Motion  and  I  wedged  our  bodies  between  two  

walls   and   wiggled   up   to   an   open   window   on   the   first   floor.   It   was   absolutely  

ravaged   inside.   After   hours   of   snooping,   we   finally   found   what   we   thought   might  

be   a   freshly   bricked-­‐up   wall   into   the   mythical   Mail   Rail   the   partygoers   had  

inadvertently   found.   We   went   back   to   the   car   and   discussed   the   possibility   of  

chiselling  the  brick  out.  We  decided  that,  given  how  soon  it  was  after  the  party,  the  

place  was  too  hot  to  do  that  just  now  and  we  walked  away,  vowing  to  try  again  in  a  

couple  of  months.    

About   a   month   after   I   had   left   London,   I   got   a   message   from   Statler   that   said,   “I  

think   we   found   it   mate”   (Statler,   via   Facebook   message,   April   2011).   A   day   later,  

                                                                                                               
52
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/nov/07/underground-rave-culture-recession-facebook
(accessed 8th November 2010).

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pictures   were   up   on   the   forum.   They   were   beautiful.   The   crew   had   found   a  

complete  system  of  nine  stations  underneath  London,  full  of  small  trains  or  “mini  

yorks”   used   to   move   mail   around   the   city.   Statler   wrote   on   the   forum   that   “it's  

unreal  how  this  hadn't  been  done  before,  I  mean  all  the  access  info  was  online  via  

sub-­‐brit   (Subterranea   Britannica)   and   all   it   involved   was   a   little   bit   of   climbing”  

(Statler,   UIS   forum   post,   April   2011)!   It   was   a   clear   indication   that   as   much   as  

urban   exploration   is   about   skill,   it   is   also   about   luck   and   persistence.   The   stories  

emerging   were   like   something   out   of   the   Royal   Geographical   Society   Archives,  

miles  of  tunnels  running  right  underneath  central  London  that  almost  no  one  knew  

about.   The   crew   made   multiple   trips   into   Mail   Rail   in   June   and   I   asked   them   to  

write  about  their  experiences.  “Gary”  wrote  that  himself,  Otter,  and  Site  made  the  

journey  from  Paddington  to  Whitechapel.  Including  the  journey  back,  they  walked  

roughly  eight  miles  of  tunnel.  He  continues,  

The tunnels become tighter approaching the stations, meaning stooping

was required at regular intervals throughout the trip. Towards the eastern
end of the line, calcium stalactites were more abundant, hanging from the
tunnel ceilings, and gleaming under the fluorescent light. This produced a
very real feeling of adventure, like we were in an Indiana Jones movie, in
some kind of mine or cave system with wooden carts and the smell of
damp throughout. During this first of my two trips, the feeling of surreal
adventure was most prominent and the constant reminder that this
incredible piece of infrastructure was indeed underneath the centre of
London was a bizarre realisation. The stations themselves had an air of
secrecy to them. Hearing the distant echoes from some of the live sorting
offices above (particularly Rathbone) was exciting yet comforting (though
others found it rather unsettling; it’s funny how different sounds/situations
provoke different reactions when exploring) and emphasised the fact that
we really had wiggled our dirty little fingers into one of the myths of
subterranean London, peeling it back for all to see (“Gary”, via email,
April 2011).

Inside  the  Mail  Rail,  Ercle  wrote  that  it  was  almost  comical,  “it  felt  like  we  were  

inside  a  model  railway  (with  it  bearing  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  full  sized  

tube)”  (Ercle, via email, April 2011).  Statler  added,  

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Figure  172.  Accessing  a  holy  grail,  London,  photo  by  Silent  Motion  
 

 
Figure  173.  Mothballed  subterranean  industry,  London,  photo  by  Statler  

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It was hot, sweaty, dank, wet…. it smelt like a mouldering hospital in parts
and was pretty cramped in the tunnels. The stretch between Liverpool
Street to Whitechapel was a real neck breaker in places and a long walk
probably around 45 minutes. There were also a lot of calcium stalactites
that would snap off in your face and hair it was obvious that people hadn’t
been in the tunnels for a very long time. The same goes for the stretch
between Bird Street and Paddington which was also another long walk of
small diameter tunnels (Statler, via email, April 2011).

Although  accessing  the  system  was  no  easy  feat,  like  many  places,  once  inside  Ercle  

writes   that   “the   threat   of   security   felt   a   very   long   way   off   for   all   but   one   of   the  

stations”   (Ercle, via email, April 2011),   even   whilst   dodging   CCTV   cameras,  

reinforcing   my   comments   in   chapter   3   that   once   past   the   liminal   zone   of   motion  

sensors,   security   guards   and   cameras,   explorers   are   relatively   free   to   do   as   they  

please   in   derelict   urban   spaces,   one   of   the   liberating   elements   of   the   practice.  

Badman  described  the  ways  in  which,  

Unlike the usual stress of Tube exploration, we were all totally relaxed,
free to chat and enjoy ourselves as it got later and later into the night. It
was a luxurious experience and was reminiscent of the feeling of
exploration when I first began; pure admiration of my surroundings
(Badman, via email, April 2011).

For  four  days,  the  crew  went  back  again  and  again,  running  longer  down  the  lines  

to  additional  stations,  turning  down  security  cameras  and  occasionally  setting  off  

alarms  and  then  scurrying  out  of  the  system  before  anyone  arrived.  Finally  on  the  

fourth   night,   their   luck   broke   and   Statler,   Patch   and   Winch   were   busted.   Winch  

tells  the  story:  

After enduring a tense period on the street waiting for a period of

inactivity both within the large compound and outside, the three of us
swiftly made our way over the wall and down the shaft, pleased with
ourselves for such a well executed entry. Having continually checked for
unwanted attention and seeing nobody, we assumed we were safely in.

"Right lads, stay where you are. The police are on their way. You're
fucked". Postman Pat was bellowing down the shaft at us. In a second we
froze, before hastily dropping down ladders and finding a bolted door, a
ladder that had previously assisted access to other parties now nowhere to
be seen.

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Figure  174.  Tunnel  vision  in  the  Mail  Rail,  London,  photo  by  "Gary"  

Figure  175.  Mini  York  trains  in  the  Mail  Rail,  London,  photo  by  Patch  

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The door seemed impenetrable, nothing there to assist the 20ft climb. The
frame being metal it flexed enough to squeeze a hand through and unbolt
the door. We ran to the tunnels. Entering the pitch black we stopped for a
second to take stock, aware that going down the wrong tunnels could take
us away from our intended destination where we had a car parked, roughly
a mile away.

We trod quickly and carefully, finding a pitch black station to exit from
maybe 20 minutes later. No time to hang around, just an opportunity to
exit through a door onto the street and away from the now screaming
alarm, away from the Mailrail that would no doubt be crawling with police
soon.

Back at the car, we packed our kit away and headed back to collect our
other vehicle. A Police van flew past, sirens blazing, blue lights on. We
breathed a sigh of relief. We could have been fucked. Postman Pat could
have been right.

By our access point was 3 police cars. We collected the other car and
departed, having arranged to meet “Gary” at a nearby station for some
other activities in the area.

An hour or so later, the city was crawling. Police cars bolted up and down
side streets, combing the area for those they'd assumedly seen on CCTV.
We met with Otter and [Siologen] too, and congregated on a non-descript
street to arrange ourselves. Sirens blazed. A van buzzed down the street.
The siren stopped. The van stopped. The questions started. Postman Pat
and Mrs Goggins arrived. “I've seen him on CCTV. And him. And him.
Arrest them all, we've got all of them.”

The instinct is usually to depart pretty sharp after an 'on top' situation like
the one we'd just found ourselves in. The other desire is to stick around to
see what happens. We just made bad decisions. They'd seen the CCTV
from the last 4 nights and were hiding behind the access, waiting for
somebody to come. Getting seen there wasn't the problem, it was sticking
around in the same part of the city that we'd just caused problems in.

It was Siolo's smooth talking to the police that ultimately saved us a night
in the cells - by the end Postman Pat and Mrs Goggins were annoying the
police more than we were and we were told to leave and not come back,
having been searched.

Collectively we've achieved a lot in 2010, and even more so far in 2011.
It's time to take stock, look at some of the decisions we make and see
where we can make better ones. Getting out of the city would have been
the best decision to make last night, but it was the desire of the group to
see more, do more and ultimately push the boundaries that resulted in the
bust. We're not all invincible, we do get caught from time and time and to
avoid it, we need to learn how to minimise the likelihood of it (Winch, UIS
forum post, April 2011).
 

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The  crew  was  let  off  with  a  warning  from  Met  police  officers  who  told  them  that  

they   knew   what   the   group   had   been   up   to   and   with   the   royal   wedding   of   Kate  

Middleton  and  Prince  William  taking  place  in  just  weeks,  advised  us  to  stay  out  of  

the  underground  –  divers  would  be  placed  in  the  sewers  and  lids  welded  because  

of  the  LCC’s  nightly  activities.53    

Figure  176.  Snappel,  Urban  Fox  and  Siologen  in  the  Mail  Rail,  London,  photo  by  Urban  Fox  

                                                                                                               
53
http://tvnz.co.nz/royal-wedding/robust-security-plan-4143132 (accessed 28th April 2012).

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Otter  was  the  first  to  post  the  story  of  the  Mail  Rail  on  his  blog.  It  hit  a  number  of  

major   news   providers   within   hours   and   went   viral,   pulling   in   millions   of   hits  

across   the   globe   and   crashing   his   website.   The   LCC   was   splashed   all   over   the  

Internet   for   weeks,   leading   to   another   backlash   from   the   wider   community   and  

dejection   amongst   the   crew   as   people   realised   the   list   of   places   left   to  explore   was  

dwindling   and   the   pressure   on   authorities   to   stop   us   was   now   increasing.   Otter  

wrote  in  his  post,  “in  a  way,  its  with  a  bit  of  sadness  I  write  this,  when  your  group  

has   conquered   the   best   location   a   city   or   country   has   to   offer,   those   remaining   will  

often  seem  tame  by  comparison.”  54  A  few  explorers  made  comments  to  the  effect  

that  “London  was  dead  now”  and  there  was  “nothing  left”,  while  Patch  contended  

that  “there  will  always  be  more  to  explore,  this  isn’t  about  places  guys,  it’s  about  

experiences”  (Patch,  UIS  post,  April  2011).  

Soon  after,  the  crew  also  found  their  way  into  the  Kingsway  Telephone  Exchange  

and  BT  deep   level   tunnels  which  Silent  Motion,  Statler  and   I   had   scoped   sometime  

earlier.  However,  as  with  the  secure  file  storage,  the  location  was  too  sensitive  to  

share   and   after   the   negative   press   from   Mail   Rail,   the   crew   kept   those   photos  

internal.  It  was  yet  another  indication  of  how  the  group  dynamic  had  changed  over  

the   past   few   years,   becoming   increasingly   insular.   It   was   clear   that   the  

photographic  aspects  of  the  practice  now  had  far  less  to  do  with  group  motivations  

for  exploring  than  the  experience  of  cracking  new  sites.  The  list  of  locations  to  be  

done  was  a  list  of  places  no  urban  explorers  had  ever  even  considered  breaching,  

leading   Patch   to   suggest   “we   are   not   urban   explorers   anymore,   just   participants   in  

recreational  criminality”  (Patch,  October  2011).    

                                                                                                               
54
http://www.silentuk.com/?p=2792 (accessed 13th August 2011).

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We   got   inside   information   soon   after   the   Kingsway   breach   that   the   incident   was  

being   investigated   by   the   London   Metropolitan   Police   Criminal   Investigation  

Department   (CID).   “Gary”   then   wrote   “fuck,   if   it   was   cid...   guys   we're   getting   into  

serious  UE  now”  (“Gary,  UIS  forum  posting,  June  2011).  Despite  the  Mail  Rail  bust,  

everyone   was   incredibly   energized   again.   The   last   places   on   the   list   were   the  

abandoned   British   Museum   Tube   Station   and   the   secret   government   bunkers.  

There   is   no   doubt,   looking   back   from   the   safety   of   hindsight,   that   the   group   had  

lost   our   sense   of   what   they   could   reasonably   get   away   with.   At   the   same   time,   it  

was  clearly  liberating  to  experience  that  level  of  existential  freedom,  to  feel  we  had  

that  we  were  confounding  multiple  police  forces,  outstripping  them  at  every  turn.  

The   group   had   so   intimately   fused   everyday   life   with   deeper   desires   to   do   the  

impossible   that   we   had   completed   reformulated   our   relationship   with   the   city   and  

ourselves.  

 
Figure  177.  Recreational  criminality,  London,  photo  by  Patch  
 
   

301  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

House  of  cards  

"You might not see things yet on the surface, but underground, it's already on fire"
– Y.B. Mangunwijaya (Klein, 2000: cover)

Figure  178.  An  error  in  the  code,  London,  photo  by  author

By   the   Spring   of   2011,   after   infiltrating   the   secure   file   storage,   the   London  

Underground,   the   BT   Tunnels,   the   Olympic   Stadium,55  St   Pauls   Cathedral,56  the  

British   Museum,57  the   Shard,   and   especially   Otter’s   million-­‐hit   post   on   the   Mail  

Rail,   security   started   tightening   up   around   the   London   in   a   severe   way.   In   fact,  

Patch  had  found  a  report  online  from  a  consulting  firm  for  Transport  for  London,  

advising  them  of  the  need  for  a  £240,000  overhaul  of  security  “following  a  review  

of   vulnerable   access   points   across   the   network   by   London   Underground   Ltd”,  

where   “the   review   identified   a   number   of   locations   where   works   were   required   to  

prevent   individuals   from   gaining   unauthorized   access   through   surreptitious  

                                                                                                               
55
http://www.adventureworldwide.net/stories/olympic-sized-ambitions (accessed 2nd January 2012).
56
http://www.partoftheplan.org/2011/06/st-pauls-cathedral.html (accessed 2nd June 2011).
57
http://eofd.co.uk/512/night-at-the-museum-rooftopping-the-british-museum (accessed 2nd June 2011).

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

means”.58  I  verified  what  the  Met  Police  had  told  the  crew  at  the  Mail  Rail  bust,  not  

only   had   we   gained   access   to   all   these   places,   but   the   Met   and   British   Transport  

Police   knew   we   were   seeing   them.   We   imagined   they   were   probably   angry,  

stumped   and   interested   in   what   we   were   doing   given,   unlike   graffiti   writers,   we  

left   little   evidence   we   had   been   there   and   were   not   even   posting   photos   online  

anymore.   The   group   would   soon   find   out   the   authorities   were   more   interested  

than  we  knew.    

Holidays  were  a  good  time  for  the  crew  to  infiltrate  especially  difficult  sites,  given  

most  workers  took  time  off  then,  including  security.  On  Easter  day,  weeks  before  

the  royal  wedding,  two  separate  groups  went  out  to  explore  two  locations.  We  still  

needed   access   to   the   British   Museum   abandoned   station,   the   last   on   our   list   of  

Tube   locations   to   complete   the   set.   A   few   of   the   explorers   had   found   that   by  

squeezing   through   a   vent   shaft   into   a   utility   closet,   access   could   be   gained   to  

Russell   Square   station   (which   was   live).   By   then   running   down   the   escalator   and  

across  the  platforms,  through  the  station  after  closing,  down  the  Piccadilly  Line,  on  

to  Holborn  and  then  switching  through  the  tickets  halls  to  the  Central  Line  tracks  

(past  dozens  of  CCTV  cameras),  they  could  make  it  to  British  Museum.  They  went  

for  it.  Unfortunately,  someone  at  central  control  was  actually  watching  the  cameras  

and  saw  the  group  of  four  running  across  the  platform  at  Russell  Square  masked  

up   and   dressed   in   black.   The   police,   including   an   anti-­‐terrorism   unit,   showed   up,  

arrested  everyone  and  did  a  bomb  sweep  of  the  station,  shutting  down  first  service  

from  Russell  Square  the  next  morning.59 Patch  wrote  me  later  saying,    

                                                                                                               
58
http://www.theclancygroup.co.uk/casestudies/52/ (accessed 11th May 2011).
59
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13409831 (accessed 30th May 2011) and
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/terror-alert-at-77-tube-station-blamed-on-four-urban-explorers-
6397538.html (accessed 29th May 2011).

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

The most hilarious bit though was when we were initially arrested and the
guy asked us what we were doing, I said just looking around and taking
photos and he was like "bollocks mate you're activists, people don't take
photos in tunnels" (Patch, via email, April 2011).
 
At   the   same   time,   Silent   Motion   was   at   Adelaide   house,   an   excellent   rooftop   for  

photos   over   the   Thames   near   London   Bridge,   when   he   was   spotted   by   a   security  

guard,   who   rushed   and   grabbed   him   as   he   tried   to   climb   the   hoarding   to   get   out   of  

the   site.   When   the   police   showed   up,   the   security   guard   claimed   that   Silent   Motion  

had   “assaulted”   him.   On   the   back   on   the   Mail   Rail   bust,   as   well   as   a   few   other  

detentions,  the  police  connected  Silent  Motion  with  CCTV  footage  in  the  Kingsway  

Telephone  Exchange  and  the  whole  story  started  to  unravel.  It  was  now  clear  that  

authorities   in   London   knew   who   we   were,   what   we   were   doing,   and   were  

determined   to   put   an   end   to   it.   Within   48   hours,   multiple   explorers   had   their  

houses  raided.  Laptops,  cameras,  keys,  maps,  tools  and  costumes  were  seized  and  

CCTV  footage  matched  to  specific  individuals.  All  at  once,  blog  posts  were  linked,  

aliases   unravelled   and   the   whole   thing   came   toppling   down.   It   was   incredible  

actually  how  fast  it  happened  –  it  was  clear  we  all  had  files  before  the  busts.    

As  we  tried  to  quickly  change  the  passwords  on  our  web  forum  before  the  police  

arrived  at  the  squat,  Ercle  joked  that  “I  find  it  ironic  that  for  a  group  dedicated  to  

finding   holes   in   security,   we   are   struggling   so   much   with   our   own”   (Ercle,   via  

email,  May  2011).  In  the  end,  the  crew  took  down  the  domain  as  the  police  were  

kicking  in  the  door  of  the  Brad:pad/War  room  in  Clapham.  Patch  wrote  about  his  

end  of  the  experience  in  an  email  to  all  of  us  from  a  public  computer,  

As you may know myself and some of our friends spent a day at her
majesty's pleasure in relation to being caught in the tube trying to get to the
final abandoned station on the list. As a result we've had our homes and
our parent's homes turned over and phones, computers, cameras,
photographs, negatives, memory cards and various other bits seized by the
Major Investigations Team, including photos of MR [Mail Rail] and KTE
[Kingsway Telephone Exchange]. We've been bailed and are to surrender
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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

at various times on Friday to either be re-arrested/re-bailed in light of new

evidence or charged on the spot. Luckily [LutEx] was not with us at the
time but witnessed the Brutish Transport Pigs arriving and managed to
report what had happened back to you via the forum. Its also my
understanding that [Silent Motion] was also detained on the same day for
something different initially but was later further arrested for something
that affects many of us including 3 quarters of the party I was arrested
with. Fortunately [Statler] realised that with the BTP and City having
seized 5 phones and at least 5 computers they could easily access the
forum if any of us had autologin ticked so he managed to pull the domain
name. This wouldn't have happened instantly but the site was unreachable
by 11am yesterday when I checked on a friend's computer. As a secondary
measure I have made an offsite backup of the server and database then
completely wiped both from the hosting account as my FTP is set to
autologin on my laptop. I've also changed my passwords for emails, msn,
flickr (and removed relevant images) etc so the only evidence of the places
we've been they'll have from me at least is the photos on my computer and
the prints they seized. Unfortunately despite removing most of the
incriminating material I fear this won't be totally sufficient to avoid
involving more of you in the investigation(s), as every phone seized on
Monday probably has texts on it that will at least hint at some of your
involvement in the tube/KTE explorations. There are also chat logs from
IM conversations as well as group photos in locations on our computers.

I don't really know what to suggest you guys do next if anything or if you
should even be worrying as much as I am (some of you clearly have
nothing at all to worry about), but I thought I should keep you updated
about what I know to at least give you some chance to prepare for a knock
at the door, as well as to notify you of the forum's situation. I'm hoping to
go and see [Silent Motion] tonight to find out what happened to him - I
haven't had an answer from his phone so assume it has been seized. Our
bail conditions include a 2300-0600 curfew and a ban from being in non-
public parts of the tube network so I'll be at the [squat] every night at least
until Friday if anyone wants to come up and chat more about it (Patch,
April 2011).    
 
Weeks   later,   Patch   (who   was   now   on   bail),   Hydra,   the   Badman   and   Uselesspsychic  

went   back   into   the   Mail   Rail   and   started   one   of   the   electric   trains.   In   what   Patch  

described   as   “one   of   the   most   exhilarating   moments   of   my   life”   (Patch,   May   2011),  

they   rode   it   four   miles   down   the   tracks   where   they   ran   into   a   track   not   set  

properly  and  derailed  the  train.  The  damage  was  minor  but  by  then,  the  police  had  

surrounded   the   building   and   all   four   explorers   were   arrested.   In   the   police  

interview,   Badman   and   Patch   informed   me   the   police   investigators   pulled   out   91  

pages  of  writing  from  my  blog.  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  179.  Infiltration  paraphernalia,  Team  B  War  Room,  London,  photo  by  author  

 
Figure  180.  Some  keys  open  more  doors  than  others,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
 
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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

I   later   verified   this   in   October   2011   when   I   returned   to   London   and   saw   Patch’s  

indictment  in  a  2-­‐inch  binder.  The  evidence  log  read:    

“MG6C ITEM 7. 91 pages of the website http://www.placehacking.co.uk,

describing the acts of photography in abandoned buildings and Tube
stations including the mail rail."

All  four  explorers  from  the  Mail  Rail  arrest  ended  up  in  Crown  Court  by  November  

2011,   facing   quite   serious   charges   of   damage   to   government   property   and  

aggravated   vehicle   taking,   which   I   attended,   having   returned   to   London.   Looking  

back  to  Marc’s  comments  in  chapter  4  about  the  fact  he  did  not  feel  a  need  to  be  

offered  “a  say”  by  the  state,  he  would  simply  do  what  he  wanted  with  or  without  

consent,  it  was  clear  that  our  actions  had  now  been  significant  enough  that  the  LCC  

was  on  the  “state”  radar,  our  subversive  methods  turning  transgressive.  In  fact,  the  

investigating  officer  complimented  us  on  our  tactics,  telling  us  we  were  “incredibly  

difficult   to   catch   in   the   act”   (Officer’s   name   withheld,   May   2011).   The   same  

investigator  later  told  Patch,  “I  normally  deal  with  deaths,  muggings  and  suicides  –  

looking  through  your  photos  is  delightful  in  comparison”  (Officer’s  name  withheld,  

May   2011)!   By   this   time   the   squat   was   also   falling   through.   It   had   lasted   the  

summer   but   the   owners   were   finally   figuring   out   which   papers   to   file   to   get   the  

crew   out   of   the   property.   After   eviction,   the   group   cracked   two   more   squats  

including   one   worth   £1.2   million   in   Pimlico,   but   they   did   not   have   the   numbers  

anymore  to  hold  places  properly.  Eventually  everybody  moved  home.  

307  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  181.  The  boarded  up  Brad:pad/War  room  in  Clapham,  London,  photo  by  author  

 
 
 

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

At  the  same  time,  the  newspaper  articles  about  the  bust,  in  combination  with  our  

steady  stream  of  blog  postings  and  our  release  of  Crack  the  Surface  (video  10)  had  

turned  into  a  media  frenzy.  I  got  a  cold  call  from  the  BBC  World  Service  wanting  to  

do  a  story  about  the  Mail  Rail  postings.60  We  were  busier  than  ever  but  not  

exploring  as  we  used  to.  Winch  wrote  on  his  blog  in  May  2011,  

The last month has been a drag. Various arrests and police crackdowns has
nulled the wonderful spike of accomplishment we’ve had in the London
scene and with the Brad:pad gone, there’s an ‘end of an era’ vibe with
most that I’ve spent time with lately.

The subterrannea hasn’t been ventured into by myself in recent weeks.

Stories of terrorist alerts in the tube and the sewers, in both London and
New York [from another crew we were connected to], have concerned me
enough to give the city sub structure a wider berth than usual. Many places
that we’d previously have waltzed into have been neglected, the love of
these spaces tempered by what might happen in the event of authoritative
intervention.

We’ve hit so many places but again, we’ve missed so many too, through
demolition, completion, concreting up of access. This drying up of
aspiration within this section of the community must surely be the point
upon which we step back and look at the alternatives to traditional ‘urban
exploration’. Turning our playground into our living room has been an
aspiration for so long and taking hold of this mass of brick, glass and steel
and turning it into a space we can utilise for everything we could need
must surely be the next step in this wonderful urban adventure.61

By  the  time  I  had  returned  to  London  with  my  draft  thesis  in  hand,  the  crew  was  

not   venturing   into   the   Tube   network   much   anymore.   In   fact,   Silent   Motion   was   the  

only  one  still  living  in  London.  The  group  was  still  getting  together  often  and  one  of  

the   first   things   we   did   (after   they   threw   me   a   homecoming   party   in   the   Holborn  

Viaduct)  was  to  get  on  top  of  one  of  the  Barbican  towers.  The  crew  was  exploring,  

having   barbeques,   draining   and   climbing   buildings,   but   it   was   obvious   that   the  

Golden   Age   of   The   LCC   was   over.   2008-­‐2011   would   always   be   thought   of   as   the  

                                                                                                               
60
http://bbc.in/iz9eYL (accessed 12th Feb 2012).
61
http://www.thewinch.net/?p=2949 (accessed 12th Feb 2012).

309  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

years  urban  exploration  blossomed  in  the  city  and  I  was  proud  (and  lucky!)  I  was  

there  for  it.  But  our  work  had  also  left  behind  a  lot  of  wreckages.    

When  the  news  of  the  court  cases  hit  the  streets  and  the  London  Evening  Standard  

wrote   an   incredibly   negative   article   about   us,   implying   we   had   “broken   into”  

everything   we   explored   (which   was   not   even   remotely   the   case),  62  there   was  

another   huge   fallout   in   the   wider   UK   community,   similar   to   the   Burlington  

incident.   Other   explorers   started   calling   us   the   “London   Criminal   Collective”   which  

Patch   quite   liked.   Their   main   point   of   contention   was   that   it   appeared   we   had  

broken  into  some  locations  and  then  by  labelling  ourselves  as  a  “crew”,  we  painted  

the   wider   “community”   with   a   similar   brush   to   graffiti   artists   which   would   bring  

urban   exploration   more   to   the   fore   for   police   interventions.   The   explorer   Speed  

wrote   on   28  Days  Later   that   “theres   no   doubt   [about   what]   they   have   achieved   but  

what  they  have  also  done  is  build  themselves  a  pedestal,  a  pedestal  that  way  too  

high   and   built   of   crumbling   stone.”63  However,   Siologen   then   replied   to   the   post,  

saying,  

As for the activities of LCC... lol, bottom line is they did what no group of
explorers, in the 10 odd years UE has been going on in the UK has ever
done. They fucking rinsed the city of Greater London. Tube, Sewer,
Pipesub, MailRail, the lot. The reason its taken 10 years, is because its by
far the hardest. In 16 years of exploring, in a variety of different countries,
ive never encountered a city as hard to crack as London. But LCC did it...
as a 'crew'... because one person alone couldnt have done it (Siologen,
November 2011).64

   

                                                                                                               
62
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/urban-explorers-enter-londons-landmarks-6366652.html (accessed
12th Feb 2012).
63
http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=66190 (accessed November 2011, thread
removed as of January 2012).
64
ibid

310  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

The  alternative  

Throughout   this   thesis,   I   have   tried   to   sketch   out   a   rich   picture   of   what   urban  

exploration  is,  why  people  get  involved  and  why  it  might  be  important.  It  is  clear  

we   are   part   of   a   community.   However,   given   the   level   this   group   was   operating   on  

and   our   disconnection   from   the   rest   of   the   UK   communities,   whether   we   were  

urban   explorers   anymore   or   just   a   group   of   friends   “getting   up”   in   various   ways  

was  under  question.  Patch  wrote  on  his  blog  in  November  2011,    

We are not “Urban Explorers”.

