Hi all, new here so this is my first actual thread (apart from the newbie intro one). Got it on Pine End Works in Lydney. Unfortunately i havent been able to explore it since 2018, but i do have some images i would like to share and also give an update which has only happened 2019/2020, so just in case not many have seen..
First off lets go through the history (which im sorry for commiting a sin but it will be copied and pasted... which will be improved in future threads when i get more into urbex.)
HISTORY -------
Pine End Works occupies a 14 acre site in Harbour Road, a couple of miles away from Lydney, next to the Severn Estuary. It was commisioned and constructed by the Government in 1940, and it was built to produce technical aircraft and marine plywood for wartime requirements. During the war it was used to produce wooden aircraft panels for the Mosquito fighter-bomber and the Horsa assault gliders used in the D Day landings. It was known as a "shadow factory", meaning it was built in secrecy so as to keep manufacturing goods vital to the war effort, when factories in other, more vulnerable locations had been destroyed by bombing. In its last years it became part of the Brooke-Bond Group of Companies, operating under the name "Lydney Products". In the 1980s three inch thick rubber and grit surfaced plywood made at Pine End was used in a refurbishment of Tower Bridge. It also supplied plywood to the Admiralty, the MoD, British Rail, vehicle manufacturers and boat builders. Something known as "Hydroboard" was produced at Pine End as well. It was a "chemically impregnated densified and compressed plywood" used in nuclear shielding in power stations. The factory closed around 2001. Plans to develop the site, after the refurbishment of the docks in 2005, failed after lottery funding was turned down.
HOWEVER - THE UPDATE FOR 2020 --------
Planning permission has been agreed by the FoD council to rebuild on the land. The people who want to rebuild are the Severn & Wye Smokery, an eel fishery who also specialise in smokery of the fish. From what i could find the work has already started on the £2.1m project to turn it into a massive smokery, farm, restaurant and vistors centre, along with housing for the staff.. Details below..
-A 20,885 square metre fish processing plant
-An 8,000 square metre eel farm
-A 1,300 square metre restaurant/cafe
-A 700 square metre visitor centre.
-A 800 square metre energy centre
-A 500 square metre storage building
-An 150 square metre amenity building for HGV drivers
-A 500 square metre generator building/substation
-Two water treatment lagoons
-Three three bedroom houses, eight one bedroom apartments, four two bedroom apartments for staff and 18 shared units of accommodation for seasonal staff.
-New pedestrian, cycle and vehicular accesses onto Harbour road
-Parking for visitors, staff and HGVs.
-A 2,500 square metre building for unspecified use
History on the smokery here...
The Rivers Severn and Wye are synonymous not only with wild salmon but also with my passion, the elver and eel, the two rivers being one of Europe’s biggest elver fisheries. Severn & Wye Smokery is situated between these two great salmon rivers on the edge of the Royal Forest of Dean. Starting with two flagship products, smoked wild salmon and smoked eel, the business has grown to produce a full range of smoked fish products. Due to the continued growth and success of the smokery, it became necessary to relocate the business. In September 1999 they moved to a new state of the art, purpose-built fish processing plant at Westbury-on-Severn.
Their turnover is approximately £50m annually!!!!
----- Anyway onto the exciting stuff ----- The Exploration...
I explored the PEW back in 2018, it is (or i suppose, was), a massive site, which there was a lot to go through and find and take in! Plenty of machinery, ivy taking over, broken windows, interesting light coming into the buildings etc. I went with my friend because i said i wanted to try and get in there because it looked interesting and i didnt want to go on my own because my anxiety was through the roof at the time and i didnt know if the cameras were working or if there were patrols, yaddah yaddah.. He was fine with joining me because he wanted to explore too. I'm pretty damn sure we went over every square inch of that whole site (apart from the ladder leading up to the roof). We spent a good 2 hours in there exploring, looking through the files, trying to see if there was any ghosts (for the hell of it, i dont ghost hunt, i know this isnt a paranormal site), looking at nature taking back what is it's property. It was like being in another world, it was the first proper time exploring somewhere abandoned... and i bloody loved it! I dont have many photos
lost some due to corruption but i still have a few, The blue wall is my favourite... At the time these were taken on an EOS 1100D with the standard 18-55mm. A go between whilst waiting for funds to get my baby (the EOS M) back. Which i now have again with a multitude of OM & M42 lenses which are my favourite lenses by far, so will be able to get interesting views and angles of different places in the future. I hope this report wasnt too bad for my first go! Havent done this much writing since year 11 xD
Thanks all!
First off lets go through the history (which im sorry for commiting a sin but it will be copied and pasted... which will be improved in future threads when i get more into urbex.)
HISTORY -------
Pine End Works occupies a 14 acre site in Harbour Road, a couple of miles away from Lydney, next to the Severn Estuary. It was commisioned and constructed by the Government in 1940, and it was built to produce technical aircraft and marine plywood for wartime requirements. During the war it was used to produce wooden aircraft panels for the Mosquito fighter-bomber and the Horsa assault gliders used in the D Day landings. It was known as a "shadow factory", meaning it was built in secrecy so as to keep manufacturing goods vital to the war effort, when factories in other, more vulnerable locations had been destroyed by bombing. In its last years it became part of the Brooke-Bond Group of Companies, operating under the name "Lydney Products". In the 1980s three inch thick rubber and grit surfaced plywood made at Pine End was used in a refurbishment of Tower Bridge. It also supplied plywood to the Admiralty, the MoD, British Rail, vehicle manufacturers and boat builders. Something known as "Hydroboard" was produced at Pine End as well. It was a "chemically impregnated densified and compressed plywood" used in nuclear shielding in power stations. The factory closed around 2001. Plans to develop the site, after the refurbishment of the docks in 2005, failed after lottery funding was turned down.
HOWEVER - THE UPDATE FOR 2020 --------
Planning permission has been agreed by the FoD council to rebuild on the land. The people who want to rebuild are the Severn & Wye Smokery, an eel fishery who also specialise in smokery of the fish. From what i could find the work has already started on the £2.1m project to turn it into a massive smokery, farm, restaurant and vistors centre, along with housing for the staff.. Details below..
-A 20,885 square metre fish processing plant
-An 8,000 square metre eel farm
-A 1,300 square metre restaurant/cafe
-A 700 square metre visitor centre.
-A 800 square metre energy centre
-A 500 square metre storage building
-An 150 square metre amenity building for HGV drivers
-A 500 square metre generator building/substation
-Two water treatment lagoons
-Three three bedroom houses, eight one bedroom apartments, four two bedroom apartments for staff and 18 shared units of accommodation for seasonal staff.
-New pedestrian, cycle and vehicular accesses onto Harbour road
-Parking for visitors, staff and HGVs.
-A 2,500 square metre building for unspecified use
History on the smokery here...
The Rivers Severn and Wye are synonymous not only with wild salmon but also with my passion, the elver and eel, the two rivers being one of Europe’s biggest elver fisheries. Severn & Wye Smokery is situated between these two great salmon rivers on the edge of the Royal Forest of Dean. Starting with two flagship products, smoked wild salmon and smoked eel, the business has grown to produce a full range of smoked fish products. Due to the continued growth and success of the smokery, it became necessary to relocate the business. In September 1999 they moved to a new state of the art, purpose-built fish processing plant at Westbury-on-Severn.
Their turnover is approximately £50m annually!!!!
----- Anyway onto the exciting stuff ----- The Exploration...
I explored the PEW back in 2018, it is (or i suppose, was), a massive site, which there was a lot to go through and find and take in! Plenty of machinery, ivy taking over, broken windows, interesting light coming into the buildings etc. I went with my friend because i said i wanted to try and get in there because it looked interesting and i didnt want to go on my own because my anxiety was through the roof at the time and i didnt know if the cameras were working or if there were patrols, yaddah yaddah.. He was fine with joining me because he wanted to explore too. I'm pretty damn sure we went over every square inch of that whole site (apart from the ladder leading up to the roof). We spent a good 2 hours in there exploring, looking through the files, trying to see if there was any ghosts (for the hell of it, i dont ghost hunt, i know this isnt a paranormal site), looking at nature taking back what is it's property. It was like being in another world, it was the first proper time exploring somewhere abandoned... and i bloody loved it! I dont have many photos
lost some due to corruption but i still have a few, The blue wall is my favourite... At the time these were taken on an EOS 1100D with the standard 18-55mm. A go between whilst waiting for funds to get my baby (the EOS M) back. Which i now have again with a multitude of OM & M42 lenses which are my favourite lenses by far, so will be able to get interesting views and angles of different places in the future. I hope this report wasnt too bad for my first go! Havent done this much writing since year 11 xD Thanks all!
:
