St Mary le Port, Bristol
A few months ago, now, we were mooching around the derelict Norwich Union building, at Bristol Bridge end of Castle Park. Upon leaving we waited by the nearby church, when @WhoDaresWins spotted a length of rope coming from one of its windows 10ft up. I nipped up it and looked down into the empty church tower. I’d drunkenly tried getting in from the front last year but couldn’t see down or inside very well. I’m glad I got a better look this time because someone had gone to some effort to get a rope 40ft up the tower. It appeared to be tied off to something in an opening and ran against a drainpipe in the spiral strairs corner but that was all I could see from the window below.
Fast forward a week or two and I’m on me own this time, my intention: get to the top. So, harness on, shunt clipped to the static ropes, looking up I'm wondering if this vertical type of solo draining is a good idea. Of course, I gave them a good pull first and they stayed there so they must be safe, right? I’m alright at climbing so didn’t expect it to be too difficult so long as the brackets were still solid. They were and it wasn’t too bad despite me having never climbed a drainpipe before. Yer lock yer fingers behind the pipe, bump yer feet up, smearing against the wall, then shuffle yer hands up twice then repeat. Hands, feet, hands, hands, feet. I trusted the pipe more than the rope but just short of the midway opening, there’s too much crap behind the pipe to make use of it, so it was easier to give the rope a quick pull. It stayed in place again (thank fuck) and the hard part was over, for now, as spiral stairs inside (access bricked up below) lead to the top.
I did this a few times that week, once with @Seffy as well and it was great, only the drainpipe continued to the very top and the rope didn’t! I’d had a book recommended to me, called Night Climbers of Cambridge (thanks TLR) in which Whipplesnaith documents all the drainpipes and ‘chimneys’ they climbed on the old uni buildings way back in the 30’s. And they took pics (with a massive flash gun!) and they didn’t use ropes - what more inspiration could I need! I’d got a nice long, safe, solid drainpipe to get to grips with in a secluded area, promising nice views over the city centre from the top. So, at the weekend I thought I’d give the whole thing shot. I’d got a new lens and disappointingly it’s not as wide angled as I’d hoped. It was also a sod to set the camera up from underneath, so these will have to do!
Here it is before it was bombed in the Bristol Blitz on 24th November 1940. Only the tower survived. It was built in Saxon times, earlier than first thought and before St Peters Church nearby, which was also severely damaged in the Blitz
And what is now Castle Park just after the Blitz. St Nicholas Church (on the left) suffered shrapnel damage from the blasts, which is easily visible from the street, but it's still standing and used. Next is St Mary Le Port Church. To the right of that is the Church of All Saints and right of that is the Christ Church with St Ewan
Part of Castle Park was used as a car park in the 1960’s. The Bank of England and Lloyds bank now occupy most of this site
Looking up from the bottom of the tower
Draggin’ the shunt up wiv me, tongue out, timelapse on!
Ass shot! Got plenty of these
Midway, where the static rope stops and the pigeons start! Props to whoever got this rope up in the first place. There’s two pairs of bolts at the bottom which leads me to believe they made an anchor here and rope soloed it, self-belaying on lead so to speak and presumably using the pipes brackets as protection.
This stubborn pigeon stayed put just until I passed it, when it started flapping sending feathers everywhere and encouraging its mates to do the same.
These eggs have hatched now and there’s several little squabs that just sit there, nervous and ugly, while you pass
At the top of the staircase I took me bag off, made me anchor off the parapet and handrail just inside the door, lowered a rope down and walked back down passed the pigeons to midway. Then I unclipped me shunt from the static rope, clipped it on to my rope, then my harness and carried on up….
Three pics of one drainpipe from above. The top pipes rattle about a bit, which makes things a bit hairy. My camera was set up below so if a pipe did become completely detached it would almost certainly get hit. I certainly sent plenty of crap down off the wall and ledges.
Apologies for the HDR. It was the only way it’d take a good pic. My grubby lens may have had something to do with it though….
Bristol Bridge over the Floating Harbour and One Redcliffe now a whole story higher. The scaff has recently been taken down, sadly; the dark, thin strip suggesting that perhaps the cladding could have done with a wash.
Looks nice at night
Castle Park
A Bristol Spirelet. This needs a flag on it! One day…..maybe
Seffy made it to the top! That was an eventful night! I kinda thought he’d use the drainpipe a bit more than the rope to gain height but after a lot of huffing, puffing and swearing he got up!
Here’s a couple of his pics. Thanks mate they’re ace!
WDW perhaps wisely gave it a miss on this occasion, having seen Seffy’s ascent to midway he’d realised that was probably the easy bit! Getting down in the dark was obviously a struggle as well but nowhere near as difficult as getting back up to the window. The door recess and lack of footholds down low and the square cut window sill above it makes it a battle on tired arms on the knotted rope, which scrapes yer clenched fist against the stone while yer try and drag yer legs up. It ain’t easy! There comes a point when you’re committed to going for it. If yer get it, yer fine, if you don’t you’ve got about 10ft of down climbing to do in the dark on now very tired arms! Unfortunately, Seffy had passed this point of no return and his arms had burnt out. He was still a bit higher than he’d liked and took a bit of a tumble. After a few minutes to compose himself he stood on my shoulders and WDW dragged him up to the window and we all got down the other side without further incident! Here’s one of WDW’s of us taken from the Norwich Union derp – thanks mate!
Just before Seffy attempted his solo escape! It's a bit dark but he's down there
And back outside....
Thanks for lookin’