Don’t go crying to whoever will read your 40+ pages of digital diarrhoea
about how our relentless assault on all things untouched above and below
London has “ruined it for everyone” – if the media and the law want to
confuse us, that’s unfortunate for you but of little interest to us. Yes, we’re
cunts. All we care about is ourselves. We don’t care if places get “locked
down”, if the heat is on you for something we did, or if you think its
selfish that we only told our friends that we’d opened somewhere up.

In short – its our doorstep, we’ll shit on it if we want to. We make no

apologies if you get splashed, you were probably standing too close.65
 
As  I  have  shown  throughout  this  thesis,  this  community,  as  much  as  there  is  one,  

does  operate  by  loose  consensus  but  there  are  drastically  different  views  as  to  how  

and   why   urban   explorers   undertake   their   practice.   “Team   B”   and   the   LCC   had  

discovered   more   than   any   group   in   London   history,   but   by   the   end   of   2011   we  

spent  as  much  time  throwing  parties  and  working  on  larger  projects  like  the  Crack  

the  Surface   film   (video   10)   as   climbing   cranes   and   going   in   drains.   When   I   asked  

Winch  about  it,  he  suggested  we  had  reached  a  point  that  people  needed  to  move  

onto   “urban   exploration   alternatives”   (Winch,   December   2011)   including   illegal  

parties  and  film  screenings,  street  art,  graffiti,  urban  camping  and  squatting,  all  of  

which  felt  like  exploration  as  well  on  some  level  after  what  we  had  been  through    -­‐  

it   was,   as   Winch   said,   “just   friends   getting   together   to   do   exceptional   things”  

(Winch,   December   2011).   The   scene   was   fragmenting   in   different   directions,  

                                                                                                               
65
http://not-legit.net/423 (accessed 12th December 2011).

311  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

partially  because  we  had  rinsed  the  city  but  also  because  we  had  found  our  edge  

and   realised   that   the   edge   was,   as   Statler   had   said   earlier,   “up   to   the   individual”.  

The   urban   exploration   “scene”   in   the   UK   had   become   a   battleground   for   control  

over  how  that  practice  would  be  perceived  and  remembered.  Of  course,  my  blog,  

journal   publications   and   this   thesis   also   became   points   of   contentions   and   will  

likely  remain  so.  

With   these   things   in   mind,   it   is   worth   revisiting   these   tales   of   urban   exploration   to  

again   consider   the   rise   and   fall   of   the   LCC   and   the   London   Golden   Age   of   urban  

exploration,   both   what   it   meant   at   the   time   and   why,   in   hindsight,   it   may   also  

appear  significant.    

   

312  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  182.  The  author  hiding  from  drivers  in  the  Metro,  Paris,  photo  by  author  

 
Figure  183.  The  author  lying  on  the  tracks  in  the  Arsenal  disused  station,  Paris,  photo  by  author  
 
 
 
   

313  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Future  fragmentation  

“Well, if it were easy kid, everybody would do it.”

–James Coughlin, The Town (2010)
 

 
Figure  184.  Watching  the  Bonfire  Night  fireworks  from  a  chimney  of  Battersea  Power  Station,  
photo  by  author  
 
The  urban  infiltration  scene  was  so  enticing  to  everyone  during  the  London  Golden  

Age   because   no   one   really   knew   what   was   happening,   it   was   a   period   of  

accumulated   frustration   unleashed   on   the   city,   fuelled   by   a   collective   of   close  

friends   who   put   an   amazing   amount   of   effort   into   their   work   over   those   years.  

Questions   about   what   urban   exploration   was   and   would   become,   who   would   get  

involved,  why  it  was  happening,  what  its  boundaries  were  and  when  and  where  it  

would   end   were   still   being   probed.   No   one   knew   how   to   make   money   out   of   it,   the  

crew   did   it   for   the   love   of   doing   it   (with   the   exception   of   myself   who   arguably   was  

the  only  one  making  a  living  from  our  exploits).  The  feeling  that  it  was  for  us  and  

that  we  were  writing  the  rules  as  we  went  along  was  incredibly  empowering.  Many  

in  the  group  expressed  a  growing  deep  admiration  for  the  city  as  they  explored  it.    

314  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Over   the   period   of   the   Golden   Age,   urban   exploration   became   the   subject   of  

countless  pop-­‐cultural  speculations  and  attempts  at  co-­‐option,  ranging  from  a  new  

model   of   Converse   shoes 66  to   amateur   documentaries 67  to   an   iPhone   app 68  

(hundreds   of   abandoned   locations   just   $2.99!).   Most   attempted   to   capitalise,  

perversely,   on   the   2008   financial   crisis   by   dressing   up   dereliction   as   something  

marketable   and   hip,   especially   where   it   can   be   transmuted   into   “art”,   with   urban  

explorers  as  the  artists  in  residence;  but  it  was  just  another  face  of  gentrification  

(Butler,   2003,   Harris,   2011).   The   tropes   of   urban   exploration   became  

multitudinous  and  infuriating  –  endless  Flickr  photos  of  guys  in  their  mid-­‐twenties  

venturing  from  their  gentrified  suburb  to  “explore”  something  dangerous  (usually  

in   Detroit),   some   husk   of   a   building   left   behind   in   the   wake   of   economic  

devastation  where  they  were  going  to  “get  in  touch  with  its  history”.    

However,   what   I   experienced   with   the   London   explorers   indicates   more   than   a  

bizarre  subcultural  group  hobby  or  passing  fad.  What  the  group  built  together  was  

a   deeply   bonded   community   of   people   committed   to   a   very   specific   set   of   goals,  

importantly,   built   not   on   the   desire   to   reap   wealth   or   fame   but   to   actually   see  

places  that  very  few  people  had  ever  seen  –  places  that  were  right  under  our  feet  in  

the  city.  The  amount  of  research  and  effort  required  to  access  many  of  these  places  

rivals  the  great  explorations  of  the  20th  century.  In  this  way,  urban  exploration  is  

connected  to  those  earlier  forms  of  exploration  that  have  been  taking  place  since  

pre-­‐historic  times,  perhaps  feeding  a  neural  desire  for  discovery,  but  it  also  spoke  

in   a   unique   way   to   this   specific   period   of   time,   as   I   have   shown.   While   we,   as   a  

crew,  clearly  pushed  some  boundaries  past  their  breaking  points,  explorers  of  all  

                                                                                                               
66
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoj7WEgzY7k (accessed  2nd  June  2011).
67
http://www.urbanexplorersfilm.com (accessed  2nd  June  2011).
68
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/abandoned/id328934720?mt=8 (accessed  2nd  June  2011).

315  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

calibres   raise   an   interesting   challenge   regarding   the   right   to   venture   into   public  

architecture   such   as   sewer   networks   in   the   cities   they   reside.   Where   late  

modernity   has   buried   these   systems   in   an   attempt   to   present   a   frictionless  

interface   that   is   to   remain   unseen,   unquestioned   and   taken   for   granted,   urban  

explorers,   as   active   participatory   citizens,   are   asserting   the   right   to   know   how  

these   things   work,   where   they   exist   and   what   they   connect   to.   They   are   then  

publicising  that  illegally  obtained,  localized  expert  knowledge  -­‐  leaking  it  into  the  

public  realm,  so  to  speak.    

It   is   an   interesting   question,   given   we   purportedly   live   in   an   open,   free   and  

transparent  democracy,  why  these  activities  should  be  seen  to  be  “transgressive”  

or   even   “subversive”.   While   exploration   of   the   “wilderness”   is   seen   as   noble   and  

even   a   “productive”   use   of   time,   exploration   of   the   “urban”   is   found   to   be  

threatening.  It  is  yet  another  example  of  a  weary  modernist  binary  of  in  place/out  

of  place  (Cresswell,  1996).  Whether  the  effort  of  the  group  reworked  that  binary  at  

all  by  showing  people  that  the  urban  environment  could  and  should  be  explored,  

that   it   was   worth   the   effort   invested,   remains   to   be   seen.   What   urban   explorers   do  

may  be  seen  as  challenging  to  authority  but  I  have  shown  here  the  goal  here  isn’t  

revolutionary.   The   kind   of   knowledge   and   experiences   that   urban   explorers   seek  

and   find,   hidden   in   plain   sight,   is   exciting,   empowering   and,   as   I   hope   I   have  

demonstrated,  ultimately  has  less  to  do  with  fetishising  the  aesthetics  of  decay  as  

popularly  perceived  and  more  to  do  with  creating  a  new  type  of  relationship  with  

place,  one  not  offered  but  taken.  It’s  a  project  of  enthusiasm  (Geoghegan,  2012),  an  

effort  to  connect  in  a  meaningful  way  to  a  world  rendered  increasingly  mundane  

by   commercial   interests   and   an   endless   state   of   “heightened”   security.   As   Patch  

says,   if   others   choose   to   interpret   the   actions   of   explorers   as   something   else  

316  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

entirely,   participants   ultimately   have   little   control   over   that.   But   the   recent   civil  

unrest  and  global  occupation  movements  in  cities  all  over  the  world  clearly  bely  a  

deep  societal  dissatisfaction  I  think  urban  explorers  are  also  a  product  of  and  that  

the  actions  of  urban  explorers  speak  to.  

