Wainhouse Tower staircase, Halifax

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Inside Wainhouse Tower. The unused brick chimney flue in the centre has a narrow staircase (with around 400 stairs and is a tight squeeze to pass) running up between it and the outer stone wall. The hole recesses in the inner brick wall line up with matching holes on the outer wall allowing planks to be held up, used in construction and/or maintenance I guess #wainhousetower #staircase #tower #folly #chimney #halifax #factorychimney

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 29, 2019 at 1:35pm PDT

Wainhouse Tower, Halifax

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The fanciest chimney pot in the country, and also the tallest folly (around 77m}. Wainhouse tower was originally intended to be a chimney to carry the smoke from Wainhouse's dyeworks in the valley away well above the town as part of Halifax's attempts to improve the air quality, but he sold the works before the chimney was complete in 1875 and this detailed stonework with three viewing platforms was built at the top. It never was connected to the dyeworks or saw use as a chimney.#folly #chimney #haliax #wainhousetower #tower #observatory #bluesky #coronet #stonework #factorychimney

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 26, 2019 at 2:43pm PDT

Sunset, Cononley

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Sunset over Cononley #sunset #clouds #redsky #silhouette #hillside

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 25, 2019 at 1:46pm PDT

Eroded wall, Harewood House

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How eroded do bricks need to get before the wall falls down? #harewoodhouse #wall #bricks #haeewoodhousewalledgarden #erodedbricks #oldbrick

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 24, 2019 at 8:56am PDT

Derelict Glasshouse, Harewood House

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Derelict glass house at Harewood House. No glass left in the windows but the building frame together with levers cogs and handles to operate the windows are still largely in tact. Most of the glasshouses date from the 1930s and replaced the older hothouses #harewoidhouse #glasshouse #gr|nhouse #derelictbuilding #derelictglasshouse

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 22, 2019 at 8:56am PDT

Bear Pit entrance, Leeds

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Entrance to bear pit, Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens. This was the highlight of the zoo, there were also monkeys, eagles and swans(?!). Not enough money was raised when opening to get any really large animals, the trustees were told they could buy a pair of lions for a thousand pounds but would have to also pay for a keeper so they settled on a brown bear. Visitors would ascend by the spiral stair in the left turret and look down at the bear in its pit from the platform between turrets and could throw down bananas, they would then descend by the right hand turret. The left stair and turret had collapsed by the 1950s but fortunately was restored. The zoo was never a great success, it was too expensive - sixpence (2.5 new pence) when a worker's wage might only be ten shillings (fifty new pence) it was built too far out (the zoo was in the countryside when built and the nearby railway and station hadn't been built when it opened), it was closed on Sundays and the animals were a bit lacklustre, so it only lasted from 1840-1848 #leedszoologicalandbotanicalgardens #urbex #leedszoo #bearpit #folly #heaingley #leeds #spiralstaircase

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 21, 2019 at 1:17am PDT

Roller coaster rescue, Fantasy Island

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Dramatic rescue in action!! This roller coaster stuck and someone had to climb up and fix it. It was wet, couldn't have been much fun just sitting there waiting in the wind and rain. Fortunately it was only a small ride, wouldn't want to be stuck near the top of one of the big rides #fantasyisland #rescue #themepark #themeparkrescue #rollercoaster #rhombusrocket #brokenrollercoaster #rollercoasterrescue #climbing #skegness #ingoldmells

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 20, 2019 at 2:45am PDT

Entrance to Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens

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Old entrances to Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens open from 1840 to 1848. Not much is left of the venture which hoped to lure workers from drinking establishments but following pressure didn't open on Sundays (the only day most workers had free...) The remains of the two Northern entrances off Spring Road can still be found, one of them incorporated into a new building. The perimeter wall around the site is also largely still present although cut down in height. Cardigan Road with large villas either side was built through the middle of the site after it closed completely in 1858, by which time it had abandoned the animals and educational aspirations and had been renamed Leeds Royal Gardens and focussed more on amusement and entertainment (and had started opening on Sundays but late in the afternoon). A station with the same name was opened near the southern entrance in when the Harrogate railway line was built in 1848 (about where the present Burley Park station is) #headingley #leedszoo #leedszoologicalandbotanicalgardens #leedsroyalgardens

