Finally, success.
Previously I had only ever done explores that I had sourced through either friends or this forum which always led me to explore pretty boring sites. Always having seen photos and stories of the places I visit beforehand led to some really pretty bland exploring as I always knew exactly what to expect. Finally, I had a unique and really breathtaking experience when I decided to explore Tottenham FC's football stadium. The moment came when I was standing on the tube peering into someone else's copy of the Metro only to see that Tottenham's Stadium was due to be demolished to make way for their new stadium. Immediately bells rang in my mind and I knew my destiny was set to go and explore it (and probably get caught in doing so) this weekend.
In terms of prep it was pretty minimal, I called my buddy and got him onboard and we started getting really excited. However, we came to the realization that perhaps it wasn't the best of times to be exploring. The critical terror threat level after the Manchester bombing made us think twice about how severe a reaction it could invoke if we got caught wondering around a high-profile stadium in London. Having seen the British Army deployed in and around London in person that week swayed our minds to postpone our explore for a week or two to at least let the threat level drop down to its usual "Severe".
So I put it to the back of my mind until a few days later when I saw an article saying how the demolition is pushing ahead at lightning speed and half the stadium was already gone. I knew we had to move fast if we were going to get the slightest glimpse at this historical playing ground. So we started looking at possibly doing it this weekend again, still fairly uncertain if we should go through with it or not. However, this all changed when the following day, Theresa May declared the threat level had receded back down to "Severe". Although still by no means a safe level, the army had withdrawn from London and things seemed to be a lot less tense. We decided we probably won't get another chance to do this and the stadium will probably be gone in a week so we set the date. The day finally came around and we drove to White Hart Lane.
I massively cocked up with my camera on this trip. Forgot my little tripod so found it hard to get long exposure shots that were interesting as I was limited to putting my camera on surfaces to keep it still. Secondly, I forgot my neck-strap which meant me constantly having to put my camera away and taking it back out when we were exploring, this led me to not take anywhere near as many photos as I would've liked to but live and learn I guess. I ended up leaving my camera in the bag half way through and just really leaving myself to enjoy the explore and forget about snapping. It was quite liberating as I really got to focus on my surroundings and the amazing structure it is instead of lining up my next shot. Please take all this into consideration.
This place was locked up good, high walls, double fencing (they had an outer and inner perimeter) and security booths dotted frequently. So an hour of recce, with a few doubts later and we had found a way in that was low profile. So we got in and immediately made for some cover as we were really out in the open. We ran into the building complex of the new stadium (Forgot to mention they had already built half of the new stadium) and started escalating the flights of stairs to get off the ground floor. Drawn up a map of how the site was laid out and we were on the left side of the new stadium...
So we got to the top and walked out into the main arena and it truly was colossal.
So after wondering around the new section a bit and sitting on the top and just taking in the view, it was time to venture into the dark side, the old stadium. The new stadium was lit up (as standard for any active construction site) but the old half was pitch black. So we started heading over and we soon realized the two halves of the stadium were completely separated by a large fence running down the middle. So we looked at discreet ways of possibly getting over, around or under it but they had done a good job in sealing it off. The only way was to climb over the fence, smack bang in the middle of the new half of the stadium. So we descended down to the ground floor and slyly made our way across the future football pitch were history will one day be made, and started climbing the fence. We made a ridiculous amount of noise and were extremely exposed but I guess we got lucky as no secca came running. we quickly shot off inside the old stadium. It was very dark, no lights on at all and we could only see the outline of the stands by moonlight. So I got out my camera set it on the ground and took a long exposure, you can imagine the shock I got...
We made it, we decided to head up the stands a bit to get out of sight and to get a better view of the stadium. I'm no football fan but I found it somewhat depressing how a place of such happiness and excitement has become a barren, empty, scary wasteland. Quite the contrast!
My camera really couldn't capture the scale of it, it was really quite breathtaking. As I said before I put my camera away half way through. We went on to explore the executive booths, the control/broadcast room (can see the side of it 3 images up), the kitchens, sky newsroom, the roof, behind the scoreboard and part of the players changing rooms were still standing. All of it littered with Tottenham FC memorabilia. It felt very surreal and post-apocalyptic. I'm sure it would be unreal for anyone who actually actively follows football/Tottenham FC, unfortunately I couldn't relate to all of the things I saw.
The stadium had a ring running around the entire roof, we think it would've been used for security to access certain areas/stands during games. This was inside the ring:
So after searching through the bowels of the building and finding some incredible documents (especially in the control room where we found original match logs and blueprints), it was time for us to take our leave. So we headed out the way we came and hopped over the fence to the new side of the stadium. Once again causing quite the racket but this time, unfortunately, we were heard. Security came running yet it was a very strange experience with this security. They seemed extremely confused by us being there but they also seemed very confused as to what to do. Of course the security boss showed up not looking all to happy, he told us to come with him. Me knowing exactly where this was going decided to pop out my sd card and hide it in my shoe when I went to tie up my laces. Next thing police arrive, search us and tell us to leave. Was a long 3-hour ordeal but we got through it no problems and made our way. Was a real shame we got caught, would've loved to go back and explore some more. We saw only a fraction of the place!
All in all was an incredible explore and was completely unique for me as I finally got the experience what it's like truly exploring and not knowing what to expect beforehand. Loved every second of it! First proper report hope I didn't leave anything out!