 
Figure  185.  "Gary"  just  having  a  look,  Belgium,  photo  by  author  
 
As   I   outlined   in   Chapter   1,   what   explorers   are   doing   is   certainly   now   “new”   in  

many  ways,  but  perhaps  these  explorations  have  different  political  implications  in  

this  age.  Perhaps  those  fluctuating  inferences  say  less  about  urban  explorers  and  

more   about   the   state   of   purportedly   representative   democratic   societies   where  

civil   liberties   appears   to   be   rapidly   constricting.   It   is   interesting   that   as   far   back   as  

2003,  Liz  and  Ninjalicious  (2003:  2)  wrote  the  following:  

Allowing the darkening threat of future terrorist attack or indeed of our

increasingly scarce civil rights to deter our curiosity or intimidate us away
from expressing our deep appreciation for the hidden and neglected bits of
our urban landscapes would be the greatest crime of all. Continuing to
support considerate exploration and questioning authority in productive,
benevolent, and visible ways will allow us to represent ourselves as what
we really are: people who love our cities, not those who wish to destroy
them.

317  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  186.  The  Tribe,  King's  Reach  Tower,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
The   urban   exploration   community   perhaps   deserves   to   be   problematised   for   its  

lack  of  socio-­‐political  contextualisation  and  self-­‐reflection  or  for  the  failure  on  the  

part  of  individual  participants  to  interrogate  their  own  desires  to  capture,  collect,  

protect   and   control   information.   There   are   also   obvious   openings   for   critique   in  

regard  to  urban  exploration’s  historical  precedents,  fetishism  for  dereliction,  group  

smugness  that  can  lead  to  exclusionary  practices  and  powerful  but  contentious  use  

of  imagery  discussed  in  chapter  2.  However,  urban  exploration  is  also  an  important  

grounded  process  that  renders  the  city  legible,  transparent  and  within  reach  for  a  

wide  range  of  people  who  feel  excluded  form  its  productions  and  maintenance.  It  is  

a   practice   which   costs   nothing   but   produces   a   great   deal.   Urban   exploration  

reveals   a   potential   to   expose   latent   possibilities   locked   behind   smooth   glass,   metal  

and   stone.   It   reveals   new   worlds   above   and   below   us,   portals   to   other   worlds,  

feeling   and   modalities,   alternative   landscapes   and   hidden   places   behind   doors,  

fences  and  under  manhole  covers  we  pass  everyday.    

318  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  187.  It  took  a  crew,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

 
Figure  188.  Explorers  exhibit  deep  care  for  the  city,  derelict  barge,  London,  photo  by  Marc  Explo  
 
 

319  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  189.  Silent  Motion  climbing  the  impossible,  London,  photo  by  author  
 

320  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  190.  A  portal  to  our  city,  London,  photo  by  author  

321  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

While  I  am  cautious  about  overemphasising  the  social  and  cultural  impact  of  urban  

exploration   as   a   spatial   practice,   given   the   relatively   small   size   of   the   movement,  

and   insularity,   I   hope   to   have   demonstrated   throughout   this   thesis   that   urban  

explorers   are   doing   important   work   that   goes   beyond   the   production   of   slick  

media   spectacles.   While   it   can   be   argued   that   the   relatively   esoteric   comic   book-­‐

esque   multimedia   documentation   explorers   create   often   do   little   to   “document”  

places,  the  movement  has  coalesced  not  because  of  advancing  camera  technology  

or  Internet  facilitation  but  because  people  feel  a  need  for  these  experiences  right  

now.   Explorers   do   the   work   of   opening   closed   systems,   propriety   systems,  

corporate  and  government  (one  and  the  same)  systems,  poking  holes  in  the  urban  

security  fabric,  levelling  and  democratising  place  wherever  it  is  smoothed  over  by  

neoliberal   forces   assuring   safe   banality.   But   that   process   of   opening   up   is   not  

limited   to   place,   for   as   I   have   shown   places   are   also   constituted   socially.   So,   by  

looking   back   to   the   kinds   of   urban   explorations   I   discussed   in   chapter   3,   urban  

exploration   also   works   to   continually   pick   at,   unpack,   unwrap,   unfold   and  

complicate  clean  historical  narratives  by  searching  for  the  stories  not  told,  national  

and  political  ambitions  never  realised,  left  behind  in  rotting  buildings  and  decaying  

architecture.  

In   chapter   4,   we   turned   those   stories   around   to   address   the   perhaps   more  

narcissistic   or   selfish   components   of   the   practice   that   began   to   come   to   the   fore   as  

our  urban  exploration  crew  morphed  into  an  urban  infiltration  crew.    I  argued  that  

this   was   a   natural,   organic   progression,   for   as   we   continued   to   play   in   the   city,  

constantly   reconfiguring   the   boundaries   of   possibility,   new   edges   of   desire  

manifested  themselves  in  a  powerful  way,  within  us  as  individuals  experiencing  an  

ever   increasing   amount   of   freedom   in   the   urban   environment   and   skill   at  

322  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

interacting   with   it,   and   as   a   group   where   our   sense   of   community   gelled   in   a  

powerful   way,   giving   us   confidence   to   push   boundaries   harder.  With   each  

exploration,  the  confines  we  escaped  whilst  chasing  our  edge  also  often  collapsed  

those  boundaries,  shifting  the  dirty,  the  off-­‐limits  and  the  taboo  into  the  realm  of  

everyday  experience,  losing  ourselves  to  the  experience  and  to  places,  melding  our  

bodies   into   the   city   and   the   city   into   our   bodies,   collapsing   self,   other,   body   and  

architecture.  Others  followed.  Perhaps  in  the  process  we  also  began  to  lose  control  

of  ourselves,  of  our  faculties,  but  that  madness  was  also  liberating,  the  seduction  of  

being  overwhelmed  by  desire  in  a  way  that  people  outside  of  the  group  may  have  

found  startling.  

In   chapter   5   we   then   literally   moved   into   urban   infrastructure,   once   places   of  

public   interest   and   fascination   in   the   Victorian   West,   sites   for   a   potential   urban  

social   liberation   never   realised,   now   closed   systems   built   to   be   ignored.   Modern  

urban   explorers   have   done   the   work   of   rendering   those   spaces   once   again  

transparent   and   visible   through   bodywork   in   the   city.   By   opening   those   systems,  

and  opening  their  own  bodies  to  the  risk  of  being  inside  those  systems,  explorers  

take   important   steps   toward   reawakening   those   historical   imaginations   and  

conceptions   of   what   is   and   isn’t   possible   or   available   for   experience,   in   the   context  

today   of   an   increasing,   and   we   have   proven   largely   fabricated,   concern   over  

terrorism   and   urban   security   and   the   spectre   of   global   economic   and  

infrastructural   collapse.     While   our   activities   looked   increasingly   deviant   as   the  

years  passed,  that  is  of  course  a  view  from  the  outside  in  (Cresswell,  1996).  What  

we  succeeded  in  doing  from  the  inside  out  was  to  rewrite  our  social  conditioning,  

or   to   put   it   in   terms   of   the   hack,   we   rewrote   the   underlying   code   for   our   entire  

mental  operating  system.    

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Figure  191.  Patch  and  Otter  backcabbing  a  Metro  train,  Paris,  photo  by  author  
 

 
Figure  192.  A  view  we  can  never  see  again,  London,  photo  by  author  
 
 
 

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In   other   ways,   as   a   group   we   failed   to   rewrite   social   codes,   falling   victim   to  

exclusionary   practices,   elitism,   internet   fame   and   ultimately   ending   up   on   the  

wrong   side   of   the   law   after   making   some   unfortunate   decisions   based   on  

overconfidence.  This  process  was  not  a  binary  switch  from  impossible  to  possible  

but   a   meld   of   those   things   into   a   new   form   of   experience   which   defied   our  

expectations  of  what  could  be  done  and  should  be  done.  It  shifted  our  entire  notion  

of  what  was  important  in  life,  changing  the  emphasis  from  work,  careers  and  the  

pursuit   of   stable   family   life   to   an   existence   filled   with   exceptional   events   that  

challenged  and  provoked  us  day  after  day,  with  a  community  of  close  friends.  And  

this  is  the  most  important  point  to  take  away  from  what  you  are  reading.  As  urban  

explorers,  and  as  a  researcher  studying  urban  exploration,  the  group  did  not  talk  

about   what   could   or   should   be   done   or   theorise   new   possibilities,   the   group  

created  those  possibilities.  We  undertook  the  research  to  find  out  what  had  been  

lost   to   time   and   then   went   out   and   found   it   in   the   world,   real   work   that   took   place  

with  our  hands,  bodies  and  minds  as  a  community  we  built  together.  As  “Gary”  said  

to  me  “if  you’re  in,  you’re  in,  you  can’t  fake  this”  (“Gary”,  July  2011).  

   

To   summarise   what   I   have   attempted   to   demonstrate   in   this   thesis   under   the  

broad  banner  of  place  hacking,  a  term  that  eventually  came  to  encompass  the  full  

range   of   alternative   urban   project   the   group   undertook,   including   urban  

exploration,   infiltration,   illegal   parties,   squatting   and   generally   accomplishing  

whatever   the   group   had   the   desire   to   pursue   regardless   of   social   expectation   or  

legal  constraint,  it  is  worth  revisiting  the  notion  of    

…hacking as a constant arms race between those with the knowledge and
power to erect barriers and those with the equal power, knowledge and
especially desire, to disarm them (Coleman and Golub, 2008: 263).
 

