I don’t know if you have noticed, but lately everyone is going a little zombie apocalypse crazy, (I have to admit I am hooked on The Walking Dead!) so I thought I would share some spots in London that look like they are straight from an apocalypse nightmare.
The first stop off is Millennium Mills. Located right next to London City Airport, it will be a familiar sight to every passenger flying in or out of London from here. It is on the south side of the Royal Victoria Dock between the Thames Barrier and
the ExCel centre. Its giant art deco rooftop sign, 10 storeys above the water of the Royal Docks, dominates the local landscape. This building is in fact a derelict turn of 20th century flour mill. Although the building was officially abandoned after the mill closed down in 1992, the buildings have hardly been empty at all as a variety of unofficial visitors have all been in, many leaving their mark on the building. Even a music video has been shot here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY_hkrQNAQo.
However the site may not be abandoned for much longer due to a developer who will be redeveloping the site into offices and living space http://www.silvertownlondon.com/ one of the redevelopers said: “We want to do everything with the lightest touch, to keep the industrial feeling and the grandeur of the building,” May said. “It would be nice if in 10 years’ time people looked at it and wondered what we had actually done to the building.”
At least it will not go missing from our London Landscape.
Next stop is the Clapham South deep level shelter used in World War ll. It is estimated that 170,000 people sheltered in the tunnels and stations during World War ll. It doesn’t sound a lot compared to how many people are in the capital but it definitely saved many lives. The London Underground was seen as one of the safest means of protecting many people in a high density area! The air raid shelters are located 180 steps below ground and in fact are under the Northern line tunnels opposite Clapham South tube station. Soon you will be able to explore the bunker in Clapham after Transport for London gained permission to open it to the public for regular tours. They will bring the Grade II bunker back to life by offering tours and transforming the surface building into a café or restaurant.
My last London stop is the Finsbury Park Reservoir (also known as the Hornsey Wood Reserv
oir). This is a massive underground reservoir that was built by East London Water Works Company between 1868-1869. The reservoir is capable of holding up to 5 million gallons of water and its size will just leave you in awe. The name Hornsey Wood Reservoir is painted on one of the walls in classic Victorian typeface. It has recently been closed off in 2012 by Thames water due to a crack in the roof noticed during a survey. If you want to sneak into this underground marvel you will have to set off early morning! Someone that has explored the reservoir said “We made our entrance and were instantly amazed at the size of this place”. This reservoir has occasionally been used as a film location, including Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes in 2009, and Paddington in 2014.
If you want to check out some other spooky places around the world then you need to check out this article http://viralscape.com/deserted-places-on-earth/
