Tour Report: Gravel Pit "Rusty Giants" [Revisit]

Almost exactly two years after we first explored this abandoned gravel pit, we were in the area again, and we decided to go for a revisit. During our first visit, we had overlooked a few things, so we also had the chance to find something that we hadn't found before.

From our first exploration, we remembered that the place seemed to be somewhat of a local recreation area - there had been people walking their dogs, some were jogging and others were just taking a stroll with their family. We had parked right in front of the main gate, and there wasn't any problem - so this was what we expected to find for our second visit.

The weather on this Monday in November of 2018 wasn't too great; it was cloudy with a bit of rain coming down from time to time, so we weren't surprised that we didn't see anyone except us. Just like the first time, we parked right on the parking space next to the front gate, gathered our gear and began our exploration.

I have to admit that I really liked the weather, because the clouds gave a somewhat dramatic look to the large rusty machines. It was a nice atmosphere, and since there was no wind, it was also really quiet. We could hear the sand beneath our feet as we walked along the paths. After a while, we came to a branch of the way that we hadn't taken the first time, and we saw a large hall. The doors were locked, but we found a hole in the rear wall through which we entered.

In the hall, we found some really nice old vehicles that had been used in the operation of the gravel pit - a crawler excavator and two old trucks. They were still in pretty good condition, so there were another couple of photos to be taken here. In the end, we found a few more neat old machines that we hadn't discovered during our first visit, so this was definitely a success!

After we had gotten back to the car and loaded our stuff into the trunk, another car drove up right next to us, and a security guard asked us what we were doing. We told him that we had just arrived and wanted to take a look at the old gravel pit - that was something he really didn't like, and he told us that the place was off limits and we had to leave immediately, which of course we did. He even followed us in his car for about a kilometer to make sure that we were really gone.

I can imagine that not only the danger of people climbing around on the machines and falling down, but also the risk of copper thieves mistaking the operational recycling facility in the back of the area as part of the abandoned place and starting to steal stuff had been the reason to hire security guards who are patrolling the place. Well, we have seen most of it, so we were happy on our way :)

To find out about the history of this place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.

If you like to, you can check out a short video of our explore right here:

Tour Report: The Mill in the Meadow [Revisit]

I undertook my third and probably last visit to this abandoned mill during a tour through Denmark together with my good friend Pixelcracker. It was kind of on the way home from the tour, so we decided for a quick stop.

The situation was the same as during the two previous visits - it was a rather rainy day, and there was no one around that would look with feelings of suspicion upon two German tourists sneaking around the ruin. So we parked a little down the road - only a little, because we didn't want to walk too far in the rain...

The door was still open, and we walked right in. I was a bit disappointed, because a lot of the cool stuff had been taken - the old field telephone was gone, as was the old BP Synergol oil canister and some parts of the machinery were gone as well.

There were still a few nice shots left, and we spent a good amount of time in the place. Towards the end, we checked out the basement - the first two times I hadn't even seen that there was an outside door into the basement. There was a lot of only marginally interesting stuff there, mostly wooden boards and remains of old furniture. However - what caught our eye were the two old baby strollers that were in the middle of it all. They weren't in the best condition anymore, but it's still something that you don't find every day. Photographing them wasn't the easiest thing, because it was pitch dark in the basement. In the end, it worked out nicely, and we got back out and drove back south across the border.

To find out about the history of the place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.

Tour Report: Maison "Musette"

After we'd finished exploring the Farm of Seven Tractors, we got on the way to the next location that we had planned - an abandoned mill. On the road happened something that most urban explorers experience frequently: All the heads in the car turn simultaneously in the same direction, jaws drop, and air is sucked into the lungs, preparing to yell "Stop!".

Right by the side of the road, we had spotted a farmhouse. It looked abandoned, although in Denmark, this is not always a safe assumption, because sometimes the houses really just look abandoned, but in fact are not - and you can get a hell of a shock when you're peeking through a window and suddenly a face appears...

But in this case, we were pretty sure that this house was abandoned - no trash cans in front, no cars in the driveway - and the front door was wide open!

So we turned the car around and parked behind one of the barns, so the car couldn't be seen from the road right away. A short look into the barn proved that our assumption regarding the status of abandonment was correct - the barn was empty except for a lot of trash that had been dumped there.

Upon entering the house, we were amazed at the condition the place was in. Although the door was open, there were no broken windows, no vandalism or graffiti, and even the few pieces of furniture that had been left, were in pretty decent shape.

The house itself is pretty small, so there wasn't a whole lot to see, but we still managed to get a few nice shots out of it. With the exception of the first barn that was full of trash, the other barns were completely empty, which was a bit of a disappointment, since we had just seen a barn full of old tractors only an hour before.

But this is lament on a high level - after all, we had  found a great unexpected and unvandalized spot, so of course we were happy!

To check out all the photos from this place, click the button below.