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Figure  193.  Straddling  the  edge  of  the  forbidden,  photo  by  author  

Through   infiltrating   the   city,   urban   explorers   and   infiltrators   assert   that   equal  

right   to   power,   to   space,   to   history,   to   investment,   development   and   knowledge.  

Despite   the   fact   that   this   age   ended   with   arrests,   police   raids   and   seemingly  

endless  court  battles,  regret  is  rarely  expressed,  for  as  Patch  told  me,  

Brad, I have lived a life few people dream of and even fewer would aspire
to. So what if people think I’m a cunt? So what if I end up with a criminal
record? So what if it costs me my driver’s license, job or court fees? Do
you think for a minute that when I’m 70 and in a wheelchair I’m going to
look back and think “damn, I really wish I hadn’t driven the Mail Rail
train or seen Brompton Road station?” Not for an instant, I have loved
every second of this, even the busts (Patch, January 2012).    
 
The   attentiveness   to   time   and   space   is   evident   in   everything   urban   explorers   do,  

from  the  appreciation  of  sites  of  time  slippage  in  ruin  space  to  the  awareness  of  the  

fact  that  everything  they  undertake,  be  it  an  exploration  of  a  bunker  or  spending  

the  summer  in  a  squat,  is  temporary.  The  photography  of  these  temporary  spatial  

reappropriations  is  an  attempt  to  capture  and  share  that  experience  with  others,  to  

create   a   visual   mark   of   this   time   and   this   place,   with   reference   to   what   came  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

before,   what   will   come   after,   and   how   it   is   all   connected   through   us.   The   life   of   the  

urban  explorer  is  flavoured  by  the  awareness  of  the  past  and  future  but  is  always,  

first   and   foremost,   about   the   here   and   now.   Again,   turning   to   the   work   of   Coleman  

and  Golub  (2008: 264),  we  can  make  another  important  connection  to  the  modern  

hacker  community  where,    

The morality encoded in this form of hacker practice thus values the
process of piercing through locks, disarming security, accessing the
inaccessible, eliminating barriers, and reaching the pot of gold behind the
locked door – knowing full well that barriers will always come back in
some form.

Flipping through   my   completed   thesis,   I   asked   Urban   Fox   why   she   got   involved  

with   the   practice.   She   gave   me   one   simple   answer:   “mental   and   physical   barriers  

are   there   to   be   pushed”   (Urban   Fox,   January   2012).   While   I   feel   an   obvious  

compulsion  to  unpack  the  background,  theory  and  motivation  behind  this  practice,  

most  explorers  are  content  to  do  urban  exploration  because  they  can.    

 
Figure  194.  Probing  the  limits  of  the  urban,  London,  photo  by  Silent  Motion  

327  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Figure  195.  A  community  that  must  be  built,  Patch,  LutEx,  “Gary”,  Silent  Motion,  London,  photo  by  
author  
 

 
Figure  196.  Doing  exceptional  things  that  aren’t  on  offer,  “Gary”,  Winch,  Gigi  and  the  author,  
London,  photo  by  author  
 
 

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Explorers  of  all  creeds  have  been  doing  so  long  before  a  researcher,  filmmaker  or  

photographer  was  there  to  document  it.  The  desire  to  explore  is  inside  all  of  us  to  

some   degree,   perhaps   some   just   can’t,   or   refuse   to,   supress   it   at   the   whim   of   social  

expectation.    

With   this   all   in   mind,   it   may   be   worth   returning   to   my   comments   in   chapter   2  

about   my   role   as   a   researcher.   In   January   2012,   I   met   with   Marc   Expo   as   I   was  

rewriting  the  conclusion  to  this  thesis.  I  told  him  that,  as  I  wrote  earlier,  I  felt  I  was  

quite  lucky  that  I  met  “Team  B”  when  I  did  and  that  I  was  able  to  integrate  myself  

into  the  culture  as  I  had  done.  He  responded,  “Brad,  you  didn’t  integrate  yourself  

into   the   culture,   you   created   the   culture   so   that   you   would   have   something   to  

study”   (Marc   Explo,   January   2012).   Marc’s   comments   haunted   me   for   weeks.  

Although  I  think  most  of  what  happened  would  have  happened  with  or  without  me  

(as   evidenced   by   what   I   missed   over   the   summer   of   2011   while   I   was   away  

writing),  there  is  no  doubt  it  would  have  happened  in  a  different  way.  Perhaps  if  I  

had   not   started   this   research,   there   would   be   no   LCC.   Whatever   my   involvement  

triggered,   I   do   believe   it’s   a   vital   component   of   my   ethnographic   work   to  

acknowledge  that  role  in  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  “Team  B”  and  the  LCC.  It  was  the  

most  incredible  thing  I  have  ever  been  a  part  of,  this  alternative  urban  project.    

Although  the  end  of  these  tales  of  urban  exploration  are  not  exactly  cheerful,  this  

research   remains   a   celebration   of   urban   exploration   as   a   single   plateau   of  

community   creation   and   populist   practice,   echoed   by   hundreds   of   other  

community–building  processes  taking  place  all  over  the  world  right  now.  I  believe  

that  when  we  look  back  on  this  period,  we  will  realise  we  were  involved  in  nothing  

less   than   a   cultural   renaissance,   when   local   people   began   to   take   control   of   their  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

rights  to  the  city,  many  times,  as  with  urban  exploration,  not  through  force  but  in  

more  playfully  subversive  ways  in  the  midst  of  failing  economies,  governments  and  

the  erosion  of  democratic  ideals.  

 
Figure  197.  There  are  always  new  adventures  to  be  had,  Berlin,  photo  by  author  
 

These   movements,   seemingly   isolated   from   one   another,   indeed   even   at   times  

hostile   to   one   another,   nonetheless   are   working   to   undermine   singular  

authoritative   narratives   over   space   through   the   creation   of   new   relationships   to  

places,   open   coded   for   the   world   to   see.   Urban   exploration,   as   one   of   these  

activistic   practices,   reconfigures   places   in   ways   that   can   be   shocking,   beautiful,  

confusing  and  bizarre  but  ultimately  bear  a  particular  rare  authenticity.  The  spaces  

explorers   find,   open   and   create   spring   from   something   profoundly   human   and  

social,   a   process   of   creation   seeded   from   a   visceral   right   to   define   places   on   our  

own  terms,  not  in  opposition  to  but  regardless  of  social  expectation.  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  198.  Another  side  of  what  you  know,  revealed  by  urban  exploration,  pre-­‐metro,  Antwerp,  
photo  by  author  
 
Given   I   could   barely   comprehend   what   was   happening   while   I   was   a   part   of   it,   I  

wouldn’t   dare   predict   where   urban   exploration   will   go   from   here,   but   there  

certainly   seems   to   be   a   growing   interest   in   it,   which   could   be   promising   or  

foreboding.  We,  of  course,  contributed  to  that  and  will  receive  part  of  the  blame  if  

there  is  a  significant  crackdown  on  or  co-­‐option  of  the  practice.  However,  nothing  

can  erase  what  the  LCC  accomplished  from  2008-­‐2011.  This  Golden  Age  of  London  

urban  exploration  will  always  be  the  legacy  of  our  crew  and  I  still  feel  privileged  to  

have   experienced   it.   What   other   legacies   we   may   have   left   behind,   what  

accomplishments   we   may   never   speak   of,   I   will   leave   to   your   imagination,   and  

what  tales  of  urban  exploration  future  generations  will  tell,  we  leave  to  them.    

 
 

331  
 
Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Epilogue  

In   2012,   Transport   for   London   issued   an   antisocial-­‐behaviour   order   (ASBO)  

against  the  “Aldwych  Four”,  as  the  press  came  to  call  them.69  Incredibly,  the  ASBO  

stipulates   that   the   explorers,   who   already   accepted   cautions   from   the   British  

Transport   Police,   will   not   be   able   to   speak   to   each   other,   speak   to   anyone   else  

about  urban  exploration  (never  defined  in  the  ASBO),  undertaking  exploration  or  

carry   any   equipment   that   could   be   used   for   exploration   after   dark.   The   order  

would  last  for  10  years.  In  February  2012,  “Gary”  made  a  deal  with  TfL  to  take  a   2-­‐

year  ASBO  on  those  conditions.  The  other  cases  are  ongoing.  Separately,  Patch  was  

prosecuted   in   February   for   derailing   the   Mail   Rail   train.   He   received   a   4-­‐month  

custodial  sentence  suspended  for  2  years,  60  hours  of  unpaid  work,  and  £1000  in  

compensation   to   Royal   Mail   for   property   damage.   In   the   midst   of   the   various   court  

proceedings,  British  Museum  station  was  explored  and  the  list  completed.    

 
Figure  199.  The  growth  of  an  idea,  London  2012,  photo  by  author  

                                                                                                               
69
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/feb/24/london-underground-explorers-security-services (accessed
24th February 2012).

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration             Bradley  L.  Garrett  

 
Figure  200.  Simplicity,  photo  by  Silent  Motion  

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Place  Hacking     Bradley  L.  Garrett  

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Appendix  A  –  Snowball  sample  spreadsheet  

This  chart  is  not  an  exhaustive  list  of  people  I  have  met  on  this  project.  I  have  chosen  to  include  only  people  who  I  have  explored  with  and  who  
have  contributed  thoughts,  comments  or  actions  to  this  work.    

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Appendix  B  –  Exploration  fieldwork  database  

This  list  of  locations  explored,  as  with  the  sampling  chart,  is  not  exhaustive.  Some  sites  have  been  excluded  due  to  their  sensitive  
nature  or  at  the  request  of  project  participants.  Other  locations  have  been  listed  in  vague  terms  for  similar  reasons.    
 