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 19, 2019 at 4:53am PDT

Water Tower, Lincoln

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Not a castle keep on steroids but Lincoln's Westgate water tower. I thought this was part of the castle when seen from far off (it can be seen for miles together with the cathedral) but although near the castle and intended to blend in to some extent with its aged neighbours this tower was completed in 1911 as part of a scheme along with Bracebridge Heath reservoir 22 miles away to provide clean water to a large part of Lincoln following a Typhoid outbreak a few years earlier. The tank inside is circular, as is the interior, a spiral staircase is contained in one corner #watertower #westgatewatertower #lincolnwatertower #tower #lincoln

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 17, 2019 at 8:07pm PDT

Signal box, Keighley and Worth Valley Railway

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Taking on water at Keighley. The signal box here was moved here from nearby Shipley, Bingley Junction in 1995 after its functions were taken over by a modern control box in York. Often it has its shutters down and the points are hand operated, this is the first time I remember seeing it open, I think it is only in the last couple of years it has been operational. Funnily enough another signal box on the other side of the station bridge which was no longer used has been dismantled and was heading over the Pennines to Irlam Station to be rebuilt there as part of their 1920s era recreation (I note some locals there aren't too happy about the loss of a few car parking spaces) #kwvr #keighley #signalbox #steamtrain #railway #preservedrailway #keighleyandworthvalleyrailway #shipley #midlandrailway #tankengine #britishrailways

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 16, 2019 at 12:58am PDT

Kinema in the Woods, Woodall Spa

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Kinema in the Woods at Woodall Spa, is the only fully functioning cinema in the UK to employ back projection, necessary due to the low roof and rafters which wood be in the way of the beam for a normal setup with a projector at the rear of the cinema projecting onto the fron of the screen. The building was originally a farm building, and then used as a concert pavilion. It recently added another screen and a larger car park and fortunately seems to have retained its character. The old spa building next to it is still in a sad derelict state. A dry building on a very wet day #unusualcinemas #backprojection #cinemas #woodallspa #kinemainthewoods

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 14, 2019 at 3:27pm PDT

Bear Pit, Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens

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Nineteenth century bear pit 🐻 at Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens which opened in 1840 and closed in1848 (although it reopened as just gardens until 1858) 🌺🌹🌼 About 8m diameter and 3m deep, didn't fancy going down there with the vertical brick sides and only brambles providing any way out #bearpit #leedszoo #urbex #brambles #castellations #derelictzoo #abandonedzoo #architecturalheritage #overgrown #headingley #leeds #leedszoologicalandbotanicalgardens

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 11, 2019 at 2:27pm PDT

Esholt Suspension Bridge

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Esholt Suspension bridge (Cawood and Sons of Leeds). The bridge here predates the adjacent sewage works 💩 (just behind the trees) I didn't find a date on the bridge but searches show first mention of M Cawood and Sons in 1817 and was succeeded by John Cawood and Son by 1847, so it was built sometime between those dates. The bridge had work done in 1980 replacing the deck structure with aluminium (low maintenance) and more recently in 2016 to repair flood damage 🌊. The bridge is suspended using iron eyebars to form a chain (similar to Clifton and Menai suspension bridges) 🔗, more modern bridges use steel cables. Sadly the bridge didn't have a great deal of bounce ☹️ #suspensionbridge #eyebar #chainbridge #riveraire #esholt #oldbridge #castellated #cawoodandsons

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 9, 2019 at 5:37am PDT

A58(M) UK's first urban motorway, Leeds

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A58(M) Britain's first city centre motorway, which opened in 1964 🛣️ The route from Hull to Liverpool via Bradford and Manchester used to go through the centre of Leeds 🐌 (before the M62 was built in the 70s), this road was built to improve matters🏎️ I took this shot when the opportunity presented itself from a grimy window, it isn't great but it shows the motorway as it enters the Westgate cut and cover tunnel. The road was designed as a dual carriageway, but was redesignated as a motorway before opening with no design changes (probably explains the 40mph limit along its entire length). Interestingly the roof of the tunnel here is covered with grass and has several trees growing on it 🌳 After this grassy section it goes underneath Leeds General Infirmary 🏥 The council was so proud of its roads that it branded itself as "Motorway City of the Seventies" which even featured on postmarks ✉️ #motorway #a58m #leedsinnerringroad #greenroof #roadtunnel #leedsgeneralinfirmary #leedsmotorwaycityoftheseventies #leeds #historicroads

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Aug 8, 2019 at 10:46am PDT