Signing out
-Nico
Previously I had only ever done explores that I had sourced through either friends or this forum which always led me to explore pretty boring sites. Always having seen photos and stories of the places I visit beforehand led to some really pretty bland exploring as I always knew exactly what to expect. Finally, I had a unique and really breathtaking experience when I decided to explore Tottenham FC's football stadium. The moment came when I was standing on the tube peering into someone else's copy of the Metro only to see that Tottenham's Stadium was due to be demolished to make way for their new stadium. Immediately bells rang in my mind and I knew my destiny was set to go and explore it (and probably get caught in doing so) this weekend.
The old Stadium
The Prep
In terms of prep it was pretty minimal, I called my buddy and got him onboard and we started getting really excited. However, we came to the realization that perhaps it wasn't the best of times to be exploring. The critical terror threat level after the Manchester bombing made us think twice about how severe a reaction it could invoke if we got caught wondering around a high-profile stadium in London. Having seen the British Army deployed in and around London in person that week swayed our minds to postpone our explore for a week or two to at least let the threat level drop down to its usual "Severe".
So I put it to the back of my mind until a few days later when I saw an article saying how the demolition is pushing ahead at lightning speed and half the stadium was already gone. I knew we had to move fast if we were going to get the slightest glimpse at this historical playing ground. So we started looking at possibly doing it this weekend again, still fairly uncertain if we should go through with it or not. However, this all changed when the following day, Theresa May declared the threat level had receded back down to "Severe". Although still by no means a safe level, the army had withdrawn from London and things seemed to be a lot less tense. We decided we probably won't get another chance to do this and the stadium will probably be gone in a week so we set the date. The day finally came around and we drove to White Hart Lane.
DISCLAIMER:
I massively cocked up with my camera on this trip. Forgot my little tripod so found it hard to get long exposure shots that were interesting as I was limited to putting my camera on surfaces to keep it still. Secondly, I forgot my neck-strap which meant me constantly having to put my camera away and taking it back out when we were exploring, this led me to not take anywhere near as many photos as I would've liked to but live and learn I guess. I ended up leaving my camera in the bag half way through and just really leaving myself to enjoy the explore and forget about snapping. It was quite liberating as I really got to focus on my surroundings and the amazing structure it is instead of lining up my next shot. Please take all this into consideration.
The Explore
This place was locked up good, high walls, double fencing (they had an outer and inner perimeter) and security booths dotted frequently. So an hour of recce, with a few doubts later and we had found a way in that was low profile. So we got in and immediately made for some cover as we were really out in the open. We ran into the building complex of the new stadium (Forgot to mention they had already built half of the new stadium) and started escalating the flights of stairs to get off the ground floor. Drawn up a map of how the site was laid out and we were on the left side of the new stadium...
So we got to the top and walked out into the main arena and it truly was colossal.
So after wondering around the new section a bit and sitting on the top and just taking in the view, it was time to venture into the dark side, the old stadium. The new stadium was lit up (as standard for any active construction site) but the old half was pitch black. So we started heading over and we soon realized the two halves of the stadium were completely separated by a large fence running down the middle. So we looked at discreet ways of possibly getting over, around or under it but they had done a good job in sealing it off. The only way was to climb over the fence, smack bang in the middle of the new half of the stadium. So we descended down to the ground floor and slyly made our way across the future football pitch were history will one day be made, and started climbing the fence. We made a ridiculous amount of noise and were extremely exposed but I guess we got lucky as no secca came running. we quickly shot off inside the old stadium. It was very dark, no lights on at all and we could only see the outline of the stands by moonlight. So I got out my camera set it on the ground and took a long exposure, you can imagine the shock I got...
We made it, we decided to head up the stands a bit to get out of sight and to get a better view of the stadium. I'm no football fan but I found it somewhat depressing how a place of such happiness and excitement has become a barren, empty, scary wasteland. Quite the contrast!
My camera really couldn't capture the scale of it, it was really quite breathtaking. As I said before I put my camera away half way through. We went on to explore the executive booths, the control/broadcast room (can see the side of it 3 images up), the kitchens, sky newsroom, the roof, behind the scoreboard and part of the players changing rooms were still standing. All of it littered with Tottenham FC memorabilia. It felt very surreal and post-apocalyptic. I'm sure it would be unreal for anyone who actually actively follows football/Tottenham FC, unfortunately I couldn't relate to all of the things I saw.
The stadium had a ring running around the entire roof, we think it would've been used for security to access certain areas/stands during games. This was inside the ring:
So after searching through the bowels of the building and finding some incredible documents (especially in the control room where we found original match logs and blueprints), it was time for us to take our leave. So we headed out the way we came and hopped over the fence to the new side of the stadium. Once again causing quite the racket but this time, unfortunately, we were heard. Security came running yet it was a very strange experience with this security. They seemed extremely confused by us being there but they also seemed very confused as to what to do. Of course the security boss showed up not looking all to happy, he told us to come with him. Me knowing exactly where this was going decided to pop out my sd card and hide it in my shoe when I went to tie up my laces. Next thing police arrive, search us and tell us to leave. Was a long 3-hour ordeal but we got through it no problems and made our way. Was a real shame we got caught, would've loved to go back and explore some more. We saw only a fraction of the place!
All in all was an incredible explore and was completely unique for me as I finally got the experience what it's like truly exploring and not knowing what to expect beforehand. Loved every second of it! First proper report hope I didn't leave anything out!
Signing out
-Nico