Site   Site  Name   Date   Location   Crew  
1   Grain  Fort   January  2009   Gillingham,  Kent,  UK   Vanishing  Days,  Solar  Powered  
2   Gun  emplacements   January  2009   Gillingham,  Kent,  UK   Vanishing  Days,  Solar  Powered  
3   Bastion   January  2009   Dover,  Kent,  UK   Vanishing  Days,  Solar  Powered  
4   Mathew's  Equestrain  Centre   January  2009   Gillingham,  Kent,  UK   Vanishing  Days,  Solar  Powered  
5   West  Park  Asylum   January  2009   Epsom,  Surrey,  UK   Midnight  Runner,  Agent  M,  LutEx  
6   St.  Ebbas  Asylum   January  2009   Epsom,  Surrey,  UK   Midnight  Runner,  Agent  M,  LutEx,  King  Rat,  Winch,  Hellboy  
7   Wandsworth  Kops  Brewery   February  2009   Fulham,  London,  UK   Alone  
8   The  Golden  Hinde   March  2009   London  Bridge,  UK   Hydra,  LutEx  
9   Luton  WWII  Bunkers   March  2009   Luton,  UK   LutEx,  Hydra  
10   Calico  Borax  Mines   March  2009   Calico,  California,  USA   Pip  
11   Rock-­‐a-­‐hoola  Water  Park   April  2009   Yermo,  California,  USA   sYnoNyx  
12   The  Mission  Inn   April  2009   Riverside,  California,  USA   Daniel  F.  
13   Severalls  Asylum   April  2009   Colchester,  UK   Patch,  Dangerous  Dave,  Statler,  LutEx  
14   Zed  Rocket   May  2009   Dover,  UK   Vanashing  Days,  Solar  Powered  
15   The  Bastion   May  2009   Dover,  UK   Vanashing  Days,  Solar  Powered  
16   Bastion  side  tunnels   May  2009   Dover,  UK   Vanashing  Days,  Solar  Powered  
17   Shorts  Tunnels   May  2009   Dover,  UK   Vanashing  Days,  Solar  Powered  
18   Battersea  Power  Station   May  2009   Battersea,  London,  UK   Hydra  
19   Black  Widow  Russian  Submarine   June  2009   Rochester,  UK   Hydra  
20   Camden  Catacombs   June  2009   Camden,  London,  UK   Hydra  
21   Paris  Catacombs   July  2009   Paris,  France   Hydra,  Marc  Explo  
22   Zepplin  Hanger   July  2009   Paris,  France   Hydra,  Marc  Explo,  Olivier,  Kat  
23   Military  Training  Fortress   July  2009   Paris,  France   Hydra,  Marc  Explo,  Olivier,  Kat  
24   Royal  Holloway  Steam  Tunnels   September  2009   Egham,  Surrey,  UK   Marc  Explo  
25   West  Park  Asylum   September  2009   Epsom,  Surrey,  UK   Marc  Explo  
26   The  Great  Shaft   October  2009   Dover,  UK   Marc,  Hount  
27   The  Bastion   October  2009   Dover,  UK   LutEx,  Hydra,  Vanishing  Days  
28   Bastion  side  bunkers   October  2009   Dover,  UK   LutEx,  Hydra,  Vanishing  Days  
29   Zed  Rocket   October  2009   Dover,  UK   LutEx,  Hydra,  Vanishing  Days  
30   Old  Street  Construction  Site   October  2009   London   Helen  

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Site   Site  Name   Date   Location   Crew  

31   Cane  Hill  Asylum   October  2009   Coulsdon,  UK   Winch  
32   Mesen  Castle   October  2009   Belgium   Furtle,  River  Monkey,  Tigger,  Winch,  Statler  
33   Bloso  Hofstade   October  2009   Belgium   Furtle,  River  Monkey,  Tigger,  Winch,  Statler  
34   Stella  Artois  Brewery   October  2009   Belgium   Furtle,  River  Monkey,  Tigger,  Winch,  Statler  
35   Salve  Mater  Sanitorium   October  2009   Belgium   Furtle,  River  Monkey,  Tigger,  Winch,  Statler  
36   Chateau  de  Noisy   October  2009   Belgium   Furtle,  River  Monkey,  Tigger,  Winch,  Statler  
37   Asylum   October  2009   Belgium   Furtle,  River  Monkey,  Tigger,  Winch,  Statler  
38   Val  St  Lambert   October  2009   Belgium   Furtle,  River  Monkey,  Tigger,  Winch,  Statler  
39   The  Horror  Lab   October  2009   Belgium   Furtle,  River  Monkey,  Tigger,  Winch,  Statler  
40   Shorts  tunnels   October  2009   Dover,  UK   Marc  Explo,  Vanishing  Days,  Solar  Powered  
41   Lillesden  Estate  Mansion   October  2009   Hawkhurst,  Kent,  UK   Marc  Explo,  Vanishing  Days  
42   Abandoned  School   October  2009    Kent,  UK   Marc  Explo,  Vanishing  Days  
Pyestock  National  Gas  Turbine  
43   October  2009   Farnburough,  UK   Marc  Explo  
Establishment  
44   Clapham  North  Bunker   November  2009   Clapham,  London,  UK   LutEx,  Anne-­‐Marie,  Marc,  Jules,  Hydra  
45   Kosmos  Hotel   December  2009   Belgium   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
46   Home  RTT  Oostdunkirke   December  2009   Belgium   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
Zweveyem  Power  Station   December  2009  
47   Belgium   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
Transfo  
48   Varia  Cinema   December  2009   Belgium   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
49   Fort  De  La  Chartreuse   December  2009   Belgium   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
50   Montzen  Gare   December  2009   Belgium   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
51   St  Josefsheim  Missionary   December  2009   Germany   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
52   Sinteranlage   December  2009   Germany   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
53   Kokerie  Zollverein   December  2009   Germany   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
54   Beelitz   December  2009   Germany   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
55   Lungenheilstätte  am  Grabowsee   December  2009   Germany   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
Buchallee  Weißensee  Sauglings   December  2009  
56   Berlin,  Germany   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
und  Kinder  Krankenhaus  
Großen  runden  raum  zug   December  2009  
57   Berlin,  Germany   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
plattenspieler  
58   Vogelsang  Soviet  Military  Base   December  2009   Havel,  Germany   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
59   World  Fair  2000  Dutch  Pavillion   December  2009   Hanover,  Germany   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
60   Textilfabrik  NTS   December  2009   Germany   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
61   Wageningse  Berg   December  2009   Netherlands   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Winch  
62   Battersea  Power  Station   December  2009   Wandsworth,  London,  UK   Winch,  "Gary",  Silent  Motion,  Hydra,  Ercle,  Statler  

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Site   Site  Name   Date   Location   Crew  

63   Gillette  Factory   January  2010   Hounslow,  London   Silent  Motion,  Hydra,  "Gary"  
64   Battersea  Power  Station   January  2010   Wandsworth,  London,  UK   Silent  Motion,  Hydra  
65   Springfield  Hospital   January  2010   Tooting,  London,  UK   Silent  Motion  
66   St.  Mary’s  roof   January  2010   Clapham,  London,  UK   Alone  
67   St.  Josephs  Missionary   January  2010   Mill  Hill,  London,  UK   "Gary",  Hydra  
68   Temple  Court   January  2010   City  of  London,  UK   "Gary",  Hydra,  LutEx,  Tigger,  Patch,  Vanishing  Days,  Neb    
69   New  Court     February  2010   City  of  London,  UK   "Gary",  Gigi,  Winch  
70   Paris  Catacombs   February  2010   Paris,  France   Marc,  Statler,  LutEx,  Silent  Motion  
71   Montrouge  Tower   February  2010   Paris,  France   Marc,  Statler,  Winch  LutEx,  Silent  Motion  
72   Paris  Underground  Cinema   February  2010   Paris,  France   Marc,  Statler,  Witek,  Winch,  LutEx,  Silent  Motion,  Kat,  Olivier  
73   Wolfsschlucht  II   February  2010   North  of  Paris,  France   Marc,  Winch,  Statler,  Silent  Motion  
74   NATO  Command  Bunker   February  2010   Paris,  France   Marc,  Winch,  Statler,  Silent  Motion  
Roosevelt  Island  F  Train  Metro  
75   March  2010   New  York  City,  USA   Alone  
Tunnel  
New  York  City  Hotel  Rooftop  
76   March  2010   New  York  City,  USA   Ellie  Miles  
Near  ESB  
77   Boron  Federal  Prison  Camp   April  2010   Boron,  California,  USA   Alone  
March  Air  Reserve  Base   April  2010  
78   Riverside,  California,  USA   Pip  et  al  
Abandoned  Hospital  
79   LA  County  Courthouse   April  2010   Riverside,  California,  USA   Joel  and  Jesse  Childers  
80   Linda  Vista  Hospital   April  2010   Riverside,  California,  USA   Joel  and  Jesse  Childers  
81   BF  Cable  Runs   May  2010   London,  UK   "Gary",  hydra  
82   Westbourne  Sewer   May  2010   London,  UK   Marc,  Statler,  Winch  
83   Brixton  Ruin   May  2010   South  London,  UK   Anja  
84   River  Lea  Ruin   May  2010   London,  UK   Dave  
85   Temple  Court   June  2010   London,  UK   Alone  
86   New  Cavendish  House   June  2010   London,  UK   Silent  Motion  
87   Westbourne  Sewer   June  2010   London,  UK   Winch,  Silent  Motion,  Statler  
88   Medieval  Castle  wall   July  2010   Budapest   Alone  
89   West  Ham  Storm  Relief   July  2010   East  London   Silent  Motion,  Statler,  Tigger  
90   Reading  Rope  Play  /  Mecca  Bingo   July  2010   Reading,  UK   Neb,  Patch,  Statler,  "Gary",  Silent  Motion,  Winch,  Erika  
91   Bastion   July  2010   UK   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
92   Zed  Rocket   July  2010   UK   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
93   St.  Margaret  Bunker   July  2010   UK   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
94   Palais  de  Justice     July  2010   Belgium   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
95   Train  Depot   July  2010   Belgium   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  

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Site  Site  Name   Date   Location   Crew  

96   Cokerie  d’Aderleus   July  2010   Belgium   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
97   Charleroi  Metro   July  2010   Belgium   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
98   Chateau  Noisy   July  2010   Belgium   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
99   Central  Thermique   July  2010   Luxembourg   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
100   Terre  Rouge   July  2010   Luxembourg   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
101   Belval  Blast  Furnace   July  2010   Luxembourg   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
102   Liege  Blast  Furnace   July  2010   Belgium   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
103   University  of  Liege   July  2010   Belgium   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
104   Stradtbad  Duisberg   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
105   Landschaftepark  Duisberg  Nord   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
106   Zeche  Hugo   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
107   Gotha  Base   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
108   Krankenhaus  Gotha   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
109   Nohra  Base   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
110   Gera-­‐Milbitz  Hospital     July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
111   Jena  Base   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
112   Grossenhaim  (MIG)   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
113   Kraftwerk  Plessa   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
114   Szpratowa  Base  Selvain   July  2010   Poland   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
115   Keznya  Lesna   July  2010   Poland   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
116   Klomino/  Grodek   July  2010   Poland   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
117   Borne  Sulinowo   July  2010   Poland   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
118   Kluczewo   July  2010   Poland   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
119   Ravensbruck   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
120   Estate  thing   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
121   Havel/Vogelsang   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
122   Eberswald  papermilll   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
123   Karlshorst  KGB  Headquarters   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
124   Falkenhagen   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
125   Barenquell  Brewery   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
126   Olympisches  Dorf     July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
127   Kaserne  Krampnitz   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
128   Kraftwerk  Vockerode   July  2010    Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
129   Schwermaschinenbau   July  2010    Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
Marienborn  DDR  Border   July  2010  
130   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
Crossing  

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Tales  of  Urban  Exploration             Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Site   Site  Name   Date   Location   Crew  

131   HH3  Hospital   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
132   2000  Expo   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
133   Headstocks   July  2010   Germany   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
134   Pre  Metro   July  2010   Antwerp,  Belgium   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
135   HDR  Hospital   July  2010   Belgium   "Gary",  Winch,  Statler  
136   Mark  Lane  disused  station   August  2010   London,  UK   Tigger,  Winch,  Statler  
137   Eagle  House   August  2010   London,  UK   Neb,  Winch,  Statler  
Battersea  Power  Station  (by   August  2010  
138   London,  UK   Statler,  LutEx,  Patch  
boat)  
139   Rosebury  Cable  Runs   August  2010   London,  UK   "Gary",  Statler  
140   Kingsway  Tram  Tunnel   August  2010   London,  UK   Winch,  Silent  Motion,  Statler  
141   Cathedrale  Saint  Pierre   September  2010   Beauvais,  France   Marc,  Claire-­‐Elise  
142   FD  Roosevelt  Metro  Station   September  2010   Paris,  France   Marc  
143   Metro  Workshop   September  2010   Paris,  France   Marc  
144   Metro  Bridge   September  2010   Paris,  France   Marc  
145   Croix  Rouge   September  2010   Paris,  France   Marc  
146   St.  Sulpice  Cathedral   September  2010   Paris,  France   Marc  
147   EDF  Tunnels   September  2010   Paris,  France   Marc  
148   Shoreditch  Church   September  2010   London,  UK   Katherine  
149   Embankment  Runs   September  2010   London,  UK   User_Scott,  Snappel,  Silent  Motion,  Marc  
150   Embankment  Runs   September  2010   London,  UK   Marc,  "Gary"  
151   St.  Clements  Hospital   September  2010   East  London,  UK   Neb,  Marc,  "Gary"  
152   Ravenscourt  Hospital   September  2010   London,  UK   Neb,  Marc,  Winch,  "Gary"  
153   Lantern  Court   September  2010   London,  UK   Otter,  Marc  
154   Burlington   September  2010   London,  UK   Hydra,  Neb,  Brickman,  Statler,  Silent  Motion,  Patch  
155   Rubix  Drain  Junction   October  2010   London,  UK   Silent  Motion,  Statler  
156   River  Fleet   October  2010   London,  UK   Winch,  Neb  
157   Lord's  Disused  Tube  Station   October  2010   London,  UK   Otter,  Marc,  Neb,  Winch  
158   Lucky  Charms  Drain  Junction   October  2010   London,  UK   Yaz,  Otter  
King's  Reach  tower  (Marc  Explo’s  
159   October  2010   London,  UK     Hydra,  LutEx,  "Gary",  Patch,  Silent  Motion  
bday)  
160   Millennium  Mills   November  2010   London,  UK   "Gary"  
161   Highbury  &  Islington   November  2010   London,  UK   Alone  
Battersea  Power  Station  (Bonfire   November  2010  
162   London,  UK   Neb,  Silent  Motion,  Hydra,  Ercle,    
Night)  
163   King's  Reach  Tower   November  2010   London,  UK   Siologen,  Patch,  "Gary",  Silent  Motion,  Marc,  Otter,  El  Gringo,  Speed,  

355  
 
Place  Hacking             Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Site   Site  Name   Date   Location   Crew  

Guerrilla  Exploring,  Yaz,  Loops,  Sophie,  Luke,  Brosa,  Sergant  Marshall,  
Claire-­‐Elise,  Cogito,  Sean,  Rupert    
164   Castle  Wall   November  2010   Istanbul,  Turkey   Alone  
165   Jute  Ruin   November  2010   Dundee,  Scotland    Brosa,  J  Prior,  Ines  A.  
166   Burton  Brewed  Bitter   December  2010   East  London,  UK   Silent  Motion  
167   Abbey  Mills  Pumping  Station   December  2010   East  London,  UK   Silent  Motion,  Brosa,  Sophie,  Sarah  Hg,  Maria  
Lockheed  Martin  Rocket  Testing   December  2010  
168   Lake  Elsinore,  California,  USA      Alone  
Facility  
169   Barstow  Dead  Mall   December  2010   Barstow,  California,  USA    Alone  
January  2011   Site,  Jess,  Otter,  Luca,  Marc  Explo,  Witek,  Siologen,  Leigh,  User  Scott,  
Eotech,  John  Doe,  Yaz,  NickT,  Frainy,  Neb,  Tooth  Doctor,  Silent  Motion,  
170   International  Drain  Meet  2011   London,  UK  
Mike  Rippon,  Statler,  Winch,  Marco,  Luca,  UE  Kingz,  Vivo,  Pete,  Andrea,  
Urban  Fox,  Joseph  Bazallgete  
171   Westbourne  (filming  with  Otter)   January  2011   London,  UK   Site,  Jes,  Otter  
172   Paris  Crane   January  2011   Paris,  France   Winch,  Marc,  Otter  
173   Metro  line  4  extension   January  2011   Montrouge,  France   Winch,  Marc,  Otter  
174   RER  “A”  and  “D”   January  2011   Paris,  France   Winch,  Marc,  Otter,  Dsankt  
175   Arsenal  Station   January  2011   Paris,  France   Winch,  Marc,  Otter,  Dsankt,  Iris,  Kat,  Olivier    
176   Paris  water  supply  to  bridge   January  2011   Paris,  France   Winch,  Marc,  Otter  
177   Paris  Sewers  (Nadar’s  Dungeon)   January  2011   Paris,  France   Winch,  Marc,  Otter  
178   The  Shard   January  2011   London,  UK   Marc,  "Gary"  
179   Lucky  Charms  Drain   February  2011   London,  UK     Patch,  Otter,  Marc,  Silent  Motion,  Statler  
Down  Street  disused  Tube   February  2011  
180   London,  UK   Siologen,  Statler,  Neb,  Winch  
station  
181   Secure  File  Storage   ******   South  London,  UK   Statler,  “Gary”,  Otter,  Marc  Explo,  Silent  Motion,  Patch  
182   Kops  Brewery     February  2011   Wandsworth,  UK   Drainpipe,  Andy,  Nida  
183   Aldgate  East  Crane   February  2011   London,  UK     Alone  
LiamCH,  Siologen,  Gigi,  Drainpipe,  Alias,  Cogito,  Guerrilla  Exploring,  
184   Clapham  North  Bunker  Party   February  2011    South  London,  UK   Winch,  Statler,  Silent  Motion,  Neb,  LutEx,  Urban  Fox,  El  Gringo,  Loops,  the  
Badman,  NickT,  Matt  Wootton,  Jess,  Site,  Otter.    
 
1st  March  2011  marks  the  end  of  my  “fieldwork  period”.  Though  no  locations  after  this  date  are  included,  the  total  list  of  locations  explored  
over  the  course  of  the  entire  PhD  is  around  220.    

356  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration             Bradley  L.  Garrett  

Appendix  C  –  Exploration  location  maps  

 
 
 

357  
 
Place  Hacking             Bradley  L.  Garrett  

358  
Tales  of  Urban  Exploration             Bradley  L.  Garrett  

359