Stenigot revisit: tower climb

It was suggested to have a more in depth look at the radar mast at RAF Stenigot. A brief history of the site can be found on this previous report.

To recap, this is one of the few remaining towers of the WWII's Chain Home network, which provided an early warning of Luftflotte invasions into central England and is now used to train RAF aerial erectors.

It's one of the transmitter masts and would have been one of four on the site, along with four receivers. This diagram gives some kind of explanation of how they worked:

Here's an impression I found of how the site might have looked in its heyday:

Scaling the mast provides excellent views of the Lincolnshire countryside, and also detail of the structure itself.

Looking up

Sunrise from the first platform

Looking down

Looking north

Looking east

Looking south

Finally, here is a YouTube video of the ascent - thanks for viewing!

Top night in Donny

There isn't long before it will no longer be possible to appreciate the view from the top of what must be the town centre's highest building before it gets knocked down.

The site was originally called Glasgow Paddocks - below is an 1925 aerial photo looking towards Waterdale.

Built in the 60s and originally named the Coal House as the headquarters of National Coal Board for South Yorkshire & North Notts, it became the Council House in the 80s. Now the council offices have moved to a new building a short way away, and the building will be replaced by 'leisure and other' uses - take a look at this 'master plan' pdf for an idea of how this area will hopefully be developed.

At time of inspection, all except the basement and ground floor had been stripped out, and there were areas where asbestos was being cleared. The lights were on in the basement and lift maintenance rooms.

Daytime shot

Top-floor lift rooms

Rooftop views

Basement / ground floor

Update 20/07/14

Today it was demolished - here's a 6 second Vine video:

Aftermath:

Note the orange chair is seen again in the last photo.

Thanks for reading, click the links below to see other reports!

Theme park thrills

Camelot theme park near Chorley closed in 2012.

One of the country's smaller parks, the flagship ride was Knightmare, and this seems to be the only 'thrill' ride remaining. For more information on the history of the park see its entry on Wikipedia.

Here are a few snaps and a video:

Entrance

The Knightmare ride

Bertie Bassett's Driving School

The showground

Smiffy's Dungeon of Doom

YouTube video: