Urban Exploration: Brodock Ltd, The Old Paper Mill (Failed).

We are Urban Explorers, we are not vandals. We take nothing besides photographs and leave nothing but footprints.

You win some, you lose some – It’s an old expression that’s used often and applies to what you are about to read.

At the end of November, I noticed this old mill simply by driving past. It's quite close to where I live so I decided to investigate.

Access was simple and I parked my car not so close as to attract unwanted attention. There is little in the way of residential properties close so it was quite simple to slip into the grounds via the main entrance and start my photography.

I needed to know what this place is or was. The phone number on the wall of the building was a clue. Later, I looked it up and discovered this was once ‘Brodock Ltd’, a supplier of ‘decorative furniture, furniture pieces, chairs, tables, antique furniture’.

I can imagine this corrugated iron large building with the very high room could have been a showroom for large retail items such as these but Google also tells me that once it was a paper mill.

The ‘corrugated iron' building looks like something built later. There is a public footpath on the opposite side of the property and river which afforded me the cover shot. The employees might have taken lunch next to this scenic view once.

Anything resembling scenic is now long gone. From what I can gather, the company filed their last tax report in 2004, making this place empty for possibly 14 years.

The reception door was stuck fast as so that wasn’t an option. It looked like it was never a very inviting entrance even when the place was open.

What was once windows on this horrible iron building had iron guards placed on to stop intruders? Some had been pulled off and I could have climbed in but decided against it.

The back of the factory had an entrance. See the big gaping entrance where a door used to be? I stuck my head in only to find blackness. I hadn’t brought a torch with me, doh!

I left meaning to return in the near future armed with a torch.

3 weeks later.

My second failed attempt at infiltrating Brodock Ltd is a consequence of simply farting around for too long.

UrBex Tip: If you find somewhere interesting with an access point don’t dilly-dally!

I noticed the original entrance has been secured, but the alternate one down the back of the mill was now open.

Walking down the muddy trail was none too pleasant and I found myself at the opposite side of the mill next to the river.

I had to vault over this fast running stream to ensure I got the photographs I wanted at the correct angle.

Balancing on this wall next to the river bought memories of my teens. I’m not so old and decrepit that I can’t do it any longer, and then the anticlimax hit me.

The place had been sealed in the last three weeks, bummer!

Not one for sulking, I set about photographing the graffiti. You have to make the most of what you have, right?

The iron guards had been reset on the iron mess of a building too. No going in there either.

As I could no longer get out via the front entrance, I had to balance on the wall again and try not to fall into the river retracing my steps.

On the way out I noticed an access point in the form of a ‘hole’. Peering in showed me darkness and my torch didn’t help too much either.

It was large enough for me to crawl though and I did contemplate going in.

Even if it gained me access to the upper section of the original factory with every window boarded up with wood or concrete I figured it would be hard to see anything.

Common sense kicked in and I disregarded this new entrance and left after taking more graffiti shots.

Brodock Ltd was not a complete failure, though I should have gone in the first time. Bringing the correct tools (torch) helps a lot.

I'm still learning about all this; it's invigorating and gets your adrenaline racing at times.

Other articles in the ‘Urban Exploration’ series:

Urban Exploration: Urban Exploration: Workhouse Farm
Urban Exploration: Urban Exploration: Hellifield Abandoned Train
Urban Exploration: Extwistle Hall
Urban Exploration: Huncoat Power Station (Demolished)
Urban Exploration – A Trilogy of Failures
Urban Exploration: Holdings Country Pottery

[//]:# (!steemitworldmap 53.769489 lat -2.401684 long Urban Exploration: Brodock Ltd, The Old Paper Mill (Failed). d3scr)

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